Bermuda insurers Allied World Assurance Company and XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd. have been named as defendants in a lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania mining company that claims its insurers are refusing to pay a $6 million claim.

Newsletter Inside Bermuda says Consol Energy claims that AWAC, XL, Berkshire Hathaway, Commonwealth Insurance Company, International Mining Industry Underwriters and Lloyd?s of London are refusing to pay its claim for business interruption insurance after a fire caused the closure of a coal mine in Pennsylvania.

Consol claims it lost $12 million as a result of the closure, of which it says the insurers should have paid $6 million.

But the insurers are arguing that the mining company should pay a higher deductible for the loss, thus reducing their exposure.

XL also wants the dispute to be settled by an arbitrator in London rather than through the US courts, Inside Bermuda said, quoting court documents filed by Consol.