from the insurance journal

[Guest guest]

fund for asbestos sufferers keeps victims out of court. (?)

ASBESTOS BILL A GOOD START, BUT MORE PROTECTIONS NEEDED

Big “I†expresses concerns about potential insolvency, return to court

system

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 11—The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of

America (the Big “Iâ€) applauds Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen

Specter

(R-Pa.) for moving quickly to hold hearings on proposed asbestos

legislation, but would like to see additional protections added to insulate

insurers and

manufacturers against potential insolvency and to avoid putting asbestos

cases back into the court system.

The Big “I†joined today with several industry partners to address these

concerns in a hearing before the Judiciary Committee on the Fairness in

Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR) Act. Specifically, the industry coalition

seeks

fairness in funding, with insurers paying appropriate amounts toward a proposed

trust fund, as well as a national solution providing finality and certainty,

with no leakage back into the tort system.

“We are gratified to see Chairman Specter take action quickly on this issue,

and we hope to work with him and the committee to ensure that any areas of

concern can be remedied to the satisfaction of all parties,†says E.

Symington Jr., Big “I†senior vice president of federal government affairs.

On the first point, the industry coalition expresses concern that the most

recent draft of the asbestos litigation legislation contains no aggregate

payment levels, which makes it impossible to determine the cost of the proposed

trust fund. Insurers are pledged to pay in a maximum of $46 billion to the

trust fund. The industry partners also note that they are concerned about

paying

these massive contributions into the trust fund when the proposed

legislation leaves the door open for a potential return to the legal system.

“It is very important that the funding proposal be fair and explicitly

stated, so that insurers do not risk being on the hook for more money than was

envisioned all along,†Symington says. “We also believe policymakers should

not

require insurers to pay vast sums into a trust fund that may not provide a

final resolution to the problem.â€

Regarding the latter point, the Big “I†and its industry partners seek

provisions that would avoid the reversion of claims to the courts. The

coalition

suggests that the bill should clearly terminate the litigation system and

provide for timely implementation of the trust fund, to avoid any potential

reasons for a return to the tort system. This is important not only to provide

fairness and certainty to those paying compensation, but also to provide timely

justice to individuals who truly have been injured.

Founded in 1896, the Big “I†is the nation’s oldest and largest national

association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network

of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its

members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety

of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer property and

casualty insurance, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web

address:

_www.independentagent.com_ (http://www.independentagent.com/) .

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