Insurance companies' hopes that the number of asbestos claims would fall have been hit by an out-of-court settlement in the US.
Several multinational companies fighting one of the largest asbestos compensation trials in US history have opted to settle out of court on the eve of hearings.
The cost of settling the case up to 11,000 people who claimed to have been exposed to the toxic mineral is said to be as a high as $3bn (£1.9bn).
The 250 companies had asked the US Supreme Court to prevent the trial from starting.
The companies have complained that they have been unable to distinguish sick claimants from those with only hypothetical injuries and were concerned that juries would award plaintiffs millions of dollars each.
Alice Cornish of Prudential Securities said: "As of Friday evening, most of the 250 defendants had settled."
