Just had a claim against me settled..

trixiebust · 26-01-2017 1:44pm #1

As the title says, letter arrived today. Other party awarded € 45 k ( a back injury !! ). The total amount paid so far is € 52 k, that's not including all legal bills. Which also included the High Court in Cork. This is ridiculous, but rant over.

Is this a massive claim, in terms of renewing my insurance next year ? Currently pay €850 fully comp. Should I start saving for next year's renewal already :eek:

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 1:16pm

Anyone ??

Stheno · 27-01-2017 1:18pm

trixiebust wrote: »

Anyone ??

Did you have protected no claims? If not then expect a big hike

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 1:21pm

No, step back. Was 6+ years, no down to three.

ScouseMouse · 27-01-2017 1:21pm

I am in the same boat. Claim in for when the wife was driving. However, I am under the impression a protected NCB is not worth a crap.

Yes, the NCB gives you a discount on the premium, but there is nothing stopping the insurance company tripling the premium !

I will be following this thread with interest.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 1:28pm

Accident happened in 2011, only got notification of settlement yesterday.

45 k awarded for a whiplash injury & loss of earnings. Absolute joke. Speed more than 10kph, 1st gear on a roundabout.

Liam McPoyle · 27-01-2017 1:53pm

trixiebust wrote: »

Accident happened in 2011, only got notification of settlement yesterday.

45 k awarded for a whiplash injury & loss of earnings. Absolute joke. Speed more than 10kph, 1st gear on a roundabout.

That is the world we live in.

That is the main reason insurance has spiked.

People can blame the insurers all they want but at the end of the day personal accountability has to be taken.

Of course real injuries should rightly be compensated, thats why we buy insurance but I'd be very confident that the majority of the whiplash claims are either false or very much exaggerated.

I read an article during the week from a member of the GAA, they were talking about the spike in their own insurance premiums and the rise in public liability claims.

So that's motor insurance that has substantially increased, along with insurance for places that have a large footfall of the public such as football grounds, pubs and shops.

Has the nation suddenly become clumsier?

Or have people suddenly become unluckier that they as having more trips and falls?

Or is it a case that alot of people see anything to do with insurance as the opportunity to get a nice fat payout?

Now I'm not a scientician but I'd be fairly comfortable in betting the farm on number 3.

Still though, its the gouging fat cats in insurance HQ that are to blame.

listermint · 27-01-2017 1:57pm

Rod Munch wrote: »

That is the world we live in.

That is the main reason insurance has spiked.

People can blame the insurers all they want but at the end of the day personal accountability has to be taken.

Of course real injuries should rightly be compensated, thats why we buy insurance but I'd be very confident that the majority of the whiplash claims are either false or very much exaggerated.

I read an article during the week from a member of the GAA, they were talking about the spike in their own insurance premiums and the rise in public liability claims.

So that's motor insurance that has substantially increased, along with insurance for places that have a large footfall of the public such as football grounds, pubs and shops.

Has the nation suddenly become clumsier?

Or have people suddenly become unluckier that they as having more trips and falls?

Or is it a case that alot of people see anything to do with insurance as the opportunity to get a nice fat payout?

Now I'm not a scientician but I'd be fairly comfortable in betting the farm on number 3.

Still though, its the gouging fat cats in insurance HQ that are to blame.

2 people to blame here

1- The Insurance industry for happily facilitating payouts, setting bench marks of what they were happy to pay. i.e acceptable loses. And not pursuing down claimants more aggressively.

2- The Judiciary this people need to be given clearer guidelines on what is acceptable payout levels as presently they are picking figures out of the sky.

BlinkingLights · 27-01-2017 2:13pm

They really urgently need to get realistic about this as we will end up in a situation where driving will become something we won't be able to afford to do.

Back in 2008 the European Commission in particular was very critical of Ireland's legal costs, yet it was just completely ignored by the state, while they went after things like water charges which weren't even mentioned at all, and blamed those on the EU.

Kalimah · 27-01-2017 2:13pm

trixiebust wrote: »

Accident happened in 2011, only got notification of settlement yesterday.

45 k awarded for a whiplash injury & loss of earnings. Absolute joke. Speed more than 10kph, 1st gear on a roundabout.

And there was me thinking you must have nearly crippled them for that kind of payout! Reminds me of a post I read here recently where a poster bemoaned the seemingly genetic weakness of Irish necks.

Mind you that sort of rubbish has been going on for years. I have an acquaintance who got 10k about 25 years ago for much the same thing. Once the court award came through there wasn't a mention of the neck. I was rear ended myself about 20 years ago- the car was in bits - but I never claimed for myself as I wasn't injured. I've had the odd fall in a supermarket- once on a squashed mushroom! I picked myself up and hoped to God no one saw it!
Fed up with chancers

Barr · 27-01-2017 2:18pm

trixiebust wrote: »

Accident happened in 2011, only got notification of settlement yesterday.

