Court Rules Against WQIS in Marine Pollution Insurance Case

"Having failed to establish a clear likelihood of success, the application for a preliminary injunction is denied." So read the Decision and Order in Index No. 653001/2013 where a New York State Supreme Court Judge dealt a severe setback to WQIS' belabored attempt to stomp out competition in the marine pollution insurance arena.

This is the second ruling against WQIS in its attempt to prevent start-up Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance from entering the insurance space where WQIS has been the dominant market for the past 40 years. WQIS is backed by 16 of the largest marine insurance companies in the world, according to their website, including AIG, Swiss Re, The Travelers and XL Insurance Company.

Safe Harbor President Michael Falvey stated, "We are pleased with the decision and that the Court saw WQIS's 'evidence' for what it was—insufficient. This is a classic case of David vs. Goliath and we are thrilled that the judge denied the application, which allows us to continue to compete fairly and robustly in an open marketplace. Safe Harbor is concerned that these large insurance companies are attempting to use the court system as a tool to stifle competition and we hope this decision drives the message home that Safe Harbor is here to stay."

Russell Brown, Principal of Safe Harbor, stated he was pleased with the Court's ruling and is looking forward to building the finest marine pollution insurance company without the threat of continual legal harassment. "In spite of the baselessness of the lawsuit, we remain undeterred and look forward to continuing to provide a superior level of service to our clients," he said.

Tony Gerone, also a Principal of Safe Harbor, stated, "When we started this company, we made a promise to our brokers that we would provide superior customer service, the best claims handling and broadest coverage possible. Our plans remain unchanged and we will keep that promise."