Irish Hotels Federation Press Release
Tuesday, 18th November 2003
TOURISM BODY WELCOMES PIAB BILL
| The Irish Hotels Federation
(IHF) today welcomes the publishing of the Personal Injuries Assessment
Board Bill 2003 to establish its operations in January 2004. The IHF suggests
it is a step in the right direction for insurance reform but is calling
for PIAB to be speedily geared up so there is no delay in its remit being
extended to include public liability cases by mid 2004. It also calls today
on the Minister for Justice & Law Reform to expedite the introduction
and enactment of the proposed Civil Liabilities and Courts Bill to complement
the national insurance costs reform efforts.
According to John Power, Chief Executive, IHF exorbitant insurance costs are seriously impacting on the hotel and guesthouse sector, with a survey by the IHF revealing that the average insurance premium in the sector rose a massive 351% between 2000 and 2003. "The Tourism Policy Review Group recommended an acceleration of Government policy on insurance reform and while today's announcement by An Tanaiste Mary Harney is a strong indication on progress in this area, more needs to be done to speed up PIAB's areas of responsibility so that it has wider benefits to all insurance policy holders both businesses and individuals as quickly as possible," says Mr Power. ""We are also calling on the Minister for Justice to introduce and speedily expedite the enactment of the proposed Civil Liabilities and Courts Bill which aims to stamp out fraudulent and exaggerated claims. Both PIAB and the Civil Liabilities & Courts Bill provisions need to work in tandem with each other to effect a real and lasting change within the insurance reform arena. " The IHF particularly acknowledges An Tanaiste's intention to compile and publish a Book of Quantum as a guideline to general damages, which will assist parties to reach reasonable negotiated settlements. "Ireland has the highest average awards for personal injury in the EU. A Book of Quantum, binding on the judicial system, will be similar in practice to the UK and other EU member state's systems and is a progressive and positive initiative," Mr Power continues. "Insurance is the biggest single overhead cost item for hotels and guesthouses. The sector is attempting to be competitive but it is a low margin business and sensitive to price increases. Given that insurance, local authority rates, energy and staff costs have all seen major increases in the last three years these are seriously eroding and in many cases putting hotel and guesthouse businesses into serious loss-making situations," Mr Power concludes. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: |