Insurance coverage of sex-abuse claims has emerged as a make-or-break issue in the Boy Scouts of America’s bid to survive its legal trouble, as victims’ attorneys and insurance carriers tangle over how much the youth group’s policies are worth, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Sex-abuse victims have spurned the Boy Scouts’ opening offer to settle the abuse claims, and insurance companies that sold policies to the youth organization are demanding further investigations into the more than 83,000 claims filed by men who allege they were assaulted as children. The insurers have objected to everything from the Boy Scouts’ choice of law firms to the bona fides of lawyers for victims in a bankruptcy proceeding that began last year. Based on the cash, property, artwork and other hard assets the Boy Scouts have offered to sign over, its settlement proposal would amount to $6,100 for every individual who stepped forward to claim he was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, according to the official committee representing victims. The Boy Scouts said the $6,100 average figure is misleading, as some claims will be worth more than others and, importantly, the number doesn’t include insurance, which would boost the value offered to victims. But victims, who will be asked to vote on the chapter 11 plan, don’t know how much compensation the insurance will yield.
