Donegal motorists paying up to €175 more insurance to cover uninsured claims

287 insurance claims were made due to accidents caused by uninsured and untraced drivers in Donegal over the past five years. 

And over that same period, the average Donegal motorist will have contributed between €150 and €175 to cover these costs through their motor insurance policies. 

Last year, there were a total of 47 claims in Donegal, which was up by 31% on the comparison for 2021.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) said that the claims compare to just 90 in Sligo and just 48 in Leitrim, since 2018.

In the Donegal case, 76 such claims were made in 2018, 69 in 2019, 59 in 2020, 36 in 2021 largely because of Covid, but increasing again as of last year with 47 claims in 2022.

These figures show that the number of claims dropped over the course of the pandemic when fewer vehicles, including uninsured vehicles, were on the roads.

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, they say that this effectively puts the burden of the expense of meeting those same claims by law abiding motorists in this county and elsewhere. 

On a county by county basis, over the last five years the highest total number of claims received were in Dublin (4,605), Cork (819) and Limerick (617). 

However, using the Census 2022 data, the most claims per capita were in Dublin, Louth and Limerick.

However last year the number of claims relating to uninsured and untraced driving grew significantly once again, with the 1,739 received by the MIBI representing a 17% increase on the 2021 numbers. 

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. 

The figures for 2022 also show that the number of claims received by the MIBI grew in 22 of the 26 counties in the Republic. 

The largest percentage increases year on year were in Kilkenny (up 70%), Galway (up 59%) and Clare (up 52%).

Ballyshannon Regeneration Group's big 'Operation' this weekend

The greatest drop was in Mayo (down 21%), followed by Wexford (down 9%) and Westmeath (down 4%).