Asbestos sufferers fund on government agenda
Published: 05:50PM BST 19 Jan 2012
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Sara Hunt
Although it's now nearly two years after the report, the Government has confirmed that a fund for asbestos sufferers is still on the agenda, and it is understood Department for Work and Pensions minister Lord Freud is in negotiations with the insurance industry.
Access Legal from Shoosmiths submitted a reply to the 2010 consultation supporting the introduction of an Employer's Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB) that would be funded by the insurance industry.
As asbestos related illnesses can take many years to develop; sometimes up to 50 years after the exposure.
When a sufferer comes to claim, the company they worked for at the time of exposure has frequently ceased to exist, records have been lost, and it's difficult to find the company's insurer.
With more than 2,000 people a year dying from mesothelioma – an asbestos related cancer – it's important that victims aren't denied the right to claim compensation because an insurer can't be found to pay out on the claim.
The proposed ELIB would operate in a very similar way to the Motor Insurance Bureau, which ensures that victims of road traffic accidents are compensated where the driver at fault is uninsured.
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