Lloyd’s underwriter Beazley is among the elite in the global insurance industry selected to provide cover for the new World Trade Center development, co-designed by a man that knows a thing or two about One Lime Street.
Beazley Syndicate is to provide Specialty insurance for Towers 2, 3 and 4, construction on which began this month on Greenwich Street, New York.
The whole project is being brokered by Lloyd’s intermediary Willis. Joe Plumeri, Willis Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “As a company that has had a headquarters in Lower Manhattan since 1956, we will witness first hand this historic endeavor.”
The insurance programmes were readied in anticipation of the recent turnover to WTC developer Larry Silverstein by the site’s owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, of the sites for Towers 3 and 4 to Silverstein Properties. By mid-year, the site for Tower 2 is expected to be delivered. Since 2006, the Port Authority has been preparing the sites, which involved months of excavation work and building of a new 80-foot-deep slurry wall.
The three office towers, developed by Silverstein Properties and designed by world-renowned Pritzker-prize winning architects Richard Rogers (designer of the Lloyd’s building), Norman Foster and Fumihiko Maki, will rise along the site’s eastern edge.
Silverstein said: “The insurance industry has an historic connection to lower Manhattan, and our renewed partnership with the industry is key to the entire rebuilding effort.”
The Excess Liability programme is led by Ace USA and features many of the world’s leading insurers – including Aspen, Allied World, Lexington and XL Insurance. AIG will write Workers Compensation and General Liability.
The policy terms for all placements cover the entire period of construction. Additional placements will continue through June 2008 when the builders’ risk (property under construction) insurance programmes begin.
