QBE Insurance settles shareholder class action

Sydney-based QBE insurance Group Ltd. has agreed to pay AU$132.5 million ($103.5 million) to settle class action litigation filed in September 2015 on behalf of shareholders who had bought QBE securities between Aug. 20, 2013, and Dec. 6, 2013.

The settlement is without any admission of liability by QBE, the insurer said in a Dec. 28 statement, and is subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney.

QBE said the settlement will not have a material impact on 2017 second-half earnings. A spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Melbourne, Australia-based plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn said on its website the litigation in Money Max Int. Pty. Ltd. (Trustee) v. QBE Insurance Group Ltd. stems from the insurer’s December 2013 announcement that it would post a loss of around $250 million for fiscal year 2013, after which its stock price plunged.

It reported a AU$254 million loss in February 2014, with the major contributor being the insurer’s North American operations.