N.Y. Insurance Probe Expands Across U.S.

[UpInArms]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=6546549

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's probe of bid-rigging in the U.S. insurance industry is quickly becoming national in scope as at least three more states opened similar investigations.

Representatives from California, Pennsylvania and Connecticut said on Tuesday they were examining allegations raised in a lawsuit Spitzer filed last week against Marsh & McLennan Cos. (MMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's largest insurance broker.

The suit charges the broker steered unsuspecting clients to certain insurers in exchange for lucrative payments, called contingent commissions.

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The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which represents state insurance commissioners, is holding a conference call this week to "discuss the (Spitzer) investigation and any recommended or required action by state insurance commissioners," said Roger Hoadley, a spokesman for the association.

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