WTC ruling favors most insurers

The jury is still out for Swiss Re, but many of the insurers on the World Trade Center (WTC) policy have received a positive verdict from a Manhattan jury. The jury said that many of the insurers, including Lloyd’s, are subject to the Wilprop policy form a form which defines the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the WTC towers as one insurable event.WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein had argued the attacks should be considered two events, thus doubling his US$3.5 billion policy limit. Some insurers may still have to pay double their individual limits, with the jury ruling against three insurers Zurich American, Royal Indemnity and Twin City Fire Insurance. The jury was not charged with determining which policy form applies to these insurers, only to give a “yea” or “nay” with respect to the Wilprop form.Swiss Re, which carries the lion’s share of the coverage at almost US$900 million, was not part of the verdict, with the jury saying its was unable to come to a unanimous decision in that particular case. The judge in the case has sent the jury back to deliberate Swiss Re’s fate.The trial is just the first phase in determining coverage while the Wilprop form would seem to define the attacks as one event, the one- versus two-event dilemma will be determine at a future trial, along with the fate of Travelers Property Casualty and other insurers bound by a Travelers property form. The Travelers form does not clearly define “occurrence” for coverage purposes.