Three US insurance industry groups have sent a joint statement calling for the Senate to resist any attempt to increase insurers’ collective financial obligation for a proposed trust fund that would compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases.
Debate is scheduled to begin in the US Senate today on the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act S.2290, said a report.
If passed, the Act would replace the current litigation-based compensation system with a $114bn compensation fund financed by defendant companies and their insurers.
US insurers have repeatedly said they are unwilling to pay more that their previously agreed $46.025bn share of the fund over its projected 27-year life period
In the joint statement the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and the Reinsurance Association of America outlined their concerns with the bill.
They said they were concerned by the lack of finality, as insurers could still be sued; the lack of a clear method for determining an insurer’s contribution to the fund; and the potentially significant “orphan” share for participants due to the inability or unwillingness by some insurers to pay.
