Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. has become the fourth insurer to refuse to pay for Harvey Weinstein’s civil and criminal defense.
The insurer filed suit on Friday in New York Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that it is not obliged to pay based on a series of policies issued to the Walt Disney Co. in the 1990s. Weinstein ran Miramax as a division of Disney from 1993 through 2005.
Travelers argues that the allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Weinstein are not covered by the policies because they were intentional acts, not accidents, and because they did not take place in the course of Weinstein’s employment. The company also argues that Weinstein was not one of the Disney executives covered by the policies.
The suit lists 22 claims and legal cases against Weinstein for sexual harassment or assault, including his criminal case in Manhattan and the civil discrimination case brought by the New York attorney general. The suit also gives some details of five “pre-suit claims” which have not previously been reported.
One case involves a London employee of the Weinstein Co. who alleged “regular and pernicious sexualized behavior including penetrative sex and other sexual acts by Weinstein.” Another involved a woman who alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted her at the Montage Hotel in February 2017, which would make it one of the most recent allegations against the producer. A third involved an alleged sexual assault in Dublin, Ireland, in 1995.
Chubb Indemnity Insurance Company, Steadfast Insurance and Axis Surplus Insurance Company have previously filed suit to confirm that they are not obliged to pay for Weinstein’s defense. Weinstein filed a countersuit against Chubb, alleging that he had paid more than $1 million in premiums over 25 years, and the insurer had abandoned him in his hour of need.
Steadfast, which had also issued policies to Disney, agreed to pay costs of Weinstein’s criminal defense up front, but sought a civil court order confirming that the case is not actually covered by the policies, and seeking to recoup the expenses.