NEW YORK, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The insurance brokerage arm of Marsh & McLennan has been charged with price fixing and collusion.
The action by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, after months of complaints from industry watchdogs, accused Marsh of steering clients to favored insurers and working with major insurers to rig the bidding process for property-casualty insurance coverage, USA Today said.
The civil complaint says the victims ranged from large companies to school districts to individuals.
Some of the nation's largest insurance companies are accused in Spitzer's suit of steering contracts and bid rigging, including AIG, ACE, The Hartford and Munich American Risk Partners. Other insurance companies are being investigated in a scheme that Spitzer said raises everyone's insurance premiums.
Spitzer also announced two guilty pleas on criminal charges against two executives at American International Group. They are reported to be cooperating with the investigation, which could ensnare other insurance giants and executives.
