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

request by an insured for indemnification by an insurance company for loss incurred from an insured peril. ...

Form of state rating legislation that allows each property/liability insurer to choose between using rates set by a bureau or its own rates. Individual states regulate insurers and approve ...

1890 law prohibiting monopolies and restraint of trade in interstate commerce. The Sherman Act was strengthened in 1914 with amendments known as the Clayton Act that added further ...

Premiums paid with funds that are not borrowed from life insurance. It is important to ascertain the finance charges and the costs/benefits of such a transaction. ...

Arrangement, often funded by life insurance, to continue an employee's salary in the form of payments to a beneficiary for a certain period after the employee's death. The employer itself ...

Termination of a plan. Under federal tax law, a plan can only be terminated for reasons of business necessity. Otherwise, prior employer tax deductible contributions under the plan are ...

Amount of insurance remaining on a ceding company's books, net of the amount reinsured. ...

Actuarial procedure used to determine the annual rate of return at which annual benefits would have to be gained from the cash value life insurance policy in order to equal the annual ...

Maintenance of Social Security benefits at current dollar or percentage levels. Social Security benefits are indexed to the Consumer Price Index and rise in tandem with the Index. A benefit ...

Popular Insurance Questions