Managing Mesothelioma Risk

UK risk managers should ensure they have established full records of their liability insurance as far back as 1948 if they are to maximise this asset to meet the expected increase in future claims, according to insurance archeology specialist Randolph Fields.

Based on recent estimates from the Health and Safety Executive that deaths in the UK due to asbestos-linked cancer, mesothelioma, could increase to as much as 10,000 a year by 2025, he pointed out the total cost to business could amount to Pounds 300m (Dollars 480m) a year if compensation of only Pounds 30,000 per head is paid.

The increasing likelihood of all businesses facing asbestos-related illness claims should mean that a programme to ensure full records of companies' insurance cover is regarded as a top priority, said Mr Fields, chairman of RM Fields & Company Ltd.

UK risk managers should get their historic insurance indentified, organised and ready to go if a claim comes in, he told delegates at the AIRMIC (Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce) conference earlier this week.

He stressed that while to date asbestos claims have primarily been a problem for manufacturers and users of the product, such as shipyards, the increasing awareness of the dangers of incidental exposure will result in companies with no previous asbestos-related claims being exposed to such potential liabilities.

Employees such as painters, decorators and plumbers who, for instance, were working in areas where asbestos lagging or panelling had been disturbed, leaving asbestos dust in the air, are now developing asbestos-related cancers, he said.

Mr Fields explained that every industrial operation and office building in the US and UK is likely to have asbestos in it, adding that companies which have never used it in their work processes are now having claims made against them.

He warned risk managers that if they do not ensure they have details of their past insurance cover, they could be in danger of losing this asset, as normally policies require immediate notification of potential claims.

Looking to the US, he cited one example of a company which lost the potential to call on insurance cover. By the time it had investigated the problem and had established who its insurers had been during the relevant period, the cover could have been avoided on the grounds of failure to make immediate notification.

Mesothelioma |