With a showdown in the Senate looming over creation of a non-exclusive asbestos claims trust fund, the insurance industry is quietly turning up the heat to thwart efforts by the Senate Judiciary Committee's leadership to pass reform legislation this year.
The bill would create an alternative claims processing system for those injured by exposure to asbestos in the workplace that would be administered through a group overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Claims would be paid from funds remaining in existing trust funds as well as contributions from defendants and insurers, for a total of some $140 billion. The money would be paid over 27.5 years. Under the bill, insurers would wind up paying approximately $45 billion–most of it in the first several years the fund is in existence.
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