The moves come in light of events in New York, where Mr. Spitzer uncovered evidence that executives at Marsh may have manipulated the placement of insurance contracts in return for profitable contingency fees. The action there led to the resignation of Jeffrey Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Marsh & McLennan, the parent company of Marsh. (See story, page 6.)

Meanwhile, Itasca, Ill.-based broker Arthur J. Gallagher said it also received a subpoena from Mr. Blumenthals office. The broker announced it was ending the practice of taking contingency fees, following the lead of Aon and Willis. (See related stories, page 8 and 48).

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group also announced last week that “we are advising our clients that we are not entering into [contingency fee arrangements] from 2005 and thereafter.”

“Recent events have all the hallmarks of being a defining moment in the history of our industry,” said JLT CEO Steve McGill. “If as a result of this investigation a more level playing field is established for the industry, this will clearly be of benefit to our clients and JLT.”

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, October 28, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.