On 6 July 1988 the Piper Alpha oil platform exploded. 167 people died. Much of the insurance was with what became known as the London Market Excess of Loss (LMX) Spiral, a tightly knit and badly managed web of insurance policies. Losses cascaded up and around the market. The same insurers were hit again and again. After fourteen years all claims had finally been settled. The cost exceeded $16 billion, more than 10 times the initial estimate.
