MESOTHELIOMA WHITE PAPER

InSolutions Ltd, part of Marsh Risk Consulting, has produced a white paper on mesothelioma claims, which will be of interest to a wide range of organisations.

The paper advises organisations to examine their potential exposures to asbestos-related claims ahead of a predicted peak in 2016 and highlights the range of UK occupations and industries affected.

Marsh launched its latest white paper on mesothelioma claims in London on 6^th October.

The white paper is based on a research on 15% of actual mesothelioma cases before the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice and assigned to Senior Master Whitaker, the Senior Master of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division, Royal Courts of Justice, and the Queen's Remembrancer.

The findings of the research reveal that only one-quarter of the claims analysed were found to involve organisations operating in the mechanical, electrical and process engineering industries. The rest of the cases examined emanated from claims in the chemicals industry (11%); construction (7.5%); metals and minerals (6.5%); and the electronic products, electronics and IT hardware sector (6.5%). The final settlement values in the cases reviewed ranged between £50,000 and £200,000.

Over a third of the cases examined were from 1956 to 1960, making it likely that initial exposure would have been 40 years prior to the effective start of a claim. This indicator, supported by data from the Health and Safety Executive which indicates UK mesothelioma claims are expected to peak in 2016, suggests that it is likely that affected employees will have been exposed to asbestos between the late 1960s and mid 1970s.

The white paper also contains special commentary from:

• Senior Master Whitaker on UK court handling
• Covington & Burling LLP on the legal implications
• A Case study from Polestar; and
• Our own Risk Management Practice claims team on the claims handling process.

Ian Pelham, Managing Consultant at InSolutions, who oversaw the research project commented: “Marsh's research highlights that few, if any, industries are immune to the possibility of mesothelioma claims arising from past employment practices.

“Mergers and acquisitions in the second half of the 20^th century, followed by a contraction back to ‘core business', has resulted in many organisations now being unaware of their potential exposures to asbestos-related claims.

“With the fast track approach to claims, championed by Senior Master Whitaker, in place in the courts companies now have a very limited time window to locate their legacy employers' liability coverage, once they received notice of a potential claim.

“If companies have not yet investigated their potential future liabilities, it would be prudent to do so now. They should ensure that they review and understand their corporate histories and that, where available, they catalogue copies of their old employers' liability policies and store them safely. If a company becomes aware of a potential gap in its insurance record relating to a site that might give rise to a mesothelioma claim, it is advised to investigate whether the insurers from that period can be found.”

If you would like a copy of the white paper or are aware that mesothelioma or asbestos related claims is an issue for your clients, please contact Ian.Pelham@insolutionsworld.com or Vivian Wong, at vivian.x.wong@marsh.com.