ACE and Silverstein reach WTC settlement

ACE Bermuda Insurance Ltd., a subsidiary of the ACE Ltd. (NYSE: ACE) group, has agreed to settle its property insurance claim with Silverstein Properties Inc., owners of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings devastated during the September 11 terrorist attacks. ACE says that the settlement is based upon a single occurrence event, and therefore will comprise payment of only one policy limit. Silverstein became engaged in litigation against several insurance companies after the destruction of buildings One and Two of the WTC, claiming that the attack construed two separate events, and therefore two policy payments. ACE says that the two parties have agreed to dismiss all litigation and arbitration pending between them. The insurer notes that the agreed settlement amount is within the reserve the company had established to meet claim losses arising from the WTC event.However, the ACE group’s legal battle with Silverstein continues through its Lloyd’s of London operation, ACE Global Markets, which with other syndicates remain in litigation over a claim settlement. A statement from the ACE group notes that its exposure through the Lloyd’s operation is a separate property policy, with a substantially lower limit at a much higher attachment point than the claim just settled.