Equitas Settles Four Claims for $200M

By Steve Tuckey

NU Online News Service, Jan. 6, 2:24 p.m.EDT?In the last weeks of 2004 Equitas said it settled fourmajor policyholders' claims against certain underwriters at Lloyd'srelated to asbestos and other liabilities policies.[@@]

The settlements total over $200 million. One of the agreementsinvolves the Toledo, Ohio-based auto parts manufacturer DanaCorporation and resolves one of the largest three remaining directliabilities that Equitas faces.

Equitas spokesman Jon Nash said confidentiality clausesprecluded the naming of the other three claimants who havesettled.

And he declined to name the two remaining claimants."Commercially it does not make sense to put the other two names inthe public domain," he said.

Earlier in 2004, Equitas settled with major policyholdersincluding Halliburton, Hercules and Enpro.

London-based Equitas was established to reinsure and run off the1992 and prior years' non-life liabilities of Names, orunderwriters, at Lloyd's.