Insurer Demands $3M From Lance Armstrong
A second insurer has sued Lance Armstrong, demanding more than $3 million in bonuses paid for his Tour de France victories from 1999 to 2001.
Acceptance Insurance Co., based in Council Bluffs, Iowa, sued Armstrong and Tailwind Sports, his management company, in Travis County Court.
The Union Cycliste International, cycling’s governing body, stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories and banned him from the sport for life in 2012 after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a “reasoned decision” that accused Armstrong of running the most sophisticated doping program in sports history.
Armstrong confirmed the accusations in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in January.
In the new complaint, the insurer says: “By his cheating and deception, Armstrong committed fraud. This suit seeks repayment of $3 million in undeserved and unearned pay Lance Armstrong obtained by fraud.”
Acceptance claims Armstrong voided the policy and committed fraud by doping and cheating. It says the policy excludes any loss caused by a dishonest or fraudulent act and excludes any claim “arising out of fraud, misrepresentation, collusion or dishonesty.”