TIG Insurance settles claim with WTC leaseholder

NEW YORK—World Trade Center developer Larry A. Silverstein said his organization has reached a $12.5 million settlement with TIG Insurance Co., one of its World Trade Center insurers.

Silverstein Properties said the settlement by TIG, a unit of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. that is in runoff, is in addition to a prior $9.1 million payment.

In 2004, a federal jury found that TIG, along with eight other insurers, could be held liable for two occurrences in the World Trade Center attacks.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York upheld that verdict in October 2006.

The settlement requires TIG to pay a full second-occurrence payment of $9.1 million, plus an additional $3.4 million of prejudgment interest, which represents 90% of Silverstein's prejudgment interest demand, according to Silverstein Properties.

Mr. Silverstein said in a statement, "This agreement is important because it will help to assure that we have all the money necessary to rebuild the World Trade Center on the super-accelerated timetable everyone wants.

"And this deal clearly demonstrates that we at Silverstein and our partners at the Port Authority are ready to settle our outstanding insurance claims on fair terms, as necessary, to keep the rebuilding on track and on schedule."

"From TIG's perspective, it's really a nonissue," a TIG spokesman said. "We disputed whether there were two occurrences, we lost that issue on appeal, and so we paid our limit" and therefore settled for the final amount.