A New York state judge has awarded Travelers Cos $262.3 million plus interest in a 17-year-old reinsurance case over asbestos coverage whose facts date back to the late 1940s.
In a 28-page ruling dated Friday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Richard Lowe ordered Munich Re's Munich Re America Inc unit to pay $202.5 million and the Excess Casualty Reinsurance Association (ECRA) insurance pool to pay $59.8 million.
Many companies stopped using asbestos for fireproofing and insulation by the mid-1970s after it was linked to cancer and other diseases. Litigation persists because the after-effects from exposure can take decades to surface, and lawsuits often take many years to resolve.
Travelers spokeswoman Jennifer Wislocki said the St. Paul, Minnesota-based property and casualty insurer was pleased with the ruling, which she said requires insurers to pay "the full amount of their obligations to Travellers, plus interest." The Travellers case dates to 1948, when United States Fidelity & Guaranty, which Travellers now owns, first wrote a liability insurance policy for Western Asbestos Co.