$502.5 Million Settle Figure Approved For Insurer -- MesoLink.org -- 08-13-04

It has been reported that a bankruptcy court has approved a $502.5 million full and final settlement figure for St Paul Travelers Companies. The insurers have stated that the settlement applies to claims made against its Travelers Property Casualty division for asbestos related injury and diseases.

The total settlement figure is mainly to settle these asbestos claims, although a proportion of it will also go towards paying court costs. It is estimated that around $445 million will be used to fund asbestos injury claims, whilst $57.5 million goes towards funding the court costs.

Asbestos is the known cause of a deadly cancer, mesothelioma, but despite this knowledge many companies and manufacturers continued to out their employees at risk over the last century.

As a result, many of these past employees have now developed mesothelioma, which can take several decades to actually manifest.

The rising cases of this disease have spawned many law suits and compensation claims such as these, with many of the manufacturers and companies in question declaring bankruptcy after being sued for billions of dollars by the victims and their families.

The type of full and final settlement figure approved for St Paul is becoming increasingly common for companies that have a large number of lawsuits and compensation claims filed against them.