Casino owner agrees to $48 million settlement over Katrina damage claims

A filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates Pinnacle Entertainment has settled with two insurance companies in regard to damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina at one of its former casinos. Those claims total almost $90 million in damages.

The filing says Allianz Global Rishs U.S. Insurance Co. has agreed to pay an additional $48 million on top of the $5 million it has paid to Pinnacle to satisfy the $50 million policy.

Pinnacle has also been paid nearly $37 million in a March settlement claim with Arch Specialty Insurance Co.

The federal lawsuit, filed in 2006, said Las Vegas-based Pinnacle claimed the insurance companies mistakenly blamed damage at the Casino Magic Biloxi property on flooding instead of a hurricane. Hurricanes are considered "weather catastrophes" in the companies' policies.

Claims are still pending against RSUI Indemnity Co., a third carrier.