Insurer Says Not Obligated to Cover in Kobe Bryant Crash

A Sompo International Holdings Ltd. unit has filed suit seeking a declaration it is not obligated to indemnify the helicopter company that allegedly arranged the flight in which basketball star Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed last year.

Nine people, including Mr. Bryant, his daughter Gianna, the pilot and six others, were killed on Jan. 26, 2020, when their Sikorsky helicopter crashed en route from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, to Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, California.

Santa Ana, California-based OC Helicopters, which allegedly had provided flight operations for Mr. Bryant, his family and his businesses, was named as a defendant in four lawsuits filed by Mr. Bryant’s widow and others in the crash, according to the lawsuit, Endurance Assurance Corp. vs. OC Helicopters LLC, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana last week.

Sompo unit Endurance Assurance, which provided a policy with a $10 million limit for bodily injury and property damage to OC Helicopters, has defended the company subject to a reservation for rights, according to the lawsuit.