Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. We aim to keep you informed of news from the across the various jurisdictions and updates from around our network of office and partners.
2025 has been a busy year so far with several client visits, giving the team an opportunity to catch up with important contacts across Europe and also visit some wonderful towns and cities. Further trips took place and are planned throughout the year as part of our business development initiatives.
Madrid Conference
The Coris and AFA teams joined a colleague from Weightmans solicitors in Madrid in April to join UCI, Ofesauto and industry colleagues for a special training session.
In the session UCI presented the Italian claims process to include the compensation of personal injury claims, recent case law and the role UCI has to play in Italy among other topics.
This proved to be a most informative session but also provided an opportunity to catch up with clients and colleagues from the Spanish insurance market.
A brief introduction to claims in Ireland
Over recent newsletters we have been reporting on the various changes taking place in the Irish jurisdiction. This is a jurisdiction where many European practitioners may not have many claims due to its geographical location. As such we’d like to share some key data with you for personal injury claims in Ireland.
Motorway Network
There are 13 motorways in Ireland, eleven of which are toll roads. The M7 is the longest at 166.5km.
Speed Limits
Towns and cities: 50 km/h (reduced to 30 km/h in certain areas such as schools etc)
Regional and local roads: 80 km/h
National roads and dual carriageways: 100 km/h
Motorways: 120 km/h
Limitation Period
2 years for personal injury (2 years from 18th birthday for infant claims) and 6 years for material damage
Court Process
District Court for claims up to €15,000
Circuit Court for claims from €15,000 to €60,000
High Court for claims above €60,000
Nick Lavelle / Managing Director / Coris UK
The solicitor’s costs are only fixed for District Court claims as per the below table.
PIAB – The Personal Injury Assessment Board
This public body was set up in 2004 to intervene in advance of any Court proceedings to evaluate personal injury claims with the aim of settling claims efficiently and promptly on behalf of victims.
The advantages of this scheme
- Reductions of costs for defendants. There should be no legal costs to pay
- Acceleration of the settlement process with specific deadlines
- It favours amicable settlements over litigation
The victim starts the claim by paying €45 to the PIAB. The Defendant has 90 days to accept or refuse the intervention of the PIAB and must also pay a handling fee of €1050 + any reasonable disbursements such as the medical report fee.
The PIAB has 9 months to evaluate the claim and provide the outcome. It examines the evidence and obtains its own medical evidence if necessary. The PIAB also rules on any claimed special damages including repair costs.
The defendant has 21 days to accept or refuse the findings and the claimant 28 days. If agreed by both parties the case is closed once paid. If the findings are rejected the claimant can proceed with litigation.
Personal Injury Evaluation
In Ireland there were reforms in 2021. The previous Book of Quantum was replaced with the Personal Injury Guidelines, with significant reductions on the awards. The biggest change was with minor injuries with a reduction of 30-40%.
As such Ireland has seen a big drop in the total awards (38% or €105M between 2019 and 2023).
62% of evaluations were less than €15,000 in 2023 , compared with just 30% in 2020.
Take note however that there are proposed amendments to the figures in the Personal Injury Guidelines in 2025 which may see increases of 16.7%.
4th Directive claims in Ireland- points to note
- A discretionary approach may be taken more often than not when looking to apply overseas law in an Irish Court
- Appeals of such decisions are possible but they can be very expensive
Whiplash Tariffs- England and Wales
In November there was the publication of the first statutory review of the whiplash tariffs by the Lord Chancellor, which formed part of the 2021 Civil Liability Act.
Within this review there was the proposal for an uplift in the tariffs, to reflect inflation, as can be seen below. It is to be implemented to avoid the under compensation of victims of road traffic accidents.
The figures include a buffer to take into account any inflation up to 2027.
The revised whiplash tariffs received a parliamentary approval this week. The House of Commons approved the new figures in April and the House of Lords followed suit in May.
It has been argued among claimant organisations that the new figures do not reflect an increase in claim values in real terms and may limit access to justice for those without representation since claimant lawyers may not be willing to take on such claims.
