Various media reports state that A.M. Best has issued a new (pay per view) report that projects an additional $10 billion of asbestos losses for property and casualty insurers. That brings the total projected loss to $85 billion, but that’s only for insurers. Thus, Best’s estimate excludes the massive spending by manufacturers and premises owners for asbestos claims that were not insureds, or for which the insurers have simply refused to pay claims. Thus, total asbestos expenses by now surely are at or over $100 billion. According to the reports:
"Best, the major rater of insurance companies, raised its estimated losses by $10 billion, saying that property and casualty insurers are incurring about $2 billion in losses each year while paying out $2.5 billion.
“With no end to these losses in sight … it is clear that the asbestos problem will persist for many years to come,” the New Jersey-based rating company wrote in a report."
Everyone asks: what’s the next asbestos? The answer remains: asbestos. And there will be others, too.
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