AGEAS REACHES OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT WITH CASTLE COVER INVESTORS

Belgium-based insurer Ageas, which bought UK-based intermediary Castle Cover in 2011 for £52.8m (then $85.8m) ( IIN 24, March 24 2011), has reached an out-of-court settlement with eight men who had links to Castle Cover, reports Post. Philip James of Castle Cover backer Primary was named in a High Court listing, as were fellow Castle Cover backers Stephen Morley-Ham, Peter Leppington, Andrew Cole and Nasser Bushararia-Barnes. Ernest Biggs, one-time head of business integration, Simon Stanney, ex-head of products, and Dean Livesey, ex-head of HR, were also named in the court document. Ageas said that no further action would be sought against the named parties. Post noted that Mr Leppington was one of the parties involved in establishing new regional broker Highworth Insurance in January this year, with Ageas absent from its panel of underwriters.