Marsh Hearing Postponed For 2nd Time
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU On line News Service, Jan. 17, 2:36 p.m. EST?A hearing by New York State's insurance department to possibly revoke the license of insurance broker Marsh was postponed for a second time.[@@]
The action came as a report was published that the Marsh parent, Marsh & McLennan Companies, could be close to settling a civil suit by the New York attorney general's office that accuses the broker of rigging bids in a price-fixing scheme with major insurers.
A public hearing on Marsh & McLennan Companies activities, that was to be held tomorrow in Manhattan, was postponed to Feb. 24. The New York State Insurance Department cited the ongoing investigation by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as the reason for the postponement.
The hearing was originally scheduled for late November last year but was re-scheduled to the January date.
A report last week in the Wall Street Journal said that Mr. Spitzer's office, to settle the suit, is seeking a $750 million penalty payment from New York-based MMC with a letter of apology. MMC is seeking to settle for $600 million without an admission of guilt, the newspaper said.
The suit stems from allegations that executives at MMC's insurance brokerage firm Marsh engaged in bid-rigging and other abuses to steer insurance contracts to insurers paying profitable contingency fees based on volume placements.
News of the settlement drove MMC's stock up $1.14 to $31.51 a share on Friday.
Markets were closed today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
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