NU Online News Service, 2:35 p.m. EDT--WestVirginia's Attorney General Darrell McGraw has sued insurancebroker Acordia claiming the broker received millions of dollars in"hidden" contingent commissions in return for steering business tocertain carriers.

The suit against Chicago-based Acordia, and Acordia of WestVirginia Inc., claims that the payments "were unfair and deceptiveand resulted in less competition for insurance," the attorneygeneral's office said in a statement.

"Secret contingent commissions skew the marketplace and maycause us to pay more for our insurance premiums," said Mr. McGraw."The world's largest insurance brokers already have sworn offsecret payments. I expect Acordia to be next."

Acordia is a subsidiary of San Francisco-based financialservices company Wells Fargo & Company.

On its Web site, Acordia has posted a list of core values andterms of disclosure. The broker said it is committed to fulldisclosure of all fees and commissions and will calculate for itscustomer what, if any, contingent commissions it expects to receiveon a placement.

A spokeswoman for Acordia said the firm's policy is not tocomment on ongoing litigation. She added that the firm does notcondone any unethical behavior in any of its business dealings.

A call to Wells Fargo for comment was not returned.