Tracing insurers

An employee who is injured at work and who obtains a judgment against his insolvent or struck off employer is entitled to seek to enforce that judgment by bringing an action against the employer’s liability insurers under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (now 2010). Under the 2010 Act there is an obligation on the employer and any relevant third party (eg, a broker) to provide insurance information to the employee so that it becomes possible for the employee to trace and bring an action against the relevant insurer. However, serious problems remain: tracing is not always easy; and an employee has no recourse if the employer is uninsured. These matters are addressed in a Consultation Paper issued by the Department of Work and Pensions in February 2010.

Tracing insurers

The problems that may be faced by an employee in tracking down the employer’s insurers are exemplified by the recent decision in Hall v Newall Heating Ltd and AGF Insurance Ltd, 15 April 2010. The claimant was employed by the first defendant in the period 1967 to 1974, and he was during his employment exposed to asbestos. Subsequently he contracted mesothelioma. He obtained a default judgment against the first defendant in September 2009, with damages to be assessed. The first defendant was insolvent, and the claimant sought to make a claim against the second defendant insurers under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930, who the claimant asserted were successors in title to the first defendant’s liability insurers. The claim was dismissed. The judge found that there was no evidence that the first defendant was insured against liability by the insurers, and that the policy issued by them simply covered property damage.