Insurers to challenge EL trigger litigation ruling

Insurers are set to challenge a landmark court judgment handed down today that could dramatically increase their exposure to mesothelioma claims.
In a series of cases known as the Employer’s Liability Policy Trigger Litigation, the Court of Appeal upheld a high court ruling that employer’s liability policies should respond to claims that were in force at the time of the claimant’s exposure to the harmful cancer causing material instead of those in place when the disease actually developed. However, it ruled that this may not to apply to all policies.

This means that in many cases, public authorities will now have to make provisions for exposure prior to 1974 and private companies will have to meet claims if they have a pre-1972 policy in place when the claimant’s tumour began to develop.

Law firm Buller Jeffries, which acted on behalf of Zurich in the case, is planning to challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court. Buller Jeffries partner Derek Adamson said: “The next step is the Supreme Court for clarity on the wording of such policies as the outcome has massive implications for all employers, their insurers and most importantly the victims of this dreadful and fatal disease.”
Berryman Lace Mawer partner Henry Birmingham said: "The eagerly anticipated Court of Appeal judgment in the EL Trigger Litigation can only be described as complex.
“Private companies, the public sector and their insurers hoped for clarity and certainty on who was liable to compensate victims of historic asbestos exposure. However, in the extraordinary judgment which spanned more than 160 pages, the waters have been muddied somewhat. The lack of uncertainty is deeply troubling for all involved.
He added: “Insurers and their defendants will become liable for an increasing burden of claims and they will no doubt need to fill the insurance black holes that this judgment has left."