§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance companies honour asbestos-related claims. [154269]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonInsurance Companies are under a contractual obligation to meet a claim made by a policyholder where this falls within the terms of a contractual policy agreement. The Policyholders Protection Act 1975 has been established to protect the interests of policyholders of insolvent insurance companies.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the insurance industry about(a) the sufficiency of their funding for the Policyholders Protection Board to fully compensate those suffering from asbestos-related diseases and (b) about safeguarding those suffering from asbestos-related diseases who were in contact with asbestos before 1972 and who are not safeguarded under the terms of the present Policyholders Protection Board. [154222]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonUnder the Policyholders Protection Act 1975, the Policyholders Protection Board may impose levies on authorised insurance companies carrying on business in the UK to meet the liabilities of the board incurred in assisting or protecting policyholders under that Act.
As I said in Westminster Hall on 6 March 2001, Official Report, column 47WH, the insolvency of Chester Street Holdings Ltd. does not affect the liability of an employer to its employees or former employees. We are investigating carefully the position of employees whose employers no longer exist.