US terror ruling a relief for Royal

TROUBLED insurer Royal & SunAlliance got some good news for a change with a US court ruling that it must pay out only once for the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Centre.

Larry Silverstein, who leased the towers, argued that he could claim twice the insured amount because there were two separate attacks. New York Federal Judge John Martin rejected the argument, leaving Silverstein with a maximum possible payout of £2.24bn.

Royal & Sun, whose chief executive Bob Mendelsohn said this month he was quitting, has faced large asbestos-related claims and been forced to consider a rights issue to help restore its battered equity portfolios. The insurer said that despite the favourable court ruling, it would maintain its loss estimate for the WTC at £275m.

RSA shares, which hit a low of 94p this week, bounced 8 1/4p to 104 3/4p. The market had priced in a WTC settlement of 1.5 times what the court ruled.