The Law Society of Ireland welcomes today’s unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal, upholding that of the High Court, that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland is potentially liable to pay out in respect of claimants who were insured with Setanta Insurance Company Limited at the time of its entry into liquidation in April 2014.
The arguments made, in the public interest, by the Law Society, have now been upheld in both the High Court and Court of Appeal.
In 2015 the former President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, directed that the Law Society of Ireland should act as the claimant while the MIBI should be the respondent. The Law Society argued that the MIBI was potentially liable to pay court awards and settlements in full in these cases under the terms of the MIBI’s agreement with the State.
Director General of the Law Society Ken Murphy said, “A route to justice has been provided for people who have suffered injury and loss through the fault of drivers insured with an insurance company that has gone into liquidation.”
“The insurance industry had argued that the MIBI agreement only extended protection to the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. Today’s decision confirms that the victims of drivers whose insurer becomes insolvent are also potentially protected, as had been contended by the Law Society.”
“The Court of Appeal has today confirmed both what the insurance industry’s agreement with the State requires and what simple justice demands.”
“Over the last two years we have heard many first-hand accounts of claimants, in Setanta cases, who have suffered life-changing injury and loss. It is good news for these accident victims, and for justice itself, that a route to securing their rights has now been opened.”