Insurers applaud Lords' decision on pleural plaques

Zurich and the ABI have responded to the House of Lords decision to rule against compensating claimants who have developed pleural plaques.

Steve Thomas, technical claims manager at Zurich said: “In 2004 Zurich decided to bring about this test case because recent advances in medical evidence showed that pleural plaques are not a disease and they do not cause any symptoms. Furthermore, they do not develop into any other condition such as lung cancer or mesothelioma.

"The insurance industry has a responsibility to compensate people who’ve 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. The House of Lords decision today upholds this philosophy.

“Insurers want to ensure that those people who suffer illness or injury as a result of negligence by their employers receive the compensation they are due and therefore individuals with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related conditions will continue to be entitled to compensation, which they are legally due. It must be our priority to continue to deal with injured claimants such as these as quickly and as fairly as possible."

Stephen Haddrill, director general of the ABI added: “The insurance industry is fully committed to paying compensation to claimants who suffer from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

“This judgment on pleural plaques is not concerned with those diseases. The House of Lords has unanimously upheld the Court of Appeal ruling that pleural plaques are not compensatable because they have no effect on health or ability to work, produce no symptoms and do not cause other asbestos-related diseases.”