Insurers lose appeal and face exposure of more than $100m
Lloyd’s insurers must cough up defence costs for alleged fraudster Allen Stanford.
Ace, Beazley, Brit, Chaucer, QBE and Arch Speciality were told by US appeal judges to pay Stanford, as well as his former chief investment officer, Laura Pendergest-Holt, and accounting executives Gilbert Lopez and Mark Kuhrt.
The US federal appellate judges upheld an initial decision by US district judge David Hittner.
The insurers are fighting the order to pay legal costs, citing a money-laundering exclusion. Stanford is accused of running a Ponzi scheme at his finance company, Stanford Financial Group.
Lloyd’s insurers’ exposure to Stanford is understood to be in excess of $100m.
