The overall size of liability claims is increasing year after year. Growing literacy levels have increased the consciousness of rights. The article discusses the factors which contribute to liability claims and the responsibilities of a citizen towards third parties and others.

The movement of population from rural to urban areas, and the creation of a modern industrial society through urbanization, has significantly changed the lifestyles, aspirations and patterns of coexistence of various sections of the national society. Living in a new world both the individual and the entrepreneur run a disproportionately higher risk of causing damage to others or suffer damage themselves in the form of personal injuries, property damage and purely financial losses.

With rising levels of prosperity, they have begun to evince keen interest both in seeking protection for claims made against them by third parties and for seeking damages for which others may have been responsible for negligent or careless acts. Insurers have met the demand for general liability insurance, a product of our modern times, in full measure. The overall size of general liability claims in the 10 big non-life insurance markets was US$84 bn in 2002, about 16% of total non-life insurance claims, and 0.37% of GDP of these countries. As the motor market is larger than that of general and commercial liability, its claims of US$152 bn were almost double the size of general liability claims. The total non-life claims of these 10 countries were US$522 bn. Product Liability, Medical Malpractice, D&O, E&O and Employment Protection Liability covers have pushed up the claims ratio (Sigma , June 2004).

Insurance Chronicle Magazine, General Liability Insurance, Urbanization, Non-life Insurance Markets, Employment Protection Liability, Information Asymmetries, Liability Risks, Liability Policies, Liability Insurance, Contractual Liability, Public Misrepresentation, Financial Transactions, Punitive Damages, Product Liability Insurance.