Liability Lurks in Obesity Epidemic

There are countless factors that go into emerging liability risk assessment. But at a high level, a systemic event typically has followed this track:

Company (or Industry) X is alleged to transgress in its operations.
Injuries ensue, and a large cohort of individuals coalesce into a class action.
The risk ‘emerges’ with a payout of hundreds of millions or sometimes even billions of dollars.

Risk managers and insurance carriers must monitor emerging risks that can pose a threat to the balance sheet of their companies as a result of this type of event. One of these areas of concern has been the obesity epidemic, in part due to a staggering 42% of Americans now being considered obese, a stark increase from 15% in the late 1970s.