Estimated Cost of Mesothelioma Lawsuits for Insurers in U.K. Doubles

Actuaries in the United Kingdom are doubling earlier predictions about the potential cost of asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits, estimating that $17.7 billion in asbestos-related claims will be filed between now and 2050.

The new numbers, provided last month by the U.K. Asbestos Working Party (PDF), is more than twice that of the $7.57 billion estimate it made in 2004. The group, part of the Actuary Profession association, estimated that 90% of all asbestos claims filed with insurance companies will be related to cases of mesothelioma cancer.

The group said that the number of mesothelioma sufferers who would make claims was underestimated in 2004, when claims from people with mesothelioma only accounted for one-third of all insurance claims. Since then, that percentage has skyrocketed to two-thirds and continues to rise.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer found in the lining of the chest and lung. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure, and it is often not diagnosed for 20 to 40 years after exposure. As a result of the long latency period, the cancer is very advanced when it is diagnosed and life expectancy with the disease is limited.

Asbestos was widely used in a variety of manufacturing and construction applications throughout the last century, with use peaking in 1973. Most uses of asbestos were banned in the United States in the mid-1980s. Despite the ban, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the number of mesothelioma deaths continues to rise each year due to the latency period, with the number expected to peak in 2010.

Asbestos litigation is the longest running mass tort in U.S. history, with the first asbestos exposure case filed in 1929. Over 600,000 people have filed lawsuits against 6,000 defendants after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or other asbestos-related diseases.