Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. says half of all eligible customers and 90% of its biggest customers have decided to participate in an $850 million settlement fund.[@@]
Marsh, New York, a large insurance brokerage and consulting firm, set up the fund in January to implement a settlement agreement negotiated with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and New York Insurance Superintendent Howard Mills.
Marsh settled with New York after officials there filed suit against Marsh and charged that Marsh had rigged bids and fixed prices in exchange for hidden fees from insurers.
Spitzer had accused Marsh of using questionable, poorly disclosed compensation arrangements.
Preliminary results suggest that almost 70,000 of the 140,000 policyholders who were eligible to share in the settlement payout signed up for the fund, Marsh says.
The participating policyholders will receive about $750 million of the $850 million in settlement fund payments, Marsh says.
Marsh was pleased by the fact that 90% of the largest policyholders opted in, according to Marsh spokesperson Barbara Perlmutter.
The policyholders had until Sept. 20 to sign up for the fund and waive their right to sue Marsh.
