The High Court has approved a further payment of €2.1m for personal injuries claims against the collapsed motor insurer Setanta. The amount is to be paid out of the State’s Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF).
50 Claims Against the Insurer
The amount of €2.1m was sought to meet the cost of 50 claims against the insurer by the State Claims Agency, which includes 21 third-party claims and a number of cases involving minors.
This will represent the tenth such payment in relation to Setanta, incorporated in Malta, since 2016. In January of 2020, the High Court approved a payment of €3.29m to meet the costs of 129 third-party claims against the insurer, which was also taken from the State’s ICF.
A year previous, another pay-out of €8.35m was approved by the court for legal costs concerning 161 personal injury claims. This pay-out included a combination of costs relating to claims pre-liquidation and costs taxed or agreed pre-liquidation for agreed claims.
75,000 Policy Holders
Setanta operated in Ireland from 2007 to 2014 before ultimately collapsing, affecting roughly 75,000 policy holders. Prior to its liquidation, Setanta had made contributions of €7.2 million to the ICF.
Following a Supreme Court decision in 2017, it was found that the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was not liable for certain of the Setanta claims, and that the payouts would have to be taken from the State’s ICF. When the seventh payout arose in June of 2020, it was noted that the balance of the ICF was €80.2m.
*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.*