Lloyd's faces huge Potters Bar bill

LLOYD'S of London is facing another bill stretching into tens of millions of pounds with the revelation that one of its syndicates provides much of the insurance cover for rail maintenance group Jarvis.

A Lloyd's syndicate owned by US insurance giant Odyssey Re Group is understood to have supplied the bulk of the public liability cover for Jarvis, whose maintenance of the track at Potters Bar has come into question following the recent accident there. Jarvis shares have plunged 30% since the accident.

Newline Underwriting Management, Odyssey's UK arm, which manages the syndicate, is known to have already held crisis meetings with representatives of Railtrack and train operator National Express, whose carriage was involved in the accident.

Industry sources estimate the cost of the crash will be at least £10m, with the potential to be substantially higher depending on the final extent of the injuries. However, it is thought the insurers could avoid footing the bill if the crash is found to be the result of negligence. Much of the investigation into the accident centres on how a set of crucial bolts in the track came out and whether a routine inspection by Jarvis had failed to detect the problem.