Asbestos
North of the Border: Compensating for anxiety
Asbestos-related litigation in Scotland continues to develop, and diverge from the rest of the UK.
IAG's half year profits fall 19.5% as provisions for 2011 Christchurch earthquake rise
Australian giant IAG is still counting the cost of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and announced a 19.5% fall in profits for the first half of the 2015/16 financial year.
Asbestos: The toxic truth
Although some say the legal landscape is less adversarial, the number of asbestos disease claims is rising – but are insurers as guilty of drawing out the process as they stand accused?
Trade Voice: All change
With the Insurance Act and several important decisions in the courts, it’s been a busy year legally speaking
Zurich wins ‘landmark' meso case in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has today (20 May) unanimously ruled in favour of Zurich in a judgment that means an insurer will only have to compensate a solvent employer for the years they were on risk in cases of asbestos-related mesothelioma.
EL rate hikes a consequence of 'disproportionate' Scottish asbestos plans
A proposal to make insurers liable for the medical costs of treating asbestos diseases in Scotland would not benefit victims north of the border and could instead serve to inflate employers’ liability premiums, according to legal experts.
IUA brands Scottish plans to recover asbestos costs 'an abuse of process'
The Scottish government’s proposal to recover medical costs for treating asbestos diseases is unequitable, could prove unlawful and would drive up the cost of liability insurance, according to the International Underwriting Association.
Legal Update: Exposure and the global threat
Chemical exposure can lead to the onset of disease. David Kidman looks at how this could impact insurers.
Government will step in if meso scheme exceeds levy, says ABI
The Association of British Insurers has said it will work to ensure the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme remains one of last resort, following the government’s decision to raise the compensation cap from 80% to 100%.
Calls for backdating of 100% meso compensation opposed by insurers
Insurers and defendant lawyers have rejected calls for the 100% compensation level for the diffuse mesothelioma scheme to be backdated and for it to include other asbestos-related cancers, as doing so would be too problematic.
Mesothelioma tariff increase should not affect overall cost for insurers, says DWF
The government’s decision to increase the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme tariff to 100% of average civil compensation should not increase the cost burden for insurers, according to law firm DWF.
Industry should not ‘bank’ on weather benefits says Zurich’s Smith
Several years of benign UK weather are likely to increase pressure on home and buildings pricing according to UK GI CEO Dave Smith who has warned peers not to ‘bank’ on the benefit of below average catastrophe activity.
Mesothelioma payment tariffs to be increased to 100%
The government is bringing forward regulations to increase the tariff of payments made under the diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme from 80% of average civil claims to 100%.
ABI welcomes Supreme Court rebuff of Welsh asbestos plans
The Association of British Insurers has welcomed a Supreme Court Judgement denying the Welsh Assembly the right to bill insurers for the treatment costs of patients with asbestos-related illnesses.
Aviva and Zurich pledge £1m funding for mesothelioma research
Insurance companies Aviva and Zurich will donate a combined £1m over two years to the British Lung Foundation’s research programme into the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.
Multi-defendant asbestos ruling 'significant' for future damages awards
A High Court ruling around compensation in asbestos-related lung cancer cases with multiple defendants will have a significant impact in the way damages in future cases are awarded, law firm BLM has claimed.
Mesothelioma claims to get tougher to defend following Supreme Court ruling
McDonald case ‘gives additional protection to people who work in factories’
Insurers urged to gather evidence on the impact of Laspo on Meso claims
Insurers have been advised to gather evidence on the effect of introducing the Laspo reforms to mesothelioma claims, despite last week’s ruling that attempts to abolish recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums were unlawful.
ABI 'frustrated' after high court judgment delays Meso reform
The Association of British Insurers has criticised a high court ruling which found government plans to deduct legal fees from the damages paid to mesothelioma suffers were unlawful.
Legionnaires’ disease: Much ado about nothing?
An update to health and safety legislation means insurers need to pay renewed attention to the rarely considered threat of legionnaires’ disease. But while some are already labelling the condition the ‘new asbestos’ in terms of claims, others insist…
Legal Update: Occupational Disease: Collins provides limitation law guidance
Lung cancer case provides helpful guidance that will assist defendants in occupational disease cases. Nick Pargeter and Malcolm Keen report
ABI strikes back at claims of government deal over Mesothelioma Act
The Association of British Insurers has hit back at claims it entered into a deal with government over changes to the Mesothelioma Act saying the debate is dominated by the vested interests of claimant solicitors.
CILA rejects fears over asbestos risk to loss adjusters handling flood claims
Expert warns of a ‘high risk’ of adjusters being unwittingly contaminated.