AUSTRALIA'S green movement received an unlikely boost in its fight against genetically modified crops last week when the insurance industry admitted it was reluctant to cover the biotechnology industry against litigation.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has said that it is loath to insure farmers, biotechnology and food companies for claims involving GM foods.
It would mean farmers growing GM crops at their own risk, leaving them personally liable for any future damages claims.
The Weekly Times newspaper reported that the insurance industry feared a repeat of the situation similar to the Wittenoom asbestos disaster, in which mining companies were sued for millions of dollars in damages by workers who contracted cancer years after being exposed to the deadly mineral.
The insurance council believes "the unforeseen risks of genetically modified foods may be too high for insurers".
The newspaper said insurers were wary of lawsuits involving consumers claiming allergic reactions to GM foods, contamination of non-GM crops and the development of mutant herbicide-resistant weeds.
The insurance council said, because the technology is new and complex, there is no way of assessing the risk of damages claims arising in the future and therefore no way of setting insurance premiums.
"It is such a new technology, it is virtually impossible to assess the risks down the track," ICA spokesman Rod Frail said.
And defending GM claims in court could prove difficult because of the complexity of the technology, the ICA said.
Two of Australia's biggest farm insurers, CGU and Elders, confirmed their uneasiness with GM crops to the Weekly Times.
"GM technology is still in its infancy and research on any direct or indirect impacts is far from conclusive," CGU spokesman Chris Jackson told the paper.
Mr Jackson said farmers who intend to grow a GM crop should declare it and cover would be "assessed on its merits".
Elders national insurance manager Kim Perrin said farmers should not assume they were automatically covered under their normal public liability policies, and should check with insurers before proceeding with GM crops.
Product liability lawyer David Poulton, from Minter Ellison, told the Weekly Times that insurance companies were likely to insert exclusion clauses in policies or decline to cover the risks associated with biotechnology altogether.
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