Aon New Zealand will defend a lawsuit brought against it by Lyttelton Port Co (LPC) over the insurance arrangements it had in place when the port was hit by a major earthquake.

LPC claims Aon was negligent and breached its contract in arranging property insurance for the year from June 30 2010.

Lyttelton, which services Christchurch, was badly damaged by an earthquake on February 22 2011.

It had also been comparatively lightly damaged in the September 4 2010 Darfield quake that devastated Christchurch.

The claim for $NZ184 million ($170.1 million) has been filed in the New Zealand High Court at Christchurch.

A contingent liability notice in Aon’s latest quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission says Lyttelton Port Co “contends that acts and omissions by Aon caused LPC to recover less than it otherwise would have from insurers for losses suffered in the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes”.

“Aon believes that it has meritorious defences and intends to vigorously defend itself against these claims,” it says. 

Lyttelton Port Co settled with Vero, NZI and QBE in 2013 for $NZ450 million ($416 million), with deductions of $NZ11.7 million ($10.82 million).

It had already received $NZ55.6 million ($51.4 million) from its insurers, and said at the time “an issue with a third party” was still outstanding and may lead to an additional recovery.