HCI Group wins lawsuit against large reinsurer

TAMPA — HCI Group Inc. won a breach of contract lawsuit with reinsurance intermediary giant Aon Benfield, resulting in a $744,402 judgment, the company announced Thursday.

HCI, a public company based in Tampa (symbol: HCI; recent price: $34.31), alleged Aon owed the money under a 2009 revenue sharing agreement. Benfield had employed Aon to help it obtain reinsurance coverage against catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters, including hurricanes.

“While we are pleased with the decision, we are disappointed that a simple handshake deal deteriorated to parsing contract language and arguing over legal technicalities,” says HCI Group CEO Paresh Patel, in a statement.