Berkley Re Asia Pacific CEO Glen Riddell has flagged the rising trend of employment related worker-to-worker liability claims in a video discussion. 

In the latest episode of Berkley Re’s On the Couch, Mr Riddell explores significant data trends alongside Estelle Pearson from Finity.  

The discussion highlights several key findings: 

• Labour hire staff: while businesses may believe they have contracted out their responsibilities through using labour hire staff, they can still be held liable years later if a labour hire employee gets injured. 
• Complex claim dynamics: worker-to-worker general liability claims are not only increasing but are also delayed and more expensive. Insurers often only discover about half of these claims before three years after the accident, and the average size of such claims is considerably higher than other bodily injury claims. 
• Industry vulnerability: particularly exposed industries include construction, transport, storage, communication services, and mining. 
• Post-covid impact: the aftermath of covid has seen businesses opt for flexibility, leading to an increase in contracted staff and thereby potentially amplifying these types of claims. 

"From an actuarial perspective, the uncertainty regarding the number and nature of claims, combined with their complex nature, makes them exceptionally challenging to manage," Ms Pearson said. 

Click here to watch the video.