Norwich Union has slammed the government for failing to tackle the crisis in the employers' liability market.
The insurer attacked the government for "failing to accept" the need for reform in the market for employers' liability cover.
The insurer complained that the employers' liability system forces insurers to price on "an open-ended commitment to pay future claims".
An NU spokesman told the FT: "No insurer has sufficient foresight to predict the future source of claims, cost of claims and legal changes. Yet, when a claim eventually comes to court, judges will operate with the benefit of hindsight to make decisions, which can potentially bankrupt insurers.
"No one can say with confidence there will not be another asbestos, and without reform, the employers' liability system would allow any such issue to be transferred to insurers' balance sheets, with potential and predictable consequences for solvency."
Norwich Union also attacked the government over its "failure" to address the "polluter pays" principle, claiming it cannot be applied to long-tail diseases.
An NU spokesman said: "For a disease like asbestosis not only might the individual firm no longer be in operation when the claim arises, but a whole industry may have virtually disappeared. The polluter can be identified but no longer exists - how does the principle of polluter pays operate in these circumstances?"
