INSURANCE

Appeals Court Reverses Lloyd’s Ruling: U.S. investors in Lloyd’s of London lost their last legal challenge to a plan to recapitalize the ailing insurer, paving the way for completion of a $4.8-billion rescue plan that is scheduled to be made final today in London. After a three-hour hearing, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Baltimore reversed a lower-court order in Richmond, Va., that had given U.S. investors more time to decide whether to participate in Lloyd’s bailout. Lloyd’s, which issues insurance and provides backup coverage to many U.S. insurers, has been hurt by unexpected losses since the 1980s. Today is the deadline for completion of the refinancing, which requires all Lloyd’s investors to put up more money on top of heavy losses they have already suffered. As of Tuesday, 82% of the 34,000 investors worldwide had endorsed the plan, Lloyd’s said. But only 52% of its 3,000 U.S. investors have backed it.