Asbestos Bill To Go To Senate Floor In March, Frist Says

Gary Karr, a representative of the Washington-based American Insurance Association, praised Sen. Frists statement, saying it shows a high level of interest among the Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle in resolving the asbestos issue.

He particularly praised Sen. Frist for setting a deadline for bringing the legislation to the floor of the Senate. Setting a deadline, Mr. Karr said, seems to be the best way to get things done with this legislation.

Marliss Browder, federal affairs representative with the Indianapolis-based National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, commended the Senate leadership, both Republican and Democratic, for their efforts on asbestos reform, adding that she looks forward to working with them on a bill that will be acceptable to all parties.

Anne Sittmann, a representative of the Des Plaines, Ill.-based National Association of Independent Insurers, said that NAII has been working with interested parties in the hope of reaching an agreement that would adhere to the core principles of certainty, finality, equity, efficiency and affordability.

"Ending this year without remedial legislation is of great concern," she said, "and we hope that strong efforts will be made early next year to enact reforms for the sake of the economy and victims of asbestos-related claims."

In his statement, Sen. Frist said that any final legislation must honor certain core principles. First, he said, the bill must establish a trust fund that adequately compensates all victims while providing financial certainty and finality to the business community.

Second, he said, the bill must establish consistent and equitable claims values, which is the amount that will be paid for different asbestos-related diseases.

Third, Sen. Frist said, the fund must be a non-adversarial program that ensures prompt payment while minimizing transaction fees.

Fourth, he said, the medical criteria for diagnosing asbestos-related illnesses currently contained in S. 1125 must be preserved.

Finally, Sen. Frist said, the legislation must assure that if the fund runs out of money before all claims are paid, the remaining claims can be pursued in court, subject to certain tort reforms.

He urged all his colleagues to be reasonable and not insist on a "perfect solution."

"We must not let this historic opportunity to enact fair and meaningful reform pass in order to pursue a perfect solution that is unachievable," Sen. Frist said.

The Senate has been deadlocked on asbestos litigation reform largely over the size of the trust fund. Manufacturing and insurance groups support a fund of about $110 billion, with insurance companies contributing about $46 billion of that amount.

Insurers say that they cannot afford a liability greater than $46 billion.

Labor groups, however, say that the fund should be significantly larger, approximately $154 billion.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, November 26, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.