MICHAEL KEMP,
Madam, - A report by Carol Coulter in your edition of October 4th paper suggests that the Irish Insurance Federation misled the Tánaiste in relation to the amount of legal and other costs associated with personal injury claims. This is categorically not the case. We stand over the figures in our consultation paper on the personal injuries litigation system.
We estimate that legal and other delivery costs incurred in 2001 in connection with personal injury claims were €440 million. This figure includes both costs paid in in the year and monies set aside to meet costs on claims already incurred.
It is not, as the article implied, some hypothetical number but a real quantification of money spent on handling claims already in the system. The cost of claims incurred is internationally recognised as the most accurate indicator of true claims costs in any given period of time.
The real issue here is that the cost of delivering compensation in personal injury cases exceeds 40 per cent of the compensation itself, a figure that insurers, policy-holders and most commentators all agree is excessive.
The IIF's proposals to the Tánaiste in relation to the proposed Personal Injuries Assessment Board are intended to reduce these costs, to the ultimate benefit of those who currently pay high liability and motor insurance premiums. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL KEMP,
Chief Executive,
Irish Insurance Federation,
Molesworth Street,
Dublin 2.