UK High Court says asbestos-related, pleural plaque claims not compensable

United Kingdom insurers are welcoming a decision by the United Kingdoms highest court, The House of Lords, which found that the existence of asbestos-related pleural plaques is not grounds for compensation by insurers.The House of Lords also ruled that a psychiatric ailment caused by worrying about pleural plaques is not sufficient to justify a demand for compensation, according to A.M. Bests BestWeek U.K.Proof of damage is an essential element in a claim of negligence, wrote Lord Leonard Hoffman, a member of the court. And, in my opinion, the symptomless plaques are not compensable damage.BestWeek interviewed a number of U.K. insurers about The House of Lords unanimous decision, which upheld a 2006 decision by the U.K. Court of Appeal. Zurich and Norwich Union engaged the court with a test case.BestWeek quoted a release from Zurich, which said the courts decision upheld the duty of insurers to compensate people whove suffered an injury and not to pay out policyholders money for a condition that causes no symptoms and that cannot develop into any other condition such as lung cancer or mesothelioma.We welcome it, David Ross a Norwich Union spokesman is quoted as saying about the decision in BestWeek. Ross told BestWeek the U.K. insurance industry had put aside an estimated 1.5 billion pounds (Cdn$2.98 billion) to pay pleural plaque claims over the next 25 years. Pleural plaques involve asbestos-related scars to the interior of the lung.