Making Better Claim Decisions

Asbestos lawsuits have clearly taken a toll on U.S. businesses, costing 52,000 to 60,000 Americans their jobs, and costing companies---61 of which have filed for bankruptcy protection--- as much as $275 billion, according to a December study commissioned by the American Insurance Association, a P&C industry trade group based in Washington. Indeed, the RAND Corp. of Santa Monica, Calif., projected in September that asbestos litigation will affect 85 percent of the U.S. economy. Those eye-popping numbers, says David Austern, general counsel of the Manville Trust and president of Claims Resolution Management Corp. in Fairfax, Va., mean that Web technology for processing claims and making decisions has become invaluable.