(Bloomberg) — Navigators Group Inc., the insurer that focuses onmarine risks, agreed to settle a U.S. probe that it violatedsanctions through deals tied to banned nations.

Navigators will pay about $272,000 to resolve the liability for48 suspected violations, according to a document distributed Aug. 7by the U.S. Treasury Department. Those violations included policieson North Korean-flagged vessels and coverage of incidents thatinvolved or occurred in Iran, Sudan and Cuba from May 2008 untilearly 2011, according to the department's Office of Foreign AssetsControl.

"Navigators managers and supervisors knew or had reason to knowthat the majority of the insurance policies and claims payments atissue involved OFAC-sanctioned countries," the department said inthe document. "Navigators did not have a formal OFAC complianceprogram in place at the time the apparent violations occurred."

U.S. regulators are cracking down on companies with ties tonations designated as state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran.Chubb Corp. distanced itself last year from insurance adjusters inSudan and Syria after a government inquiry, classifying the peopleas "surveyors" rather than "representatives" of the company.

Navigators self-reported the issues to regulators, Emily Miner,general counsel for the insurer, said in a phone interview Friday.Since then, the company implemented a comprehensive complianceprogram, she said.

–With assistance from Scott Lanman in Washington.