Tag Archives: Insurance

This morning.

Via Daily Sceptic:

A board member of a large German insurance company has spoken out over the “alarming” data his company has found regarding Covid vaccine side-effects.

Up to the end of 2021, the German Government recorded around 245,000 vaccine side-effects. However, the analysis by health insurance company BBK ProVita suggests the true figure is up to ten times higher.

A search of the databases of all BBK health insurance companies found that, from January to August 2021, around 217,000 of about 11 million BBK policyholders had to be treated for vaccine side-effects.

Andreas Schöfbeck, the board member who spoke out, told Die Welt:

“According to our calculations, we consider 400,000 doctor visits by our insured persons due to vaccination complications to date to be realistic. Extrapolated to the total population, this figure would be three million.”

That comes out as around ten times higher than the official figure from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the Government agency responsible for vaccinations.

Vaccine Side-Effects Up to 10 Times Higher Than Official Figures, Insurance Company Board Member Reveals (Daily Sceptic)

Mehr Impf-Nebenwirkungen als bisher bekannt (Welt)

Meanwhile…

Oh.

Meanwhile…

The four test actions were taken by Dublin bars Aberken, trading as Sinnotts Bar; Hyper Trust Ltd, trading as ‘The Leopardstown Inn’ and ‘Inn on Hibernian Way’ Ltd trading as Lemon & Duke. The fourth action was taken by Leinster Overview Concepts Ltd the owner of Sean’s Bar, which is based in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

This morning.

The High Court has ruled that four pub owners are entitled to be compensated by insurer FBD for the disruption their businesses suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Via RTÉ

Mr Justice Denis McDonald found that a policy sold by FBD covered losses the pubs sustained by having to close due to the global health emergency.

He disagreed with FBD’s interpretation of its policy and said cover is not lost where the closure is prompted by nationwide outbreaks of disease provided that there is an outbreak within the 25 mile radius and that outbreak is one of the causes of the closure

The issue of quantifying the losses, the judge said will be dealt with at a later date.

Hic.

Court rules pubs entitled to insurance over Covid closures (RTÉ)

Data from the National Claims Information Database

This morning/afternoon.

Via The Irish Times:

The cost of motor insurance claims fell 2.5 per cent between 2009 and 2018 but premiums rose 42 per cent, according to a Central Bank report …

The first comprehensive study of premiums and cost claims in Ireland appears to cast doubt on industry claims that the higher cost of car insurance is the result of spiralling payouts and increased claims, resulting in low profitability.

It found that the average cost of claims per policy fell from by 2.5 per cent from €437 in 2009 to €426 in 2018 while average premiums jumped by 42 per cent from €498 to €706.

The report, based on data from the National Claims Information Database, also revealed the industry here generated an operating profit of 9 per cent. The average level of profitability in the UK is 5 per cent.

Full report here

Motor insurance premiums up 42% even though claims fall, Central Bank report finds (Irish Times)

The Convention Centre, Dublin

Today.

At the Convention Centre in Dublin.

Insurance Ireland will be holding its seventh Annual Fraud Conference. To wit:

“Insurance Ireland will again convene an array of leading speakers from across the industry and beyond.

The theme of this year’s Insurance Ireland Fraud Conference is ‘The Cost of Fraud to Society’.

The programme will outline some of the various knock-on effects of fraud on our society, from the monetary impact on small businesses and the self-insuring business model, to the societal and resource impact of the current ‘claims culture’, and the priorities the industry must address in collaboration with various stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, RTÉ reports:

Chief Justice Frank Clarke is one of several speakers who will address the Insurance Ireland event at the Convention Centre.

Increasing compensation payouts and claims of ongoing fraud are huge issues and the insurance industry is seeking to address them at the conference.

It has been claimed that some payouts are more than four times higher in Ireland compared to those in the UK and a long-promised Judicial Council is meant to look at the issue.

Insurance Ireland Fraud Conference 2019

Insurance Ireland conference to address fraud, compensation payouts (RTÉ)

Ah here.

Via GMHD:

With Hobbs & Shaw, the latest movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, tearing it up at the box office, one of Ireland’s largest insurance brokers GMHD.ie has determined that The Rock’s character Luke Hobbs would be subject to an annual premium of €32,928 to be insured on Irish roads.

The whopping figure was derived based on a 2015 Ford Focus (costing €15,000) and took into account Hobbs’ reckless driving in the franchise…

The Fast And The Curious:  How Much Would It Cost To Insiure Hobbs On Irish Roads? (GMHD)

National Treasury Management Agency annual report for 2018

Yesterday.

