While the issues discussed by the panel dealt with the life/health industry, the discussion about producer compensation was also relevant to the property-casualty industry because Mr. Poolman is chairman of the Producer Licensing Working Group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Mr. Poolman noted during his comments that he did not support recent changes in compensation disclosure regulations in the Producer Licensing Model Act recently approved by the NAIC.

One of the reasons he didn't support the amendments to the Model Act, he said, was that some of the underwriters and members of such trade groups as the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America had agreed voluntarily to disclose details of their compensation.

He also said he did not support the changes because commercial insurance bid-rigging by major brokers, that has been uncovered and is being prosecuted by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, is illegal under existing law. In Mr. Poolman's view the attorney general's activities didn't touch on the issue of contingency commissions, and prosecution of such wrongdoing did not require new laws.

Mr. Spitzer has suggested, however, that major brokers accepted undisclosed fees paid by insurers as part of arrangements to fix prices.

Mr. Poolman, a Republican, also appeared to suggest that Mr. Spitzer's activities were politically motivated. "AG also stands for aspiring governor," he said, a reference to the fact that Mr. Spitzer is a Democratic primary candidate for governor.

Comments from members of the panel indicated a belief that Mr. Spitzer's investigations, in which he has been joined by state officials in California and Connecticut, would not bring about major changes in industry producer practices.

This despite the fact the New York attorney general has reached legal agreements for changes in disclosure and other practices by large brokers, who have agreed to pay over $1 billion in restitution to customers.

Mr. Spitzer's legal actions also have led such large insurance brokers as Marsh, Aon and the Willis Group–the industry leaders–to eliminate contingent commissions.

One of the panel members added, "The issue is fading away into the sunset."

J. Bruce Ferguson, senior vice president, state relations at the ACLI, said that "some of the dire predictions" associated with the Spitzer probe, including claims of "widespread corruption" by insurance producers, "have not come true."

Mr. Ferguson did say that the changes to the Model Act approved by the NAIC as a result of the Spitzer probe "are designed to bring transparency to the broker compensation process."

Mr. Poolman said that in his state, "you start banning contingency commissions, and some of the smaller rural agencies will go out of business and the existing producer distribution system dries up."