Rise in Car Claim Costs Leads to Surge in Insurance Premiums

An increase of 27pc in the cost of payouts on claims last year meant that the Car Insurance premiums remained to rise during the last year and so far in 2009. Despite an increase of only 5pc in the number of new claims notified during 2008, claims costs surged to €841m in the year, which is a rise of €177 from 2007.

This increase in claims costs was reflected in the insurance premiums as well. A recent report released by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) shows that the premium made its way up in 2008 after a gap of four years marked by sliding premiums. This year also witnessed an upward trend in the insurance premiums. During the first six months of 2009, the motor insurance premium costs climbed up by 7.3pc.