AIG and Lloyd’s to face huge claims from US lawyers
AIG and Lloyd’s may face a combined total of more than $100m in claims tied to the Washington Metro crash that killed nine people last month, Bloomberg reports.
The costs to the pool of insurers, which also includes Bermuda-based XL Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, will depend on estimates of medical care, loss of expected lifetime earnings and the degree of negligence by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The cost “will easily exceed $100m,” said Peter Grenier, a lawyer at Washington-based Bode & Grenier, who negotiated a $2.3m settlement for a man who lost his wife when she was struck by a Metro bus in 2007.
Underwriters will get tough
“Underwriting criteria will get more strict” for train coverage, said Mark Langer, managing director and transportation practice leader at New York-based broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. Insurers’ concerns about accidents may also encourage transit systems to buy new, safer equipment.