45 k awarded for a whiplash injury & loss of earnings. Absolute joke. Speed more than 10kph, 1st gear on a roundabout.

As it happened in 2011 , you probably have your bonus built back up already ,so there will not be any change to your renewal for this claim.

mbradso2003 · 27-01-2017 2:51pm

53K claim against me for a 'bump' loading of 1,300 on top of my insurance.. feel your pain OP..

hullaballoo · 27-01-2017 3:04pm

Rod Munch wrote: »

That is the world we live in.

That is the main reason insurance has spiked.

People can blame the insurers all they want but at the end of the day personal accountability has to be taken.

Of course real injuries should rightly be compensated, thats why we buy insurance but I'd be very confident that the majority of the whiplash claims are either false or very much exaggerated.

I read an article during the week from a member of the GAA, they were talking about the spike in their own insurance premiums and the rise in public liability claims.

So that's motor insurance that has substantially increased, along with insurance for places that have a large footfall of the public such as football grounds, pubs and shops.

Has the nation suddenly become clumsier?

Or have people suddenly become unluckier that they as having more trips and falls?

Or is it a case that alot of people see anything to do with insurance as the opportunity to get a nice fat payout?

Now I'm not a scientician but I'd be fairly comfortable in betting the farm on number 3.

Still though, its the gouging fat cats in insurance HQ that are to blame.

:rolleyes:

This again.

It's not true. Claims are static. Costs are reducing.

Insurance companies fukkered themselves through mismanagement and now the customers are bailing them out.

Here is a pictorial representation of insurance companies operating within the EU in the past decade:

NUTLEY BOY · 27-01-2017 5:12pm

Remember insurance companies campaigning for the abolition of juries in most personal injuries cases ? 1980s ? They succeeded. What happened to damages after that ? They went up - very steeply. Who did that then ?

Ultimately, if all parties know that a case will secure € X in court well that is where the authority to demand high damages lies.

So, if the courts keep awarding high levels of damages that has to be funded from somewhere. Ireland is a small country with a limited size pool of risk.
High damages funded by a small risk pool = high premiums.

cruizer101 · 27-01-2017 5:19pm

On of the other issues I see is that the money is paid out as a cash lump sum, fair enough loss of earning has to be paid that way but all medical expenses should be vouched. The money can be spent on medical care and nothing else.

This also touches of a bigger problem which is our two tier health case system. If we had a proper single tier system, you shouldn't need to pay out medical expenses. If someone is sick or injured they get taken of, regardless of circumstances.

NUTLEY BOY · 27-01-2017 5:39pm

cruizer101 wrote: »

On of the other issues I see is that the money is paid out as a cash lump sum, fair enough loss of earning has to be paid that way but all medical expenses should be vouched. The money can be spent on medical care and nothing else.

This also touches of a bigger problem which is our two tier health case system. If we had a proper single tier system, you shouldn't need to pay out medical expenses. If someone is sick or injured they get taken of, regardless of circumstances.

In most cases items of special damages have to be vouched if they are not being agreed between the parties.

Where some or all of the medical expenses have been paid by a health insurer there is usually a requirement to reimburse the health insurer's outlay from your damages - subrogation.

Otherwise, plaintiffs are virtually free to do what they like with their damages unless there are specific court orders directing that certain payments are made to certain parties.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 5:41pm

Kalimah wrote:

And there was me thinking you must have nearly crippled them for that kind of payout! Reminds me of a post I read here recently where a poster bemoaned the seemingly genetic weakness of Irish necks.

mbradso2003 wrote:

53K claim against me for a 'bump' loading of 1,300 on top of my insurance.. feel your pain OP..

Sounds the same as me alright. Only damage done to her car, was the rear bumper. Small square cut out ( for towing I presume ).
This piece popped out, I pushed it back in. Zero car damage = 45 k. Someone's making these figures up.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 5:50pm

This. I think if I walked in to a solicitor today, having being rear ended, he / she would know how much I could get.

If it's a small amount settle. If not, push for more, eventually taking a chance in court, for a bumper payday for everyone. Sickening.

hullaballoo · 27-01-2017 6:20pm

How much do you think a solicitor gets for a fully contested whiplash claim?

Liam McPoyle · 27-01-2017 6:31pm

trixiebust wrote: »

This. I think if I walked in to a solicitor today, having being rear ended, he / she would know how much I could get.

If it's a small amount settle. If not, push for more, eventually taking a chance in court, for a bumper payday for everyone. Sickening.

That's exactly it.

Claims farming (solicitors actively seeking out people that have been involved in accidents) is massive business in the UK and is creeping in over here. "No win no fee" firms are ten a penny.

I see claims reports on a near daily basis and some of the symptoms that people describe for their "injuries" are laughable.

It's gas, the ones that are genuine cases such as people with broken bones, that require surgery etc rarely suffer from nightmares or PTSD yet the ones that have no provable injuries ie soft tissue damages are terrified of driving or have nightmares due to the horrendous trauma they suffered after being tipped in bumper to bumper traffic.

