Michael Kent KC’s arguments for Association of British Insurers upheld by Supreme Court in Zurich v IEGL
The Supreme Court has just handed down its judgment in Zurich v IEG. A copy of the full judgment will appear on the Supreme Court website here.
The decision represents a vindication of the approach laid down in the Association of British Insurers’ 2003 Mesothelioma Guidelines which have underpinned speedy settlement of asbestos related mesothelioma claims on a “time on risk” basis but had been made redundant by the decision of the Court of Appeal which has now been overturned. The Supreme Court has now confirmed that an employers’ liability insurer has a right to obtain contribution both from other EL insurers covering different periods of risk for the same insured and from the insured itself (if solvent) in respect of periods of no (or no identifiable) insurance. Victims of mesothelioma and their families in UK cases governed by the Compensation Act 2006 are however unaffected by the decision.
