Rebuilding the site could cost $12bn
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Swiss Re, the biggest underwriter of the destroyed New York World Trade Center, will not be forced to make two separate payouts, a US court has ruled.
The giant insurer, which alone provided 25% of the cover for the twin towers, will pay no more than $880m (£497m).
The decision follows a court ruling that the September 11 attacks should count as one act, not two as the building's developer had claimed.
The developer, Larry Silverstein, had asked for twice the £3.5bn sum insured.
The judgement sent Swiss Re's shares up by 2.5%, since analysts had been braced for a far larger payout.
The court decision, which is likely to be mirrored in cases involving all the building's insurers, will restrict the amount of capital available to rebuild the site.