LIMERICK was one of only four counties to record a drop in the number of claims relating to uninsured or untraced drivers.
Along with Waterford, Kilkenny and Donegal, Limerick bucked the national trend that saw a 17 per cent increase in claims against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).
For the first six moths of this year, 80 claims were lodged from Limerick compared to 95 in the same period in 2015. There were 235 more claims lodged throughout the entire country in the six months to the end of June.
Dublin accounted for 42 per cent of all claims and this represented a 13 per cent increase on 2015 figures.
Longford, Leitrim, Mayo and Roscommon also recorded big increases but they still only accounted for 76 claims in the first half of the year as opposed to 29 in 2015.
There was an 11 per cent increase in Tipperary while there no change in the number of claims in Clare.
MIBI chief executive David Fitzgerald said that as a not-for-profit organisation, all their claims are funded by the motor insurance firms with the costs ultimately covered by their customers. On average the MIBI pays out approximately €60 million a year for claims of this nature.
“A 17 per cent increase is a significant jump and highlights the rise in payments facing the MIBI. While no payments are yet attached to these claims, unfortunately more claims generally means higher levels of payments coming from the MIBI and ultimately, that will impact on motor insurance premiums,” he said.
