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| Governor Spitzer ends battle with insurers over WTC payouts  New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and State Insurance Superintendent Eric R. Dinallo announced that Silverstein Properties and seven insurance companies have reached a $2 billion settlement of all outstanding insurance claims arising from the destruction of the World Trade Center. The agreement, the largest in regulatory history, ends almost six years of legal battling and removes the last major obstacle to development at Ground Zero. Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority can now obtain the necessary financing and meet the aggressive construction schedule that all agreed was essential for the rebuilding of Ground Zero.Silverstein Properties, Inc. leased the World Trade Center from the Port Authority in July 2001. When the planes destroyed the twin towers on September 11, insurance policies for the Trade Center had not been finalized. Suits were filed in October 2001 to resolve disputes over how much the insurance companies owed. The courts eventually determined that the most Silverstein Properties could collect was $4.68 billion. Until now, the insurance companies have paid about half of that total, leaving the remaining sum in dispute. The seven insurers in the settlement are Travelers Cos., Zurich American Insurance Co., Swiss Reinsurance Co., Employers Insurance Company of Wausau, Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Co., Industrial Risk Insurers and Royal Indemnity Co., Spitzer said in the statement. Silverstein Properties and the insurance companies have signed confidentiality agreements requiring that specific amounts paid by each company will not be disclosed. The total for all seven companies is $2 billion. These agreements settle all outstanding court cases and related proceedings. In September 2006, Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority achieved a global agreement for comprehensively rebuilding the World Trade Center site. The agreement called for the Port Authority to construct Towers 1 and 5, for Silverstein Properties to construct Towers 2, 3 and 4 along the eastern portion of the site, and for the Port Authority to prepare the "East Bathtub" foundation for construction of those towers. In order to help finance this rebuilding, Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority agreed to a split of the remaining insurance proceeds of approximately 56% to Silverstein and 44% to the Port Authority. The two sides have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on legal fees and other court-related costs. The agreements will save additional tens of millions in legal costs and allow the Port Authority and Silverstein Properties to focus on rebuilding at Ground Zero. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |