Lloyd's given time to pay attack claims

LONDON -- U.S. regulators have granted Lloyd's of London several months to fully fund claims relating to the attacks on New York's World Trade Center, easing financial strain on the world's best-known insurance market, Lloyd's said Friday.

The claims, worth $5.36 billion, include property losses on the twin towers and the cost of the hijacked aircraft. The claims are the biggest liability for Lloyd's since Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Under a deal struck with U.S. insurance regulators late Thursday, Lloyd's will pay 60 percent of the claims into a trust fund by Nov. 15. Regulators had earlier asked Lloyd's to deposit the full amount by then, Lloyd's spokeswoman Sara Chorley said.

Lloyd's will fund the remaining 40 percent of attacks-related U.S. claims by March.

Some analysts had suggested that for Lloyd's to deposit 100 percent of the funds by Nov. 15 would have crippled some of its weaker syndicates.

Lloyd's is a self-regulating market of insurance syndicates rather than a company in its own right. It relies on 2,850 Names -- mostly private individuals -- plus 890 companies that provide the money for underwriting insurance.