The average price of motor insurance during the first half of last year was €655, which is 4% higher than the previous year.
New data from the Central Bank also shows the total cost of claims during the first six months of last year was 2% higher than 2024, but it was 25% up on the pre-Covid average.
The figures from National Claims Information Database showed the total cost of settled claims during the same period decreased by 4% on 2024 and was 24% lower than the pre-Covid average.
The data also revealed that during the first half of 2025, 85% of all injury claims were settled under the Personal Injuries Guidelines, including 70% of litigated claims.
Insurance Ireland, which represents over companies operating in the Irish market, said while premium prices rose by 4% rise in the first half of last year, "overall premium levels remain significantly below those seen prior to recent reforms".
It said motor insurance premiums "decreased by 10% between 2018 to 2024, despite significant increases in wider cost-of-living pressures over the same time period".
The chief executive of Insurance Ireland, Moyagh Murdock, said it recognises that any increase in premiums is "challenging for consumers, however, the data clearly shows that overall pricing remains below 2018 levels".
The representative group said the cost of claims "remains a key driver of premium".
"The total cost of claims settled in H1 2025 was 25% higher than the 2015 to 2019 pre-Covid average, and 2% higher than in H2 2024. This increase is largely driven by growth in the volume and cost of damage-related claims, rather than injury claims."
According to Moyagh Murdock, "the biggest, proven cost driver isn't a hidden mark‑up, it’s litigation".
She said the litigation process "takes about five years versus 2.5 to 2.7 years through the Injuries Resolution Board" and she said it "adds heavy legal costs with no material uplift in awards".
Ms Murdock said the Central Bank data shows that "litigation is the slowest and costliest route to resolve injury claims".
"These delays and associated costs ultimately put upward pressure on the system in a way that simply does not occur when claims are settled through faster, lower‑cost channels."
"If we’re serious about affordability, we should back the Government’s Insurance Reform Action Plan, especially the actions targeting legal‑cost inflation and shifting more claims to the Injuries Resolution Board", said the Insurance Ireland CEO.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform said motor premiums are now almost a fifth higher than late 2022.
The group said the rise in the cost of policies is "placing sizeable cost and affordability pressures on motorists".
It said the latest Central Bank data "underlines the extent to which higher repair costs and the increase in damage claims are now feeding into motor premiums".
Board member of the Alliance, Tracy Sheridan, said the figures confirm that "repair costs are pushing premiums higher".
"But that is not the whole story. Injury costs have continued to fall, the Personal Injuries Guidelines are now applying in most claims, and motorists are entitled to ask whether those savings are being fully reflected in the price of cover."
Ms Sheridan, who is the owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole in Dublin, said repair-cost inflation is real, "but after years of reform and wider savings, it must not become a blank cheque for insurers".
She called on the government to "continue to implement the reforms included in the Action Plan for Insurance Reform".
And she urged the coalition to "ensure the new Motor Insurance Transparency Code promotes real competition and consumer switching, rather than being used simply to justify continuing premium increases".
The Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Robert Troy, said the latest Private Motor Insurance Mid-Year Report shows affordability "remains a challenge".
He said while the National Claims Information Database shows the average cost of premiums in the first half of 2025 were 4% higher than 2024, the rate is "over a third lower than the 2016 peak".
Minister Troy noted that the NCID data indicates "a clear and decisive shift away from the Book of Quantum system", with 85% of all personal injury claims are now being resolved under the Personal Injuries Guidelines.
"The data confirms that smaller litigated claims settled under the Guidelines attract lower compensation costs than comparable claims assessed under the Book of Quantum, underscoring the effectiveness of the Guidelines in delivering more consistent and proportionate awards."
According to Minister Troy, the data in report "demonstrates that the Government's reform agenda, particularly the role of the Injuries Resolution Board and the Personal Injuries Guidelines, is delivering lower and more predictable injury claims costs".
However, he said insurers "must ensure these savings are fully reflected" in motor insurance premiums.
"Similarly, continued growth in legal costs in litigated cases is also notable, particularly given that claimants receive comparable levels of compensation through the Injuries Resolution Board", Minister Troy added.
