WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT 1987 - SECT 18 Special insurance provisions relating to occupational diseases

WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT 1987 - SECT 18

18 Special insurance provisions relating to occupational diseases

(cf former s 18 (6A)-(6C))

(1) If an employer has become liable under section 15 (1) (b) or 16 (1) (b) to pay compensation to a worker in respect of an injury and the time at which the injury is deemed to have happened is after the worker ceased to be employed by the employer, the liability of the employer is, despite sections 15 and 16, taken to have arisen immediately before the worker ceased to be employed by the employer. This subsection operates only for the purpose of determining whether any insurer or which of 2 or more insurers is liable under a policy of insurance in respect of that compensation.

(2) Where--

(a) an employer (in this subsection referred to as
"the contributor" ) has become liable under this Act to make a contribution to another employer towards compensation payable by that other employer in respect of an injury to a worker (being an injury referred to in section 15, 16 or 17), and

(b) on the last day of the period in respect of which the contributor was liable to make the contribution, the contributor was maintaining in force a policy of insurance,

the insurer under that policy is--

(c) directly liable, with the contributor, to pay the contribution to the employer who is liable to pay the compensation, and

(d) liable to indemnify the contributor to the extent that the contributor pays the contribution.

(3) In a case to which section 15, 16 or 17 applies, if each of the employers who is liable to pay the compensation or to make a contribution under the section concerned is insured in respect of that liability by an insurer who is an insurer within the meaning of Division 4 of Part 7 and the entitlement of the worker (or other claimant) to receive compensation is not disputed--

(a) a contribution that would otherwise be payable by an employer under section 15, 16 or 17 in respect of the claim is not payable, and

(b) for the purposes of calculating an insurance premium payable by any of those employers, their claims histories are to be determined on the assumption that any contribution that would have been payable but for paragraph (a) was payable.