Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, brought new legislation to cabinet on 14th July 2016 which will compel insurers to notify his Department of Category A and Category B write-offs.
At present a voluntary system of notification is in place but for years Cartell.ie has called for regulation which will place the procedure on a statutory footing.
John Byrne, Cartell.ie, says:
We welcome this initiative which is a necessary step in the Government’s efforts to make our roads safer. Since 2007 Cartell.ie has campaigned for regulation of written-off vehicles in Ireland to obligate insurers to notify the Department of Transport where a vehicle has been written-off. While the proposals which have been submitted to cabinet are confined to Category A and Category B write-offs – which are the most serious types – we would like to see this obligation extend in future to other write-off classifications.”
Earlier this year Cartell.ie reported that 10.75% of all UK imports registered in Ireland over a 6-month-period in 2015 were previously written-off in the UK.
The ABI Total Loss Categories (‘Write-Off’)
Category A: Scrap only – The vehicle has not been repaired following extreme damage. It was deemed too damaged to be repairable with little or no salvageable parts.
Category B: The bodyshell should have been crushed. The vehicle has not been repaired following significant damage. It was deemed too damaged to be repairable however did have salvageable parts.
Category C: This vehicle was repairable, but the repair costs exceeded the vehicle value. The insurer chose not to repair for economic reasons.
Category D: This vehicle was repairable, but the repair costs were significant compared to the vehicle value. The insurer chose not to repair for economic reasons.