Employees who have become ill because they have worked with hazardous substances can hold their employer liable for this and claim compensation. Well-known occupational diseases are, for example, mesothelioma or asbestosis that employees have contracted because they have worked with asbestos. The settlement of these types of cases often takes a very long time. This is detrimental to all parties involved. That is why liability insurers, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Personal Injury Council and the Institute for Asbestos Victims, are jointly considering solutions to speed up the process.

Safety in the workplace is and remains an important theme, which is also increasingly high on the agenda politically. There has been an increase in the number of occupational accidents, while much can be prevented by taking good precautions. Many, especially smaller, companies do not yet have an RI&E (r isico inventory and evaluation). The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has therefore started the Impulse RI&E programme. Liability insurers participate in the ministry's expert group and investigate how insurers can further stimulate safety in the workplace.

In this context, the Dutch Association of Insurers has contributed to the RI&E step-by-step plan, which was recently made public. The purpose of this step-by-step plan is to help smaller companies in particular to draw up an RI&E and to make them aware of the fact that an RI&E can prevent a lot of suffering.