Marsh settlement yields pros and cons.More than 200 risk managers listened at their annual conference as two attorneys and a consultant walked them through the pros and cons pros and cons Noun, pl the advantages and disadvantages of a situation [Latin pro for + con(tra) against] of opting in to the $850 million settlement that broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. has reached with New York state Attorney General The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York. Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10 1959 ) is an American lawyer, politician and the current Governor of New York. Spitzer was elected governor in the November 2006 election. . That settlement, announced in February, established a compensation fund to settle civil fraud and antitrust charges that Spitzer brought against the company and its Marsh Inc. brokerage unit. Spitzer's suit alleged the world's largest insurance broker constructed elaborate schemes to rig bids, defraud To make a Misrepresentation of an existing material fact, knowing it to be false or making it recklessly without regard to whether it is true or false, intending for someone to rely on the misrepresentation and under circumstances in which such person does rely on it to his or clients and indulge in "kickbacks" that came in the form of market service and contingent-commission agreements. Now the eligible risk managers who may fall under the category of alleged defrauded clients will be receiving letters from Marsh in May, asking them to decide by Sept. 20 whether they will take their share in the settlement: an estimated 50% of the contingent commissions Contingent commissions is a term used in the American insurance industry for any kind of broker's commission which is contingent upon some event occurring (instead of a commission paid on the sale itself). In the UK this form of payment is known as Overriders. paid in connection with the placement of their business from Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2004. "Participating in the settlement fund is voluntary," Mitchell Auslander aus·land·er n. A foreigner. [German Ausländer, from Ausland, foreign country : aus-, away (from Middle High German , a partner with Willkie Farr & Gallagher, told his audience. "If you don't want to participate, you may pursue legal remedies on your own or as a member of a class action." Auslander said the Marsh settlement has become "the template" for later settlements reached with brokers Aon Corp. and Willis Group Holdings Ltd. The main concept in the business reforms included in the settlement are transparency and full disclosure in the brokering process. |
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