World Trade Center developer Larry A. Silverstein today announced the placement of the Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Excess Liability, and Specialty insurance programs for the construction of Towers 2, 3, and 4 (200, 175, and 150 Greenwich Street).
The insurance programs were readied in anticipation of the recent turnover to Silverstein by the WTC site’s owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, of the sites for Towers 3 and 4 to Silverstein Properties. By mid-year, the site for Tower 2 is expected to be delivered. Since 2006, the Port Authority has been preparing the sites located on the “east bathtub”. This activity involved months of excavation work and building of a new 80-foot-deep slurry wall.
The three office towers, developed by Silverstein Properties and designed by world-renowned Pritzker-prize winning architects Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, and Fumihiko Maki, will rise along the site’s eastern edge. As the first construction-related liability insurance programs secured for the three towers, they cover the contractors’ employees on the site and the liability exposure resulting from construction.
“This is a significant step in our efforts to build these three buildings,” said Mr. Silverstein. “The insurance industry has an historic connection to lower Manhattan, and our renewed partnership with the industry is key to the entire rebuilding effort.”
Since last April, the WTC insurance team engaged over 60 insurance markets in the United States, London and Bermuda. The team developed a comprehensive and open approach to informing prospective insurers about this world-renowned project. The marketing effort was actively supported by Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis.
“We are very proud to partner with Silverstein Properties on this momentous project,” said Mr. Plumeri. “As a company that has had a headquarters in Lower Manhattan since 1956, we will witness first hand this historic endeavor.”
The WTC insurance team included Willis’ over 40 technical experts and placement professionals led by Leslie Nylund and Silverstein’s WTC executives led by Shari Natovitz, Silverstein’s Risk Manager.
The WTC insurance program responds to the specifications of the Port Authority as one of the requirements for site turnover. The Controlled Insurance Program, which consists of Workers’ Compensation and General Liability, is being provided by AIG Group. The program also includes extensive safety and loss control resources, as well as a tailored claims management program to assist workers. AIG has also been selected to underwrite environmental liability insurance for the project. Beazley Syndicate (Lloyd’s of London) is providing specialized protection. The Excess Liability Program, which adds additional protection to the General Liability program, is led by ACE USA and features many of the world’s leading insurers – including Aspen, AWAC, Lexington, XL Insurance and others. The policy terms for all placements cover the entire period of construction. Additional placements will continue through June of 2008 when the builders’ risk (property under construction) insurance programs begin.
In anticipation of an early 2008 construction start for Towers 3 and 4, Silverstein Properties has already awarded contracts for foundation work, and several more packages of work have been issued to the market seeking bidders. By next month, it is expected that contracts will have been awarded for several billion dollars worth of construction.
Towers 2, 3, and 4 have been designed to integrate with what will be newly-created pedestrian thoroughfares along the reconnected grid at Cortlandt and Dey Streets, the Memorial, WTC Transportation Hub, which is located between the towers at 200 and 175 Greenwich, and the rest of the Downtown community.
About Willis
Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: WSH) is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Including our Associates, we have over 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of approximately 16,000 Associates serving clients in some 190 countries. For more information, visit www.willis.com.
About Silverstein Properties
Silverstein Properties is a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that has developed, owned and managed more than twenty million square feet of office, residential and retail space. In July 2001, Silverstein completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history by acquiring the 10 million sq. ft. World Trade Center, only to see it destroyed by terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11, 2001. Silverstein is committed to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. On May 23, 2006, Silverstein Properties opened 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story, 1.7 million square foot office tower, at 250 Greenwich Street, just north of the World Trade Center site. 7 WTC is now almost 75% leased to a diverse group of tenants. In September, 2006, designs were unveiled for three new office towers on the WTC site – 200, 175 and 150 Greenwich Street – that will be developed by Silverstein Properties. Construction on the three towers began in February 2008