The Irish Insurance Federation has said hauliers' insurance premiums could be significantly reduced if the Government set up a promised personal injuries assessment board.
Responding after a protest convoy of lorries in Dublin yesterday morning, Insurance Federation spokesman Mr Martin Long said that increases in the cost of motor insurance were a direct result of "an accumulated rise in costs". He did not, however, entirely blame the high costs of personal injury awards by the courts, saying that the highest factor in the total cost of a claim was the legal fees.
Mr Long said a personal injuries assessment board, as promised by Minister of State Mr Noel Treacy, would reduce costs through the reduction of professional fees, without necessarily reducing the amount of the award to victims.
The hauliers, members of the Irish Road Haulage Association, insisted the recent rises in policy costs were attributable to "profit-taking by companies".
During the early-morning rush in Dublin about a dozen hauliers brought traffic to a standstill in the south city as they drove in slow convoy around Molesworth Street, Nassau Street and Kildare Street, circling the offices of the Insurance Federation.
According to the Irish Road Haulage Association spokesman, Mr Gerry McMahon, the protest was necessary "to highlight the number of people who have been forced out of business because of the cost of insurance". He told The Irish Times that five separate policies might be payable by each haulier for employer's liability, public liability, carrier's insurance, marine insurance for ferry crossings and the mandatory motor insurance. "For a typical truck and rig last year, the cost of insurance was £7,000. This year it is €17,000 (£13,500).