A US court's decision to make several Lloyd's underwriters pay $189m (£118m) to cover a US firm's future asbestos claims, could lead to sharp premium hikes. That's according to several leading insurers.
On Monday a US jury concluded that a group of Lloyd's underwriters and two American insurers must cover claims already filed against the Fuller-Austin Insulation Company, as well as future claims.
A lawyer for the London-based insurers - including units of Lloyd's - said the verdict would be appealed.
Several US insurers told Reuters that if the decision in the US were widely adopted, insurance companies would have to suddenly pay millions of dollars that they had expected to pay over decades. The Rand Institute for Civil Justice estimates that total claims for asbestos damages could rise to $250bn (£156bn).
Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, said insurers could be driven out of business and others might be forced to limit their coverage.
Hartwig said: "The verdict was certainly a negative from the insurance industry's perspective."
