The Boy Scouts of America reached an $ 800 million settlement with Chubb Ltd. ’s Century Indemnity Co. over childhood sexual abuse within the youth group, potentially boosting the funds available for abuse victims under its Chapter 11 plan.
“‘The proposed settlement trust to compensate survivors is now expected to exceed $ 2.6 billion, and we anticipate additional insurance proceeds and other settlement contributions will be added to this fund in the coming weeks.’”
The proposed deal caps Chubb’s CB, -0.65% exposure under insurance policies it sold the Boy Scouts and is supported by a coalition of law firms representing the bulk of the roughly 82,200 men who filed claims in the youth group’s bankruptcy over past abuse.
Don’t miss (May 2021): Many Boy Scouts survivors find little comfort as bankruptcy nears end
From the archives (July 2021): Boys Scouts reach $ 787 settlement with primary insurer over molestations; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has agreed to pay $ 250 million into the fund
The settlement with Chubb, if approved in bankruptcy court, would add to the nearly $ 1.9 billion in compensation the youth group has already pieced together from its own assets, its affiliated local councils, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and another major insurer, the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. HIG, -1.34%.
“The proposed settlement trust to compensate survivors is now expected to exceed $ 2.6 billion, and we anticipate additional insurance proceeds and other settlement contributions will be added to this fund in the coming weeks,” the Boy Scouts said Monday.
The youth group is under intense pressure to win the backing of abuse survivors for its bankruptcy plan, which would lift the Boy Scouts out of court protection and resolve its financial liability related to decades of failures to protect children from predators.
The Boy Scouts, which filed bankruptcy last year over a growing wave of lawsuits from abuse survivors, has apologized and said the chapter 11 plan will provide equitable compensation and preserve the organization’s mission.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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