I absolutely guarantee that if soft tissue damages that cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt were capped at a max of €5000, and if the legal fees were capped at a max of €500 per case then there would be a significant downturn in makey uppy claims.

As it stands if someone gets €15000 for whiplash you can add on another 30% to 40% solicitors fees on top of that.

€4000 to €5000 fee for a low impact claim, money for old rope tbh.

Between punitive damages, loss of earnings, medical expenses and legal fees a €15k payment ends up nearer a €30k cost to an insurer.

Pablo_ · 27-01-2017 7:26pm

Can I ask the OP did he have same insurance since 2011.

I have recevived a small payout for my stolen and crashed car. But 7 people who quite clearly were in a staged crash so they can all claim are claiming from my insurance.

But I have to keep paying my premium, until case closes. Basically if this stays open the insurance company will make back their tiny payout to me by summer time.

I was told I CANNOT stop paying premium, as then it will be recorded as walking away from contract.

Seems wierd no? I am losing on all fronts basically. I was the victim of the crime after all.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 7:56pm

Pablo_ wrote:

Can I ask the OP did he have same insurance since 2011.

Yes, with 123 before & after the accident. My insurance never rose dramatically since then though.

Just presuming now it's closed, I'll end up paying for it for the next few years. Not something I can afford, if I'm honest.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 8:02pm

Rod Munch wrote:

Between punitive damages, loss of earnings, medical expenses and legal fees a â‚¬15k payment ends up nearer a â‚¬30k cost to an insurer.

Mines currently standing at 52k. That's not including the day at the High Court.

How does a soft tissue injury make it's way all the way to the High Court anyway?!!

readytosnap · 27-01-2017 8:03pm

OSI wrote: »

My brother got knocked off his bike last year and fractured his arm. Fracture wasn't even bad enough to require a cast and he didn't miss work as he's a student. He agreed with the driver to just pay for the repair of his bike, but she went incognito and ignored it, so the Gards got involved and it went to her insurer. Insurance instantly offered 25k. His solicitor urged him to push for more. F*****g ridiculous.

He would of been chancing his arm then?

I couldn't resist sorry.

I had ful ncb and stepback, small (compared to others in thread) claim from me for new engine (bogey fuel) they paid out 7k for new engine (old engine had less than 10k km) did not affect my premium. Don't know if that was because no persons were injured or what.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 8:12pm

I got a copy of the injuries board report, which I still have. Love to post with the name redacted.

Some of the lines are laughable, it basically states a soft tissue injury, stress, anxiety, 3 to 6 months of recovery time. This is from a medical examiner, let's all ride the gravy train.

CarrickMcJoe · 27-01-2017 8:19pm

trixiebust wrote: »

Accident happened in 2011, only got notification of settlement yesterday.

45 k awarded for a whiplash injury & loss of earnings. Absolute joke. Speed more than 10kph, 1st gear on a roundabout.

Unfortunately some people find this way easier than trying to pick 6 numbers in the lotto!

pilly · 27-01-2017 8:23pm

Was this not listed as a claim when it happened though? Surely it would have been?

I had a small tip a while ago and it came up on my renewal even though it hadn't been settled.

Sleeper12 · 27-01-2017 8:27pm

A friend of mine flipped a hi ace van about 30 years ago with 13 people inside. He was only covered for the 3 front seats. As the driver he was the only one that did not get to claim. All 13 claims that they were in the front.
Insurance paid out over quarter of a million punts. Biggest Irish claim at the time.
He's still driving today. It all balances out over time

ravima · 27-01-2017 8:33pm

I have recevived a small payout for my stolen and crashed car. But 7 people who quite clearly were in a staged crash so they can all claim are claiming from my insurance.

But I have to keep paying my premium, until case closes. Basically if this stays open the insurance company will make back their tiny payout to me by summer time.

I was told I CANNOT stop paying premium, as then it will be recorded as walking away from contract.

Seems wierd no? I am losing on all fronts basically. I was the victim of the crime after all.[/QUOTE]

Some questions arise here.

When was the accident?

If it was PRIOR to last renewal, then there is no truth to the allegation that you are'walking away' form the contract. If it was in the current year, then usually BEFORE your insurer would pay YOU, they would insist on the balance of the premium being paid if you are paying in installments.

trixiebust · 27-01-2017 8:40pm

pilly wrote: »

Was this not listed as a claim when it happened though? Surely it would have been?

I had a small tip a while ago and it came up on my renewal even though it hadn't been settled.

Never asked tbh. Insurance rose about € 100 from last year. Now € 850 ish fully comp. That's what's worrying me, it never went up. Now it's settled, am I fooked ??

Atlantic Dawn · 27-01-2017 8:51pm

I suppose at least it went to court, the majority of cases are settled without any proper questioning in a court of law.

Just had a claim against me settled..

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