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American International Group Inc. (ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½) confirmed in late January that it reached settlements with nine states and the District of Columbia relating to their investigations into alleged bid-rigging and price-fixing, and questions about undisclosed contingent commissions paid to brokers.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ denies the states’ allegations that some of its subsidiaries were involved in a “pay-to-play” tactic used by Marsh & McLennan and other insurance brokers that purportedly caused businesses to pay higher insurance premiums. The company has not admitted any liability related to the charges. ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ said it agreed to settle to “avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation.”

The settlements, which are subject to court approvals, were reached with the attorneys general of Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and West Virginia, the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia; the Florida Department of Financial Services; and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

The settlements call for total payments of $12.5 million to be allocated among the 10 jurisdictions. ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ said it will continue to maintain certain producer compensation disclosure and ongoing compliance initiatives. ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ will also continue to cooperate with the industry-wide investigations.

The agreement was spearheaded by the Antitrust Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, according to a statement released by that agency. The agreement with Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott also settles allegations of anti-competitive conduct relating to ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s relationship with Allied World Assurance Co., and includes an additional settlement payment of $500,000 to the State of Texas related to that issue.

According to the complaint, ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ and several of its insurance subsidiaries allegedly conspired with Marsh and other brokers by submitting fake bids to create the illusion of a competitive bidding process in the excess casualty commercial insurance market.

Investigators said they found that despite the appearance of a fair bidding process, the broker had already decided which insurer would receive a particular policyholder’s business. As part of the scheme, ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ paid the brokers “contingent commissions” which were not disclosed to policyholders and in return received other lucrative business, according to officials.

Abbott said Texas will receive more than $3.7 million under the settlement. “Unlawful bid-rigging schemes undermine the integrity of our free market system,” said Abbott. “We will continue working to protect competition and foster economic growth in Texas.”

Florida is to receive about $3 million, part of which goes to a reimbursement pool for affected policyholders.

Massachusetts will receive $1.3 million. Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley said the “settlement helps ensure that brokers truly represent their clients’ interests by requiring greater transparency and disclosure of the types and ranges of compensation paid to insurance brokers on ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s policies.”

Topics Texas Florida Agencies ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½