Boston Archdiocese Settles with St. Paul Travelers Over Sex Abuse Claims

The Boston Archdiocese has agreed to an $8.5 million settlement with an insurance carrier that disputed the Catholic archdiocese’s claims related to payments to clergy sex abuse victims, the archdiocese announced.

The carrier, St. Paul Travelers, also agreed to waive certain premiums the archdiocese would have owed.

The archdiocese said some of the contested claims with St. Paul were part of the $85 million settlement with 541 abuse victims in September 2003. Negotiations with St. Paul began shortly after the settlement, the archdiocese said.

In March, the archdiocese agreed to a $20 million settlement with another insurance carrier, Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company,

The archdiocese said the settlement with St. Paul means it’s now reached agreements on the abuse claims with its two major carriers.

“With these matters resolved, the Archdiocese hopes that it will soon be in a position to begin discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel about how to resolve pending cases,” the Rev. John Connolly, special assistant to Archbishop Sean O’Malley, said in a statement.

There are approximately 170 pending claims still pending, according to Kelly Lynch, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

St. Paul Travelers, based in St. Paul, Minn., released a statement in which it said it was pleased the settlement was reached. A spokeswoman declined further comment.

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