The Court of Appeal has issued a significant judgement relating to public liability cover.
It has upheld an earlier ruling by the High Court that compensation must be made by the public liability insurer covering the victim at the time that asbestos-related mesothelioma develops, rather than the insurer covering the victim at the time that the fibres were ingested.
The ruling related to the case of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council vs. Municipal Mutual Insurance (MMI) and Commercial Union Assurance. MMI has been ordered to indemnify Bolton Council as it provided cover at the time that the symptoms developed.
The High Court had earlier indicated that the phrase "bodily injury or illness" in the policy wording did not include inhalation.
However, Lord Justice Longmore pointed out that this ruling did not discount reaching a "multiple trigger" verdict in other cases, whereby both insurers would prove liable.
