Honeywell 2002 Annual Report Download - page 23

we have reached definitive agreements or agreements in principle with
approximately 236,000 claimants, which represents approximately 90 percent of
the approximately 260,000 current claimants who are now expected to file a claim
as part of the NARCO reorganization process. We are also in discussions with the
NARCO Committee of Asbestos Creditors on Trust Distribution Procedures for
NARCO. We believe that, as part of the NARCO plan of reorganization, a trust
will be established pursuant to these Trust Distribution Procedures for the
benefit of all asbestos claimants, current and future. If the trust is put in
place and approved by the court as fair and equitable, Honeywell as well as
NARCO will be entitled to a permanent channeling injunction barring all present
and future individual actions in state or federal courts and requiring all
asbestos related claims based on exposure to NARCO products to be made against
the federally-supervised trust. As part of its ongoing settlement negotiations,
Honeywell is seeking to cap its annual contributions to the trust with respect
to future claims at a level that would not have a material impact on Honeywell's
operating cash flows. Given the substantial progress of negotiations between
Honeywell and NARCO related asbestos claimants and between Honeywell and the
Committee of Asbestos Creditors during the fourth quarter of 2002, Honeywell has
developed an estimated liability for settlement of pending and future asbestos
claims.
During the fourth quarter 2002, Honeywell recorded a charge of $1.4 billion
for NARCO related asbestos litigation charges, net of insurance recoveries. This
charge consists of the estimated liability to settle current asbestos related
claims, the estimated liability related to future asbestos related claims
through 2018 and obligations to NARCO's parent, net of insurance recoveries of
$1.8 billion.
The estimated liability for current claims is based on terms and conditions,
including evidentiary requirements, in definitive agreements or agreements in
principle with approximately 90 percent of current claimants. Once finalized,
settlement payments with respect to current claims are expected to be made over
approximately a four-year period.
The liability for future claims estimates the probable value of future
asbestos related bodily injury claims asserted against NARCO over a 15 year
period and obligations to NARCO's parent as discussed above. In light of the
uncertainties inherent in making long-term projections we do not believe that we
have a reasonable basis for estimating asbestos claims beyond 2018 under
Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 5 'Accounting for Contingencies.'
Honeywell retained the expert services of Hamilton, Rabinovitz and Alschuler,
Inc. (HR&A) to project the probable number and value, including trust claim
handling costs, of asbestos related future liabilities. The methodology used to
estimate the liability for future claims has been commonly accepted by numerous
courts and is the same methodology that is utilized by the expert who is
routinely retained by the asbestos claimants committee in asbestos related
bankruptcies. The valuation methodology includes an analysis of the population
likely to have been exposed to asbestos containing products, epidemiological
studies to estimate the number of people likely to develop asbestos related
diseases, NARCO claims filing history and the pending inventory of NARCO
asbestos related claims.
Honeywell has substantial insurance that reimburses it for portions of the
costs incurred to settle NARCO related claims and court judgments as well as
defense costs. This coverage is provided by a large number of insurance policies
written by dozens of insurance companies in both the domestic insurance market
and the London excess market. Over one-half of this coverage is with Equitas and
other London-based insurance companies with a majority of this coverage subject
to a coverage-in-place agreement. Coverage-in-place agreements are settlement
agreements between policyholders and the insurers specifying the terms and
conditions under which coverage will be applied as claims are presented for
payment. These agreements govern such things as what events will be deemed to
trigger coverage, how liability for a claim will be allocated among insurers and
what procedures the policyholder must follow in order to obligate the insurer to
pay claims. We conducted an analysis to determine the amount of insurance that
we estimate is probable that we will recover in relation to payment of current
and projected future claims. While the substantial majority of our insurance
carriers are solvent, some of our individual carriers are insolvent, which has
been considered in our analysis of probable recoveries. Some of our insurance
carriers have challenged our right to enter into settlement agreements resolving
all NARCO related asbestos claims against Honeywell. However, we believe there
is no factual or legal basis for such challenges and we believe that it is
probable that we will prevail in the resolution of, or in any litigation that is
brought regarding these disputes and have recognized approximately $900 million
in probable insurance recoveries from these carriers. We made
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