The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) handled over 1,000 international claims in 2022. This represented an increase of 25% on the level of international claims handled the previous year.
|
Type of Claim |
2022 |
2021 |
Variance |
|
Accident Abroad |
717 |
591 |
Up 21% |
|
Visiting Motorist |
337 |
251 |
Up 34% |
|
Total |
1,054 |
842 |
Up 25% |
The MIBI acts as the ‘Green Card Bureau’ and EU Compensation Body in the Republic of Ireland. The Green Card system is an international system of engagement between the various motor insurers bureau in different countries to ensure people who sustain injuries and/or damage in a road traffic accident caused by a vehicle registered outside the State are not disadvantaged.
Such claims are then investigated and settled per the regulations set out by the COB, formerly known as the Council of Bureaux, in Brussels.
Effectively this means that if an Irish registered vehicle causes an accident in another country, this claim is notified to the MIBI via the motor insurance bureau in the country in question. Within the sector this is referred to as an ‘Accident Abroad’.
Equally, if a foreign registered vehicle causes an accident in the Republic of Ireland, this is claim is notified to the MIBI and we then liaise with the motor insurance bureau in the home country of that vehicle. Such instances are referred to as a ‘Visiting Motorist’.
In 2022, the MIBI was notified of a total of 717 ‘accidents abroad’ involving Irish registered vehicles. This was an increase of 126 such claims received during the previous 12 months and represented a jump of 21%.
These accidents involved Irish vehicles in a total of 25 different countries, as outlined in the map below.
The highest number of these accidents involving Irish registered vehicles took place in the UK (454), followed by Germany (61), Spain (47) and the Netherlands (30).
Map of countries where Irish registered vehicles were at fault for road traffic accidents in 2022 (Accident Abroad)
Last year there were also a total of 337 accidents in the Republic of Ireland where a foreign registered vehicle was at fault. This marked a rise of 34% over the 251 such instances experienced in 2021.
The vehicles involved came from a total of 20 different countries. The largest volume of these claims involved vehicles from the UK (176), followed by Poland (30), Spain (25), Germany (21) and France (19).
Most unusually the MIBI was even notified of an accident involving an Australian registered vehicle in 2022. As Australia are not members of the system, unfortunately it was not possible to provide compensation via the Green Card system in this instance.
Map of countries where foreign registered vehicles at fault for road traffic accidents in the Republic of Ireland in 2022 originated (Visiting Motorist)
Although the primary objective of the MIBI is to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles on Irish roads, handling these international claims is another important aspect of the work we carry out on a day to day basis.
We are proud to act as the Green Card Bureau for the Republic of Ireland and to be longstanding members of the COB in Brussels.