Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 9:32 a.m.
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Travelers Property Casualty Corp., the insurance company that plans to combine with St. Paul Cos., said it settled class-action lawsuits stemming from claims over asbestos exposure.
Travelers plans to fund the settlement from its unallocated asbestos reserves and doesn't anticipate an earnings charge as a result of the accord, the company said in a statement today. The company added $2.45 billion to asbestos reserves in January.
Its shares rose 40 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $15.22 at 9:37 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
The class-action lawsuits, filed in West Virginia in 2001 and 2002, sought to re-open previous settlements, claiming insurers handled them inappropriately. A bankruptcy judge ordered the sides to begin mediation in August 2002, according to a Travelers regulatory filing.
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