Court tells insurers to pay asbestos victims

Asbestos victims suing engineering group Turner and Newall for compensation made an important breakthrough in the High Court in May. Insurance company Royal and Sun Alliance and a Lloyd's of London syndicate were told to compensate the former employees of the firm. The insurers had said that a policy clause excluding cover for pneumoconiosis, known as asbestosis when caused by asbestos, also applied to other diseases resulting from contact with the material. A High Court judge rejected the argument. The insurers are to seeking to appeal.