Insurance Archaeology

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Finding a guilty employer or their insurer represents a major difficulty for long-tail industrial disease Claimants.

In cases of indivisible injuries such as mesothelioma and (arguably) lung cancer, it is often vital that an employer and/or their insurer is traced in order to have someone to bring the action against. Clients are often faced with cases where there is negligent exposure by one or more employers, but they have ceased to exist and it is usually up to the Claimant’s solicitor to trace at least one insurer to fund the settlement.

However, tracing just one employer and/or their insurer can be extremely difficult, given that employers were not obliged to have in place Employer’s Liability insurance until 1 January 1972 (which was made compulsory following the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969). Even then, the process would be made easier if companies or their insurers kept proper historical records, but they did not. Insurance policies were not indexed alphabetically but by their policy number. Many old insurers have ceased to exist or have been swallowed up by larger insurers. Records have been lost or not retained properly due to the passage of time.

Zen Law Solicitors are specialists in deconstructing and tracing the Employer’s Liability insurance history of any employer who negligently exposed its employees to harmful substances or noise throughout the 1960’s to present. Our lawyers have a proven track record in undertaking painstaking investigations to unearth the necessary Employer’s Liability insurance cover and ensure that there is a guilty party to bring to justice.

We also provide assistance to other Claimant solicitors with their investigations as we passionately believe that someone who has suffered from an industrial disease should be properly compensated. All too often, a suffering client is told by their firm that they were unsuccessful in tracing the guilty party and that they cannot therefore pursue their claim for compensation.

We provide a service of last resort to other Claimant firms in order to resurrect claims and help clients to rightfully pursue their claim for compensation. If you have been diagnosed with an industrial disease, please complete our Online Enquiry Form and one of our lawyers will contact you to discuss your claim.

There are existing insurance tracing companies who specialise in this area, although they are extremely expensive and require payment up front. If you are an industrial disease firm which has numerous ‘closed’ files due to unsuccessful tracing of either a Defendant or an insurer, feel free to e-mail us at insurance@zenlaw.co.uk to find out how we can help you. Potentially, you will be able to continue with the claim(s) and achieve compensation for your client and also recoup your costs of doing so.

We continually assist Claimants to receive the compensation they rightfully deserve and fight on fearlessly to ensure that justice is done in each case.

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