Broking giant Aon and fronting specialist Clear Blue Insurance have put their trading relationship first to reach an out of court settlement in relation to a lawsuit over the reinsurance letter of credit (LOC) fraud perpetrated by insurtech Vesttoo, Artemis has been told by a number of market sources.
Clear Blue had been negatively impacted by the reinsurance letter of credit fraud, as LOC’s sourced by Vesttoo as reinsurance collateral for deals the fronting specialist had facilitated proved to have been faked.
That left Clear Blue Insurance challenged and while it appeared to come through the experience with its business wholly intact, albeit not financially unscathed, it was not that surprising when the company sought damages from parties it claimed had introduced its services into the Vesttoo deals.
The lawsuit had been quite active through 2024, with a back and forth on calls for dismissal and updated complaints, with the parties language being strengthened with each update.
The last time we covered it (in May 2024), Aon was calling again for the case to be dismissed, after Clear Blue had accused the broker of soliciting the fronting specialist’s involvement in the Vesttoo deals, which Aon then called an attempt to distract from Clear Blue’s involvement with the insurtech and its own financial distress after the episode.
Since those exchanges the lawsuit had gone quiet, with nothing filed with the New York court right the way through 2025.
But in the last few weeks we had begun hearing from our contacts that Aon and Clear Blue were set to reach some kind of settlement, which we’ve now had confirmed to us by a number of market sources.
Settlement details are private and while we reached out to both parties, Aon declined to comment and Clear Blue did not respond by the time of going to publication.
We understand though that the settlement was amicably reached, with both parties said to put their trading relationships first as they looked to put this episode behind them.
It’s likely best to think of a settlement as being similar in sentiment, if not in specific detail (as we just don’t know if any cash changed hands at this stage), to the one Aon had reached at the beginning of 2024 with Porch Group, the owner of Homeowners of America Insurance Company which was a carrier that was exposed to the Vesttoo fraud.
Aon had previously recognised a legal settlement expense reserve amounting to $197 million in its fourth-quarter of 2023 results, to ensure it had funds available were any settlement agreements made.
The Clear Blue case against Aon has itself now been dismissed with prejudice, with the latest court filing stating that the action, “including all claims and counterclaims, be and the same hereby is dismissed with prejudice and without costs to either party as against the other.”
Dismissal with prejudice means the case is closed and no further action can be brought in relation to the same claims that had been made under it.
Which brings another chapter in the saga of the Vesttoo fraud to its close.
Leaving the remaining court cases that are open directed solely at China Construction Bank (remember both Aon’s White Rock entity and Clear Blue are involved in actions against the Chinese bank), or the court activity that is still ongoing and linked to the Vesttoo bankruptcy trust creditors.
It’s also worth recalling that another case involving a reinsurance broker related to the Vesttoo saga had been dismissed with prejudice back in April 2025, the lawsuit filed by Porch Group against broker Gallagher Re. It is not known if there was any settlement in that case, but again it feels likely the parties reached some kind of understanding.
Parties are finding amicable ways to land on common ground, putting trading relationships first to constructively leave some of the legal activity related to this saga behind them.
Read all of our coverage of the alleged fraudulent or forged letter-of-credit (LOC) collateral linked to Vesttoo deals.
