With the asbestos liability problem looming large in the United Kingdom–almost certainly the second-largest in the world next to that of the United States–the English High Court this month will determine trigger points for various employers' liability policies. While the U.K.'s problem is not as serious as that in the United States in some respects, it is worse in others.

The U.K. Health and Safety Executive estimates that the number of deaths from mesothelioma will not peak in the United Kingdom until between 2011 and 2015–at around 2,500 deaths annually. This is the same fatality rate as in the United States–but with a population that is only one-fifth the size.

The U.K. problem is at an earlier stage of development than in the United States. In terms of time, the United Kingdom is probably halfway through its asbestos liability problem, although between 75 percent and 90 percent of U.K. asbestos liability costs lie in the future.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.