David K. Bradford, executive vice president and editor in chief of Advisen, explained this disconnect to National Underwriter. "I think there's a distinction being drawn between the firm and the individuals that work for the firm," he said.

Mr. Bradford noted that many risk managers indicated that even though they were not happy with the policies of the brokerage firm, "they liked their individual broker and had a good relationship with the individual handling their account."

He added that many survey respondents were from large companies, which often deal with the large brokerages. "I get the impression that there's a feeling among the larger companies that ?where do I go from here? Marsh is my broker, where do I go? AON?'"

Both firms have been targets of an inquiry by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that has led to charges that insurers helped brokers rig bids and paid kickbacks, disguised as fees and commission agreements, for business the brokers steered their way.

For many buyers, he said it's still too early to tell where the investigation will go. He speculated "People are waiting to see how it shakes out?who comes out clean, who comes out dirty, and what comes to light."

Mr. Bradford noted that he was surprised by some of buyers' written responses, which indicated that "very few risk managers wanted to see an end to contingent commissions." He said many of those buyers want more disclosure and a more transparent transaction process.

One thing buyers universally "hated," he added, was "the global brokerage system, where the large accounts are placed centrally and out of touch for the risk manager." This system, he said, has kept buyers "out of the loop and created a clubby atmosphere out of their sight that allowed this sort of thing to happen."

Risk managers indicated they want systemwide changes to prevent this type of abuse, including having their accounts handled by their local broker. "They want to be more involved, have direct contact with the underwriters, be aware of the information being exchanged, and know exactly how the broker is being compensated in every step of the process," he said.

Mr. Bradford said results of this survey were similar to those of a survey taken in May, when Mr. Spitzer had recently announced the investigation of broker contingency fees. "The assumption among a lot of people in the industry was that the status quo was OK for risk managers?that this wasn't an issue to them and they weren't concerned about it," he said.

The problem with this assumption, however, was that "they were concerned. Nobody had bothered to ask them and ask them in a way that they felt comfortable answering," he noted.

The survey also found that buyers had mixed views of the impact the fee controversy would have on total cost of risk and the quality of brokerage services they receive.

Forty-five percent said the controversy would have no impact on quality of service. While 33 percent thought the controversy would increase total cost of risk, 20 percent said it would decrease total cost of risk, according to Advisen.

Mr. Bradford said the survey found that most of the responding buyers?99 percent of nearly 700 risk managers surveyed?are familiar with the recent lawsuits filed by Mr. Spitzer. An overwhelming majority of buyers want to change the current pricing and transaction methods in the industry?essentially overhauling the present systems for buying commercial insurance.

Nearly 75 percent of buyers surveyed called for more standardization and transparency of transactions. Almost 68 percent said their company needed greater access to pricing and other transaction details. Most respondents said they had discussed the controversy with their senior management.

The survey was conducted through anonymous e-mails between Nov. 10?12, by Advisen, a provider of specialized information, analytic and benchmarking tools for commercial insurance professionals.

Advisen said it queried more than 4,000 risk managers and 684 responded (a response rate of more than 16 percent). The vast majority of respondents (81 percent) were executives who make insurance decisions on behalf of their company. All results remained anonymous throughout the survey and tabulation.

More than half the respondents also offered written comments on the impact of the controversy and transparency in the industry, Advisen said. The survey results will be summarized and analyzed in a forthcoming brief from Advisen that will be available to its subscribers or by calling 1-866-ADVISEN.