Insurers to pay out following mesothelioma ruling
April 30th 2009
A decision by a UK High Court has upheld the current practice in relation to the payment of asbestos claims; putting a halt to a group of insurers that were attempting to deny compensation to victims by creating a legal loophole.
The battle began after insurers refused to pay out for mesothelioma claims following a 2006 Court of Appeal ruling, stating that the trigger for two of Bolton Municipal Borough Council's Public Liability policies was at the onset of illness, rather than the date of inhalation of asbestos fibres.
The judge decided that insurers are indeed liable when the victim is first exposed to asbestos, and not when ill effects of that exposure begin to appear. The ruling maintains existing market practise amongst UK Employers Liability insurers.
The ruling makes it clear that there is no need for the policyholder to prove when the illness first developed. Some legal experts believe that the insurers may yet contest the ruling.
This problem initially arose as the wording in insurance policies has varied, where some specify that the policy will become operative when an injury is "caused," while others provide indemnity when an injury is "sustained."