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Article: 'Frivolous asbestos claims' are a serious matter for Names
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- February 20, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2005 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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In his recent State of the Union message President Bush singled
out as a serious threat to the US economy what he called the
distortion of justice created by ``frivolous asbestos claims''. A
Bill before the US Senate proposes the setting up of a pounds 75
billion fund to limit the exposure of the insurance industry to a
flood of such claims, most paid to people who cannot produce evidence
of actual damage to their health.
In Britain the Bill has provoked alarm from Equitas, the body set
up to represent those Lloyd's Names that were so badly hit in the
1990s. The effect of the legislation is that they will be the only
insurers in the world to be excluded from the US protection scheme. ...