Cumulative Exposure

What Is Cumulative Exposure?

In the insurance industry, the term "cumulative exposure" alludes to circumstances in which a policyholder has been presented to a hazard or source of damages over an extended period of time.

In these circumstances, the policyholder may not become aware that they have been impacted until long after the hazard previously appeared. This can lead to convoluted legal debates in which the insurance company and policyholder differ about which party is responsible for the connected damages.

How Cumulative Exposure Works

Generally, policyholders can undoubtedly determine when they have been presented to a source of damages that could provoke them to file a claim. For instance, a home insurance policyholder would be aware to file a claim on the off chance that they see that their home has been burgled. Similarly, a [auto insurance](/collision protection) holder would file a claim not long after being engaged with an accident. These cases are in this manner generally simple to process according to the viewpoint of the insurance company, since the nature and timing of the incidents included are clear and happen presently before the claim is filed.

Cumulative exposure, then again, offers more room for conflict. For example, in the event that a health care coverage holder is presented to toxic synthetic substances in their environment over a period of numerous years, it very well might be challenging for them to determine what caused the illness when they are finishing up their insurance claim. All things considered, the insurance company could contend that it was an alternate factor, like the policyholder's lifestyle or hereditary qualities, that caused the sickness, or that the exposure to toxic synthetics happened before or after the term of the insurance policy.

Another area where cumulative exposure is frequently examined is comparable to workers' compensation insurance claims. Customarily, workers will foster afflictions that outcome from dull tasks spread out over their careers. Carpal passage syndrome, for instance, has become progressively common in recent years as a developing percentage of workers are employed in office occupations including composing and other tedious manual tasks. This condition, which includes possibly extreme pain in the hands and arms and a reduction of muscle control, has prompted a huge number of insurance claims under workers' compensation policies. In spite of the fact that policyholders could contend that their office work presented them to cumulative exposure eventually leading to their illness, their insurance companies could contend that the condition was brought about or exacerbated by different factors, for example, heftiness or monotonous tasks performed outside of work hours.

Certifiable Example of Cumulative Exposure

A recent illustration of cumulative exposure occurred in 2018. In that case, the offended party contended that the decedent's dad was presented to the asbestos-loaded garments of her dad, who was employed as a circuit tester, with extra exposure occurring over numerous long stretches of supplanting the brakes on the family cars.

The brakes being referred to were manufactured by the American multinational firm, Honeywell International Inc. (HON), leading the offended party to charge that the company was responsible for this cumulative exposure to asbestos. Albeit a jury initially favored the offended party, finding Honeywell to some degree at risk, this decision was subsequently switched on appeal.

Features

• Cumulative exposure can make it challenging to determine whether the insurance company is to blame for damages, since the timing and source of the exposure is frequently muddled.
• Cumulative exposure is a term utilized in the insurance industry that connects with circumstances where damages have been supported over the long run, like on account of slow exposure to poisons or different sources of illness.