Claims on accidents caused by uninsured vehicles in Donegal 'a cause of concern'

There were 47 claims relating to accidents caused by uninsured or untraced vehicles in Donegal last year, according to new figures published by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).

The 47 claims for 2023 was the same number exactly that were submitted in 2022. Nationally, the MIBI received a total of 1,927 claims across the country. This represented 187 additional claims from the 1,740 they received in 2022 and marked an 11% rise across the country.

Looking at the breakdown of the claims relating to uninsured driving by county, the largest number came in Dublin (822), followed by Cork (141), Limerick (112), Kildare (102) and Galway (91).

The number of claims relating to uninsured drivers grew in 14 of the 26 counties across the Republic, with the largest percentage increases occurring in Mayo (up 80%), Meath (up 55%) and Kildare (up 42%). Nine counties recorded a drop in the number of claims, with the largest percentage decreases coming in Leitrim (down 55%), Offaly (down 29%) and Sligo (down 21%). Three counties also recorded the exact same number of claims as 2022.

As the MIBI is a not-for-profit organisation that was established to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles, effectively the expense of meeting these claims is borne by law abiding motorists. The average motorist will have contributed €30 - €35 at their most recent insurance renewal to cover the claims paid out by the MIBI in the last year.

“That there was no reduction in the number of claims due to accidents caused by uninsured vehicles in Donegal should be a cause of concern for every law-abiding motorist in the county,” David Fitzgerald, CEO of the MIBI said. “It is illegal to drive without valid motor insurance, yet as these figures show there are still a significant number of people who are willingly flouting the law.

“Every one of the uninsured motorists behind these claims is effectively putting their hands in the pockets of law-abiding motorists in Donegal and around the country and taking their money. As they broke the law and drove without insurance cover, it becomes the responsibility of the MIBI to handle the compensation associated with these claims. We are a not-for-profit organisation so our funding comes indirectly from drivers who pay their motor insurance. Essentially these uninsured drivers took millions of euro from the rest of us last year and added €30 to €35 to the average motor insurance policy.”