Insurers Working On Deal With Asbestos Exposed Fir
Washington, DC, Sept. 17--Shares of companies exposed to asbestos litigation rose Tuesday amid speculation that defendant companies had reached a deal with insurers on sticking points in proposed federal asbestos legislation.
It's too early to speculate, although some individual companies on both sides of the issues have been talking, an insurance trade group spokeswoman said.
"They are probably reacting to the fact that some people are saying that there is a deal between insurers and defendant companies, and that's premature," said Julie Rochman, spokeswoman for the American Insurance Association.
"At this point there is no formal deal between the insurance industry and defendant companies, although there have been some discussions among individual companies," she said. "There have been a handful of insurance companies and a handful of defendant companies who have been talking."
At issue is legislation to limit asbestos-liability lawsuits and establish a fund to pay claims of those made ill by asbestos.
Among companies with exposure to asbestos claims, USG Corp. shares climbed $1.09, or 6.4%, to $17.99, while Crown Holdings Inc. rose 10 cents, or 1.4%, to $7.10. W.R. Grace & Co. shares traded up 18 cents, or 4.8%, to $3.98, and Georgia-Pacific Corp. rose 71 cents, or 2.8%, to $25.21. Enpro Industries Inc. shares climbed 38 cents, or 3.6%, to $10.95.
Georgia-Pacific shares hit a 52-week high of $25.96, surpassing the previous peak of $24.89 set Monday.
The American Insurance Association's Rochman noted that organized labor would have to sign off on any deal that insurers and asbestos liability-exposed companies might strike.
"For any legislation to stand a chance of enactment would really require the acquiescence of all three of those parties," she said.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, and other lawmakers would need to put together a plan to bring a bill to the Senate floor soon, she said. People on all sides want a bill, "but time is short and the bill as it came out of committee is a nonstarter," said Rochman.
The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act, as approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, failed to fulfill its original promises, including making the trust fund the exclusive remedy for all claims, providing finality and certainty, according to the insurance group's Rochman.
Among other matters, parties have also disagreed on the specifics of financing the trust fund that the bill would establish. Insurers and asbestos-defendant companies would contribute to the fund.
