Britain: Dot.com crash squeezes top insurer

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BBC

The dot.com collapse and a Brazilian oil rig disaster have combined to squeeze the world's oldest insurer, Lloyd's of London.

The insurance market has been forced to increase its projected loss for the last two years to £2bn ($2.9bn).

Lloyd's racked up some of the biggest losses in the UK's corporate history in the 1980s and early 1990s because of hefty payouts on claims that including natural disasters and asbestos-related health issues.

Now the bankruptcy of a host of dot.com firms, and a very expensive oil rig disaster in Brazil, will once again push the firm deep into the red in 1999 and 2000.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 31, 2001


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