Collahuasi, a copper mining company based in northern Chile and owned by Xstrata (Switzerland), Anglo American (UK) and Mitsui (Japan), experienced a technical failure at its largest mill in April 2005. The failure required the mill to shut down for approximately 20 days. Although a temporary fix was put in place, the plant will reportedly require a further shutdown in order to implement a permanent fix.
Collahuasi reportedly sought US$227 million from its insurers to cover the business interruption. The Chilean unit of Atlanta-based Crawford & Company, which handled the claim liquidation process, reportedly proposed a settlement of US$116 million, which was challenged by Collahuasi. In January 2009, the Chilean property and casualty unit of AIG, La Interamericana Compañia de Seguros Generales S.A. reportedly agreed to pay US$82.5 million to resolve a claim on its policy. Mapfre’s Chilean subsidiary, Mapfre Compañia de Seguros Generales de Chile S.A., having previously agreed to pay US$35 million toward resolution of the claim, reportedly agreed on April 24, 2009 to contribute an additional US$43.7 million. This brings total settlement cost for the claim to US$161.5 million, the largest in Chile’s history.
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