InsuranceNewsNet
May 24, 2007
"The nearly six year long legal wrangling between Silverstein Properties and seven insurance companies finally ended with the biggest settlement agreement in regulatory history: $2 billion.
The agreement, which covers all outstanding insurance claims arising from the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, was reached through the collaborative efforts headed by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo.
The insurance providers involved in the agreement include Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Co., Zurich American Insurance Co., Industrial Risk Insurers, Travelers Companies, Inc., Swiss Reinsurance Co., Employers Insurance Company of Wausau and Royal Indemnity Co.
Silverstein Properties, Inc. leased the World Trade Center from the Port Authority in July 2001. Because insurance policies for the property had not been finalized when they were destroyed lawsuits were filed to resolve disagreement over how much the insurance companies should pay.
The courts ruled Silverstein Properties was entitled to collect $4.68 billion but insurance companies paid only half of the amount while the rest remained under dispute.
The dispute, which came nearly five years after the terrorist attacks, threatened the redevelopment at Ground Zero. This prompted City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to issue a statement calling on the six insurers to pay the $1.5 billion they owe for the reconstruction.
Bloomberg sent a letter to the providers involved in the dispute calling the tactic an obstacle to progress and urged them to avoid deploying legalistic delays and hairsplitting.
Silverstein Properties added that reconstruction at Ground Zero was a universal goal shared by everyone except the involved insurance companies that refuse to own up to their moral and legal obligations."
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