Definition of "Long-tail liability"

One where an injury or other harm takes time to become known and a claim may be separated from the circumstances that caused it by as many as 25 years or more. Some examples: exposure to asbestos, which sometimes results in a lung disease called asbestos; exposure to coal dust, which might cause black lung disease; or use of certain drugs that may cause cancer or birth defects. These long-tail liabilities became very expensive for many corporations in the 1970s and 1980s, also causing problems for insurers because it was unclear when the situation that gave rise to the claim happened and who should pay the claim. One theory, the MANIFESTATION/INJURY THEORY, states that the insurer is responsible whenever the disease is diagnosed. The other view, the OCCURRENCE/INJURY THEORY, states that the insurer must pay only when the person is injured.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Irrevocable trust into which the grantor places assets and retains the income from or the use of these assets for a stipulated period of time. At the termination of this time period, the ...

Trust in which assets are controlled through several generations and makes use of generation-skipping tax exemption. ...

Coverage of a single life, in contrast to group life insurance, which covers many lives. ...

State of anxiety and distress. One goal of adequate insurance is to eliminate, or alleviate, worry on the part of a policyholder. Many people, for example, are concerned that they would not ...

Effort of a poor risk to seek insurance coverage. The onset of a health problem such as heart disease, for example, may prompt a person to apply for life insurance before seeking medical ...

Health insurance plan where a group of physicians and dentists provide medical services to a group of individuals for a predetermined fee. It is a basic type of HEALTH MAINTENANCE ...

Sum it takes to replace an insured's damaged or destroyed property with one of like kind and quality, equivalent to the actual cash value, minus physical depreciation (fair wear and tear) ...

Coverage for damage or destruction of property with relatively high monetary value, such as stock brokerage house and bank shipments, which involve the transfer of securities and monies to ...

Periodic payments to an annuitant. ...

Popular Insurance Questions