Insurance
Home›Insurance›Reinsurance›J&J closes $5.5 billion talc deal to resolve most US o…
J&J closes $5.5 billion talc deal to resolve most US ovarian cancer claims
The settlement requires 95% claimant acceptance, and it leaves a separate legacy coverage dispute alive for pre-2005 liability limits.
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to resolve roughly 76,000 US lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, ending more than a decade of litigation, according to Insurance Business. The company will pay up to $3.0 billion in 2027, with the remaining balance due from 2028, and the deal must be accepted by 95% of claimants to become final.
Insurance Business reports that the agreement closes out existing claims rather than future ones, underscoring that some risk remains. The publication also notes that J&J spent years attempting to shift liabilities through a bankruptcy maneuver called the “Texas two-step,” but courts rejected the plan three times.
In spring 2025, J&J returned to the tort system and said it would litigate instead of settle, winning a series of trials on that basis until a New Jersey federal judge ruled this month that plaintiffs would need more specific causation evidence. Insurance Business says that ruling appears to have pushed both sides back toward a settlement.
The outcome also matters for insurers and reinsurers monitoring long-tail product liability exposure and reserving. Insurance Business adds that a separate New Jersey coverage action involving legacy carriers, including Travelers, Chubb, Allstate, Everest Re, TIG, North River, and Wausau, over pre-2005 talc-related limits is expected to continue alongside the settlement.
The company also stopped buying new product liability coverage in 2005 and relies heavily on self-insurance, including through its captive Middlesex Assurance, creating additional complexity for the coverage fight, Insurance Business reports.