Baltimore bridge insurer is reportedly set to write a $350 million check
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- Chubb, the Baltimore bridge insurer, is set to pay out $350 million, per The Wall Street Journal.
- The bridge's collapse in March killed six people and shut down the port of Baltimore.
- Chubb, the state of Maryland, and victims' families will likely sue the ship's owners, per the Journal.
The insurer of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is gearing up to issue a $350 million payout to the state of Maryland, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Chubb has opted to pay the full coverage amount quickly and could approve it within weeks, per the outlet, which cited Henry Daar, the head of US property claims for the bridge's broker WTW.
"I am confident that Chubb will pay the full limits of liability," Daar told the Journal.
"I give Chubb kudos for recognizing that this is clearly going to be a full-limits loss," he added. "They could spend millions and millions of dollars in fees for accountants and adjusters over the next few years, or they could pay the claim."
Chubb's payment would be the first related to March's disaster. The Lloyd's of London insurance syndicate previously warned that the bridge's collapse could trigger the "largest single maritime insurance loss ever," with Barclays analysts estimating that the damage caused could lead claims worth up to $3 billion.
The bridge collapsed after the Dali container ship collided with one of the bridge's support beams in the early hours of March 26, killing six people and shutting down the port of Baltimore, which analysts have estimated cost the economy about $15 million a day.
Chubb, the state of Maryland, and the victims' families are likely to sue the Dali's Singaporean owners to recover some of their losses from the crash, per the Journal.
Chubb didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. WTW confirmed the Journal's reporting but declined to elaborate.