similar to those under fire by New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer are being widely used in US motor and home insurance, a survey has revealed. .....
General Motors?
Delphi?
.... The month-long survey also looked at major insurers and the amount of commissions they received and paid for US business in 2003 – the most recent year that comprehensive data was available.
It said groups with more than $1billion of business with larger-than-average contingent commissions included Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Chubb. Markel and St Paul, which have operations in Lloyd's of London, were also on the list.
<snip>
After Mr Spitzer launched a US lawsuit against leading broker Marsh & McLennan last year, accusing it of receiving kickbacks from insurers and other irregularities, other brokers including Aon, Willis and Jardine Lloyd Thompson dropped the practices.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
(Filed: 15/10/2004)
The New York attorney general, who made his name from bringing to book the big stockbroking houses for the internet share tipping scandals of the late-1990s, now claims that chunks of the insurance world are corrupt.
Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest broker, and American International Group, the world's largest insurer, are the two biggest names implicated in an investigation Mr Spitzer described as "ever expanding".
<snip>
Marsh would select a company to win an insurance contract, while supposed rivals would then agree to submit higher quotes so that customers thought they were getting the cheapest deal. Mr Spitzer described the process as one of "steering and bid rigging". So far, he is focusing on the narrow property-casualty insurance field but pledges to expand his reach.
http://money.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/10/15/cnspit15.xmlJust have a look at the headlines ONLY
on this page to get a sense of what is transipiring all around you.
http://www.business.com/directory/financial_services/insurance/agents_and_brokers/marsh_and_mclennan_companies,_inc/news/Described as a man who ruled the company with an iron hand, his autocratic management style rubbed many the wrong way. Two of his sons -- Jeffrey Greenberg, 53, and Evan G. Greenberg, 50 -- both spent part of their careers at AIG, but eventually left the company for other insurance opportunities.
Jeffrey Greenberg was forced out at the company he was running -- insurance broker Marsh & McLennan -- after a bid-rigging probe led by Spitzer's office.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/15/news/fortune500/aig/The investigation is likely to also expand overseas. AIG has operations offshore, particularly in Bermuda where it has used a company to provide financial rewards for its executives. "It's common for insurance companies to use offshore companies and not be public about it," says Gass. "There is nothing illegal about it unless there is misuse."
(Son Evan Greenberg, CEO of Ace Limited, is based in Bermuda.)
So far, it's expected Mr. Buffet will be questioned as a possible witness, not necessarily a target. Buffet is chairman of a company called Berkshire Hathaway, which owns a company called General Re, which provides reinsurance. It agreed to a $500 million AIG deal that is now under scrutiny. Investigators are now trying to determine what Buffet knew and when he knew it.
<snip>
Greenberg is well-known in Washington where he known for raising large amounts of money. Greenberg was one of the President Bush's "Rangers" which means he personally raked in more than $200,000 for the reelection campaign. At the same time, he is also known for his access to members of the cabinet and Congress. This access has paid-off as the administration has often supported Greenberg on a number of issues ranging from access to China to terrorism insurance.
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2005/0401/p03s01-usju.htmlThe Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
Rule 006 » Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity.
Rule 171 » Blood is thicker than water, and Latinum is thicker than both.
Among the first calls to the attorney general was one from AIG, headed by Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, whose eldest son is Jeffrey Greenberg, Marsh's chief executive. Another early call came from yet another insurance firm headed by a Greenberg -- Ace, whose president is Evan Greenberg, Jeffrey's younger brother.
Ace and AIG jockeyed to be the first to meet with the attorney general. "They were racing to be the first to acknowledge the bid-rigging," says one official. "They wanted to appear most cooperative to get the best treatment."
The insurance executives took Mr. Spitzer seriously because of his track record: His investigations of Wall Street brokerages' research practices and of the mutual-fund industry had exposed widespread and longstanding malfeasance. Both led to huge fines and an industry overhaul.
On Oct. 1, Mr. Spitzer's lawyers met in the morning with AIG and in the afternoon with Ace. Both insurers disclosed instances of alleged price-fixing by Marsh. Hanging over the room was the knowledge that companies headed by a father and a son were providing evidence that could damage another son.
http://www.rasmusen.org/g202/10.marsh.mclennan.htmOn September 11,
certain firms lost certain data due to a certain Osama bin Laden.
Apparently, they did not lose enough.
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