Benfield Group, the insurance broker, has admitted that it could be sued by Lloyd's of London over claims resulting from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

The UK broker floated last week and its shares traded strongly after Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley helped raise £157m (€221m) in new money, more than 50% higher than originally hoped. The issue was only the second initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange in the past seven months.