Category: Clauses & wordings · Reviewed by Simon Temme, Account Executive · Last reviewed June 2026
A clause excluding cover for loss, damage, cost or liability caused by, contributed to by, or arising from asbestos in any form or any product containing asbestos, reflecting the long-tail catastrophic loss experience of the UK insurance market.
The asbestos exclusion removes cover for claims connected with asbestos, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural plaques and pleural thickening, as well as costs of asbestos removal, encapsulation, monitoring and disposal. It appears in most UK liability policies (public, products, employers’ liability), property policies and professional indemnity wordings, in varying degrees of breadth.
The exclusion arose from the cumulative asbestos liability crisis that engulfed the London and US insurance markets from the 1980s onwards. Asbestos was widely used in UK construction, shipbuilding, manufacturing and insulation from the 1880s through the 1990s. Latency periods of 20 to 60 years between exposure and disease mean that policies written decades ago continue to generate claims today. Estimated total UK asbestos losses to the insurance industry exceed GBP 15 billion, with annual mesothelioma deaths still running at around 2,500.
Employers’ liability cover remains compulsory under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and cannot exclude asbestos disease claims arising from employer exposure — the statutory minimum cover must respond. The Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) was established in 2011 to help claimants trace historic insurers. Public liability and other liability lines are not subject to the same compulsion and routinely exclude asbestos.
Property policies typically exclude asbestos removal costs unless ensuing from an insured peril (e.g., fire damage causing asbestos disturbance, where the cost of safe removal forms part of the reinstatement). Some wordings carve out “incidental” asbestos discovered during normal repair work, but most require a specific endorsement for active asbestos cover.
The exclusion is closely related to the pollution exclusion (asbestos fibres are often defined as a pollutant) and is sometimes drafted as a single combined clause.
Asbestos disease litigation in the UK has shaped exclusion drafting more than any other single risk. Key authorities include:
Statutory framework includes the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, the Compensation Act 2006 (mesothelioma joint and several liability), the Mesothelioma Act 2014 (establishing the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme for untraced employer cases), the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (HSE-enforced duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises), and the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009 (reversing Rothwell on pleural plaques in Scotland).
Market wordings: there is no single market-standard asbestos exclusion, but Lloyd’s Market Association and London Engineering Group wordings (and individual insurer drafts) typically use broad “caused by, contributed to by, arising out of, in any way involving or connected with” formulations. The wording’s breadth is critical to its effectiveness.
Drafting matters enormously. A narrow exclusion limited to claims “caused by” asbestos may not defeat a claim alleging negligent failure to manage asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, particularly where the loss is property damage rather than personal injury. A broader exclusion using “arising out of, in any way connected with, or in any way involving” is far more likely to bite.
Practical scenarios:
Employers’ liability: The exclusion does not apply to claims falling within the compulsory minimum cover (GBP 5 million per claim under the 1969 Act). Insurers may add exclusions for asbestos exposures arising after a stated date, particularly where the insured has confirmed no current asbestos use, but cannot exclude historic exposure claims under EL.
Public liability: Often excludes asbestos entirely. A landlord’s PL policy will not respond to a tenant’s mesothelioma claim alleging exposure from the building fabric. Bespoke asbestos liability cover is available from specialist insurers (Chaucer, Liberty Specialty, Hiscox).
Professional indemnity: Surveyors, architects and asbestos consultants are particularly exposed. Surveyors’ PI policies usually carry an asbestos sub-limit and bespoke aggregate, with a narrow write-back for negligent asbestos surveys. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) minimum terms require asbestos cover but allow inner limits.
Construction: Contractors’ all-risks and contract works policies exclude asbestos. A contractor who damages asbestos during demolition will find the resulting removal and remediation costs uninsured unless a specific endorsement has been negotiated.
Property damage: Where an insured peril (e.g., fire) damages a building containing asbestos, the cost of safe removal as part of reinstatement is normally covered as part of the loss — the exclusion typically does not extend to ensuing asbestos costs from an insured cause. The distinction between “active” asbestos liability and “incidental” asbestos cleanup is critical.
Pre-1965 exposure and the Pearson principle: For employers facing pre-1965 exposure claims (where asbestos risks were arguably not yet foreseeable), insurer disputes over allocation between policy periods can be complex. The Trigger Litigation [2012] UKSC 14 largely resolved these for “sustained” wording cases.
A surveying practice carries out a pre-purchase survey on a 1960s commercial building for a buyer. The surveyor’s report notes “asbestos may be present in ceiling tiles” but does not recommend a management survey. The buyer acquires the property and three years later carries out refurbishment works during which asbestos-containing materials are disturbed. Two operatives are exposed and the building is contaminated. Remediation costs are GBP 240,000; potential future bodily injury claims are reserved at GBP 1.2 million.
The buyer sues the surveyor for negligent survey. The surveyor’s professional indemnity policy contains an asbestos exclusion with a write-back for “claims arising out of negligent asbestos surveys, subject to an inner aggregate limit of GBP 250,000 and a deductible of GBP 25,000.”
The insurer accepts the claim falls within the write-back. The remediation costs claim of GBP 240,000 is admitted but capped at GBP 225,000 (after deductible). The potential bodily injury claims — currently inchoate, as no exposure-related disease has manifested — would exhaust the GBP 250,000 inner aggregate, leaving the surveyor exposed if claims later crystallise.
The example illustrates two practical brokerage points. First, even a narrow write-back creates value, but the inner aggregate must be sized against realistic exposure. Second, asbestos disease has a 20–60 year latency, so any inner aggregate may be exhausted by a single later mesothelioma claim — a fact that surveyors and their brokers must consider when assessing residual risk.
By Matt Bartlett, Director, on 2026-06-11. Next review: 2026-12-11.
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This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-11. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited, FCA FRN 724952, Companies House 07014570. Not regulated advice — consult your broker on your specific position.
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