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Briain Kelly, 26 Apr
Just under four hundred claims have been made for traffic accidents caused
by uninsured drivers in Galway in the past five years.
Figures released by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland show that from
2018 to 2022 there were a total of 394 such claims made in Galway.
The year with the fewest claims in Galway was in 2021, where they reached
a low of just 46 after declining each year from a peak of 112 claims in
2018.
However, the following year saw claims to MIBI in relation to accidents in
Galway rise again to 73 in 2022.
Nationwide there were a total of 10,376 such claims submitted to the
bureau over the five year period from 2018 to 2022.
Speaking about the claims figures, MIBI Chief Executive David Fitzgerald
said that the cost of these accidents is borne law abiding motorists.
They “effectively have to subsidize these claims” each time they renew
their insurance he added, saying that the average motorist has paid an
extra €150 – €175 to cover the cost of accidents caused by uninsured and
untraced drivers over the past five year.
“Unfortunately as the number of uninsured vehicles grows, the number of
claims relating to accidents caused by uninsured drivers also rise.”
“With the level of uninsured vehicles on Irish roads potentially the
highest in the EU, we need to do all we can to discourage people driving
illegally without insurance.”
Earlier this year the MIBI published research showing there were almost
188,000 uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads last year and that the
Republic of Ireland may now have the highest level of uninsured vehicles
in the EU.
They also predicted that the number of uninsured vehicles on Irish roads
could pass 200,000 in the next 12 – 18 months if “significant action”
isn’t taken.