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Navigators Establishes Reinsurance Reinstatement Reserve for Deepwater Horizon

^{Published on 2011-01-21 13:10:34 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAVG) announced today that it expected to report a charge in its 2010 fourth quarter financial results of approximately $9.2 million after-tax for additional estimated reinsurance reinstatement premiums related to potential liabilities for marine liability policyholders exposed to Deepwater Horizon litigation.

Navigatorsa™ President and Chief Executive Officer, Stanley A. Galanski, stated: aWe believe it will take many years to resolve the considerable uncertainty regarding the scope of financial losses and the allocation of liability for insured losses related to Deepwater Horizon. We remain confident that the Deepwater Horizon marine liability claims incurred by Navigators will be well contained within our reinsurance program so that our only likely future exposure would be to the reinsurance reinstatement premiums due our reinsurers at the time of claim payment. Given the likely prolonged period of uncertainty and the unprecedented level of legal expenses that are predicted to be incurred by the entities directly associated with the Deepwater Horizon platform, we believe it is appropriate to establish a reserve sufficient to fully fund the reinsurance reinstatement premiums that would be triggered if our various marine liability policies covering these entities were to be exhausted.a

The Navigators Group, Inc. is an international specialty insurance holding company with insurance company operations, underwriting management companies, and operations at Lloyd's of London. Headquartered in New York City, Navigators has offices in major insurance centers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Navigators Insurance Company and Navigators Specialty Insurance Company are both rated 'A' (Excellent) by A.M. Best and 'A' (Strong) by Standard & Poor's.

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Whenever used in this release, the words "estimate," "expect," "believe," "may," "will," "intend," "continue" or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are derived from information that we currently have and assumptions that we make. We cannot assure that results that we anticipate will be achieved, since results may differ materially because of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that we face. Please refer to Navigators' most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a description of Navigators' business and the important factors that may affect that business. Navigators undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement