INSURANCE

‘Cease-Fire’ in Lloyd’s Battle Declared: State securities regulators and Lloyd’s of London, the giant insurance market, agreed to a one-month cease-fire in their growing legal fight in order to begin settlement talks. Nine states have cases against Lloyd’s alleging securities fraud and other violations in its recruitment of U.S. investors in the 1970s and ‘80s. Lloyd’s of London is a major player in the global insurance market. Under the agreement, Lloyd’s for the next month will cease calling on U.S. investors to make additional payments through letters of credit to cover claims in the British insurance market, according to the North American Securities Administrators Assn., a group of state regulators investigating Lloyd’s. The states with pending cases are California, Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia.