Equitas to offer ex-gratia mesothelioma payments

LIoyd’s insurer Equitas will make payments to mesothelioma victims in situations where they would have been covered under a LIoyd’s policy but the employer no longer exists or cannot be traced.

The insurer was responding to a controversial ruling today by the Court of Appeal that held that employers’ liability policies should respond to mesothelioma claims based upon different policy wordings.

An Equitas spokesman said: “This decision is primarily an issue between employers and their insurers. However, a consequence of the ruling is that there will be some mesothelioma victims, both now and in the future, who may not receive compensation because the employer responsible is no longer in existence and there is no insurance that will respond.

“Equitas has made the decision that for mesothelioma victims in this position, where they would previously have been compensated by a Lloyd's of London policy for which Equitas is responsible; it intends to make payments, calculated in the same manner as previously, on an ex-gratia basis.”