Hemispheric/Howden win Costa Rica dispute
A Miami court has ruled against Costa Rican insurer Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) in relation to a dispute surrounding the placement of the reinsurance that ultimately covered policies relating to assets owned by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), one of the largest companies in the country.
INS had sued Miami-based Hemispheric Reinsurance Group (HRG) and London based reinsurance broker Howden Insurance Brokers in a dispute over $2 million in commissions generated by reinsurance contracts ultimately covering power plants based in Costa Rica.
After INS took issue with the commission payments, it wound up the contracts and hired another reinsurer. Hemispheric and Howden both countersued under the original contract.
A jury found that INS had breached the contract with Hemispheric and awarded nearly $1 million in damages, including interest. Attorneys for the defendants also plan to file a motion seeking $4 million in attorney fees.
“INS abused their power as a government entity and prematurely breached its contract with Hemispheric Reinsurance Group and Howden Insurance Brokers by failing to pay them as agreed, in spite of the fact that HRG and Howden complied fully with their contractual obligations,” said Hemispheric in a statement.
INS has said it will appeal the decision.