It was reported in The Irish Examiner that figures given to the Public Accounts Committee show that amounts paid out by the State Claims Agency reached almost €350million last year.

The article, headlined ‘State agencies fail to learn from comp culture mistakes as payouts treble to €350m’, reported that this figure, up from €128m in 2014, was being blamed on a surge in injury claims.

Further to this…

Lawyer Cathal Malone has tweeted his thoughts…

State agencies fail to learn from compo culture mistakes as payouts treble to €350m (Irish Examiner)

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty; Deputy Commissioner John Twomey, Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan at the finance committee on July 9 last

Last night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar released a statement stating Maria Bailey “signed an affidavit (linked to a personal injuries summons) that over-stated the impact of her injuries on her running”.

He also stated there were “inconsistencies” in her account of events and that she made “numerous errors of judgement” in her handling of the matter – even after she withdrew her claim.

In a separate statement on foot of the unpublished report by David Kennedy SC, Ms Bailey said:

“I note that the report by David Kennedy SC has found that this was not a fraudulent claim, and that it would be unlikely that a court would conclude that there was any attempt to mislead on my part. I made no attempt to mislead.”

Earlier this month, Deputy Commissioner John Twomey, Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan and Andrew McLindon, director of communications at An Garda Síochána attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.

During the meeting, Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty asked those present about the difference between fraud and exaggerated claims.

Mr Lordan said he believes there is no difference and also went on to say that claims believed to be exaggerated and defined as fraud should, by law, be reported to the gardai by people in the know.

He also confirmed that to not report it is a criminal offence.

They had the following exchange:

Pearse Doherty: “Can I just take the witnesses through a couple of points for clarification? On fraud, what is the difference between fraud and exaggerated claims, a term that is being used now, or are exaggerated claims fraud?”

Pat Lordan:I see no difference between an exaggerated claim and fraud. The view of the insurance industry is the same. This is not right across the board, where some parts of the insurance industry may say it was a mistake or someone was trying to claim little bit more, by accident. My view is that if one has a claim for €100 worth of water damage, and change it up to €1,000, that is fraud.”

Doherty:If a person was in a car accident and claimed that he or she was injured beyond what the person was, would that be seen as fraud?”

Lordan: Absolutely, but the difficulty we have with both of those scenarios is proving it. Where the householder has an invoice or receipt for €1,000, it is quite difficult then to show that it is fraud.”

Doherty: “Yes.”

Lordan: “Likewise, with a lot of these fraudulent claims, they represent minor enough injuries, like whiplash, for example. It is quite difficult for us to prove, when we investigate such a case, that the person does not have whiplash.”

Doherty: “The guidance on reported suspected fraudulent insurance claims within An Garda Síochána’s code of practice with the insurance industry states “an offence of deception relating to exaggerated claims takes place” and it goes on to say where it takes place and should be reported. Should claims that are believed to be exaggerated and which are defined as fraud be reported?

Lordan: “Likewise, with a lot of these fraudulent claims, they represent minor enough injuries, like whiplash, for example. It is quite difficult for us to prove, when we investigate such a case, that the person does not have whiplash.”

Doherty: “The guidance on reported suspected fraudulent insurance claims within An Garda Síochána’s code of practice with the insurance industry states “an offence of deception relating to exaggerated claims takes place” and it goes on to say where it takes place and should be reported. Should claims that are believed to be exaggerated and which are defined as fraud be reported?

Lordan:Absolutely, yes.”

Doherty: “Is Mr Lordan familiar with section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 on disclosure?”

Lordan: “I am, yes.”

Doherty: “What onus does that place on me or on any other person, if I am aware of a fraudulent claim, because fraud is one of the relevant categories in that legislation?”

Lordan: There is an onus on the person to report it, if the person knows that the information that he or she has can assist An Garda Síochána in an investigation, in showing that somebody else in the room committed or carried out an act of fraud. There is a list of offences covered by it.”

Doherty:What is the position if I do not report it?

Lordan: “There can be an offence.”

Doherty:Is it a criminal offence?

Lordan:It is.”

Doherty: “This has a maximum potential prison term of five years.”

Lordan: “My own view on this – I presume the Deputy is talking in particular about an insurance company here – is that if one is an insurance company or bank and wants to report a fraud or crime, one should report it in the normal way that any crime should be reported, other than relying on the section 19 report.”

Doherty: “Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act makes it a criminal offence for the insurance industry and the entity – including possibly the person but definitely the entity – not to report an issue of fraud.”

Lordan: “That is correct.”

Read the debate in full here

Earlier: Where It Stops, Nobody Knows

Yesterday: “There Have Been Inconsistencies In Deputy Bailey’s Account of Events”