Thank you all for your support so far with the insurance reform agenda. The reductions announced by the Judicial Council last weekend do not go far enough to reduce insurance costs. We sought an 80% reduction in awards for minor injuries in our Fair Book of Quantum (read here).
We are appealing to you to send a message of disappointment to your local representatives. We are suggesting that in order to maximise the impact, you sent this response within the next week.
Below you will find a suggested email for you to send, feel free to adjust the template but keep the part in red. Please sent this correspondence this week to all of your local TDs by text, email or verbally. You can find your local TD at www.whoismytd.com
Many thanks – KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!
Neil McDonnell,
ISME CEO.
TEMPLATE MAIL:
Dear X,
The cost and availability of insurance remains an existential issue for us and for Irish society in general. We will not be in a position to recover from Covid-19 unless insurance is sorted. At the heart of the issue is the level of damages awarded in Ireland for minor, fully-recovered injuries which must be reduced by 80% just to bring them in line with international norms.
The Judicial Council had the opportunity to do so in their newly-adopted personal injuries guidelines, but they did not. Now it is up to Government to intervene. The Law Reform Commission has made it clear that direct intervention by the legislature to cap damages will be entirely constitutional subject to certain safeguards.
I ask you to convey to Government the need to intervene as a matter of absolute urgency for the sake of the common good; and reduce damages for minor injuries by 80%. I would like to meet you in your constituency office as soon as possible to discuss this.
Please keep me updated on all progress you make on this issue.
Kind regards,
X