From the defendant perspective these tariffs were introduced to help stop the spiralling personal injury claims costs and associated fraudulent incidents and subsequent increase in motor premiums.
This is likely to continue to be debated and potentially amended in the next few years.
IETL- Institute of European Traffic Law Conference
This year’s conference will take place in the beautiful city of Bucharest on 2nd and 3rd October.
As usual the event will focus on recent judgements from the ECJ, mobility and jurisdictional updates including an insight into Romania and recent changes there among other topics.
An important element of the conference is the interaction with participants. Members from our network will be present at the event and we will be organising a social gathering in the evening.
Do not hesitate to contact Nick Lavelle if you wish to set up a meeting.
Costs Reforms in England and Wales
New reforms were introduced as far back as 1st October 2023. Practitioners is still getting to grips with the system and it has raised many questions.
These changes apply for accidents after 01 October 2023.
The reforms included a new Fixed Recoverable Costs Regime (FRC) to all Fast Track cases up to £25,000 and all civil claims up to £100,000 as well as the creation of a new ‘Intermediate track’.
For claims in England and Wales there were previously three tracks. The small claims track, the Fast Track (for claims up to £25,000) and the Multi track for claims from £25,000.
The new Intermediate track is for claims from £25,000-£100,000. The aim of this new track was to improve efficiencies in such claims.
For fast track and intermediate track claims there are four levels of complexity with fixed costs attached, which vary depending on the stage of the proceedings.
The parties must agree on the complexity band that a claim can be put in and if no agreement it is expected that the Court will allocate the appropriate band.
As the complexity band increases from 1-4 the associated fixed costs increase.
In theory most relatively straightforward claims will be in the lower bands (band one- where there is only one issue in dispute and a trial of one day only or band two where there is more than one issue in dispute i.e. quantum and liability).
The more complex bands are for those cases with several issues in dispute and the claim is not straightforward or there are serious issues of fact or law.
The concern for those defending cross border claims is that claimant organisations will immediately assume a high band since there is an international element to the claim.
The reality is, for a green card claim where the accident took place in England and Wales, that there is very little complexity. There is a correspondent in place to liaise with claimants along with a solicitor in England and Wales where litigated.
As and when more cases are litigated, we will have more clarity on these themes and how to approach them.
The Perfect Storm
Some years back the general consensus amongst ‘motor people’ was, that in the coming years it would be much cheaper to own a car, as well as to insure it. This was due to the technology developments which would make the car much safer which again would mean fewer accidents. The insurance industry was aligned with this thought and also expected fewer claims due to the cars increased safety and intelligent designs. So, everybody expected lower repair costs which would lead to lower premiums.
This was not the case.
Although cars have become safer, several factors have contributed to the increase in car insurance premiums in Denmark, something which is echoed in a number of other jurisdictions:
- Increased repair costs: Modern cars are equipped with advanced technology and complex systems, making repairs more expensive. This is especially true for electric cars, which have higher repair costs compared to traditional gasoline and diesel cars. In Denmark it’s estimated 10-20% more expensive to repair an electric car than a normal car.
- More claims: The number of reported claims has increased significantly. From 2023 to 2024, the number of assessed claims increased by almost 29,000 to a total of 444,457
More claims mean higher costs for insurance companies, which they compensate for by raising premiums.
- Inflation: High inflation has increased the prices of spare parts and repairs, which has also contributed to higher insurance premiums.
- More additional insurance: The spread of additional insurance, which covers minor damage without a deductible, has made drivers more likely to report minor damage, which increases insurance companies’ costs.
- Increased number of electric cars: More electric cars have been on the road, and they tend to have more claims per car compared to other cars.
These factors create a “perfect storm” of cost drivers, which has led to the rising prices of car insurance.
Charlotte Nolsøe Gøttler, CCN Denmark
Please look out for our next newsletter where we look to provide updates on jurisdiction disputes in the UK as well as recent case law on Spanish penalty interest among other key subjects.
If you have any queries about the topics in this newsletter please reach out to Nick Lavelle.
Nick Lavelle
Managing Director Coris UK/ AFA Limited
nlavelle@coris-uk.o.uk / nlavelle@afa-claims.co.uk