There is at present a voluntary scheme, the Tracing Code, which has helped some 20,000 claimants but it is voluntary and not comprehensive, applies only to post-1999 policies and the results are considered disappointing.
Accordingly an ELTO has been set up which will be run by Tracing Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. It is hoped that all liability carriers, including those in run-off, will be members, although membership will be voluntary. The programme will cover current as well as old policies. The scheme is to be set up over a period of two to three years. The first stage will comprise setting up the database. The second stage will involve testing and setting up a website and at the third stage additional policy information will be added, including codes for each employer. It is intended that the scheme will be fully operational by the end of 2012. Initial submission of data, from January 2011, will be voluntary but it is likely that FSA regulations will be in place, making the supply and loading of data compulsory, by April 2011. The scheme will initially cover current policies, both new and renewed. Historic policies will be added only as and when a new claim is made, as those policies are considered to be the ones most likely to give rise to further claims.
There will be no joining fee for members of the scheme but all relevant insurers will have to pay a levy, which will be based on gross written premiums. It is likely that run-off companies will not have to pay the levy as the amounts concerned would be too small to be worth collecting from run-off companies and their contributions would in any event impact on the return to their creditors if the company is insolvent.
The second issue was compensation for those who could not trace their employers or the cover. There are issues as to whether this will cover mesothelioma alone, all diseases or both diseases and accidents. It is likely that it would cover post 1972 claims only, that being the date from which EL cover was compulsory. To encourage claimants to trace their employers, and their insurers, where possible, it is likely that the compensation scheme will pay only a proportion, probably 75%, of common law damages. A Department for Work and Pensions consultation on this scheme is currently in progress.
