The number of new claims received by the Injuries Board jumped by 7% in the first six months of this year when compared to the same period last year, new figures have shown.

The Injuries Board is the independent State body responsible for making statutory personal injury awards in respect of motor, employer and public liability accidents, i.e. accidents that occur in a public place.

According to an analysis of the first six months of this year, 17,132 new claims were received by the board, compared to 15,987 in the same period in 2014.

During this time, motor claims increased by 6%, workplace claims by over 8% and claims for accidents in public places by almost 9%.

This increase in claims is most likely due to increased economic activity, with more people now at work and on the roads, the board said.

"It is not surprising that there has been a modest increase in claims volumes year to date given the general economic upturn with more people at work and a lot more vehicles on the road," commented Injuries Board interim CEO, Maurice Priestley.

Meanwhile, the analysis also revealed that over €128 million in compensation was awarded to 5,741 personal injury claimants between January and June of this year. The average compensation award during this time was €22,375.

The board also highlighted the increased insurance premiums that consumers are facing this year. According to Mr Priestley, people are seeing increases ‘in the region of 20% and further clarity is needed on the precise cause of increases of this scale'.

For more information on the Injuries Board, click here