Insurance database plan to speed up industrial disease claims

MOVES have been announced to help the thousands of people with serious industrial diseases who miss out on compensation because they cannot trace their employers' insurance records.

The Department for Work and Pensions yesterday set out plans for an electronic database of employers' insurance policies to make it easier to track records, as well as a bureau to provide funds.

DWP minister Lord McKenzie said: "Far too many people suffering from serious industrial diseases are unable to trace their insurance polices and get the compensation they deserve.

"That is why we want to set up a better tracing service with a dedicated database to help them track down these policies and a fund of last resort, if all else fails."

A number of people have been unable to make a claim as some industrial diseases only appear decades later, when employers may have ceased trading or have not kept old insurance records or lost them.

TUC general-secretary Brendan Barber said: "The creation of an employers' liability insurance bureau will be of real benefit for those who develop a disease as a result of exposure to asbestos.

"Because of the length of time between exposure to asbestos and the development of diseases such as mesothelioma, it can be very difficult to trace who the insurer was at the time of exposure.

"This means that, in many cases, someone who contracts an asbestos-related disease as a result of their employer's negligence is unable to get the compensation they are entitled to."

He said the proposals would ensure that, where an insurer cannot be traced, those who develop a disease will receive compensation in the same way someone hit by a car will get compensation where the vehicle's owner cannot be traced.