The U.K. insurance industry is expected to face half this cost, according to the groups' findings, which were based on new data collected from employers-liability and general-liability policy information from 15 major U.K. insurers.

The report found that more than half of this projected sum would be for mesothelioma claims, which will continue to rise over the next ten years. Claims for other asbestos-related diseases?such as asbestosis?will fall, reflecting the declining use of asbestos in the U.K. since the 1970s, the report said.

"Asbestos is certainly not yesterday's problem," said Julian Lowe, who carried out the research for the Faculty of Actuaries and the Institute of Actuaries.

But, he said, what is more alarming about the asbestos situation is that this problem continues to grow unabated in many parts of the world despite the lessons learned from Western Europe and North America.

Mr. Lowe observed that while the asbestos consumption and manufacture has fallen five-fold in North America and Western Europe since 1960, its use has actually continued to expand in parts of Eastern Europe and Asia.

"Perhaps of more concern are the appalling demographic and social consequences of asbestos manufacture and use that will inevitably be seen in the developing world over the next 30-to-50 years," Ms. Lowe warned.

He said "urgent action needs to be taken by the international community to help those nations learn the lessons of Western Europe and North America."

The full report, titled "U.K. Asbestos-The Definitive Guide," can be found at www.actuaries.org.uk/files/pdf/proceedings/giro2004/Lowe.pdf.