Manhattan Adult Entertainment: Spitzer Says Insurance Broker Fees Fueled ‘Improper Practices’
Fewer restrictions may help boost earnings at the top three brokers over time, said Meyer Shields, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Marsh & McLennan, the second-biggest broker, and No. 3 Willis rose the most in about two weeks on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, while No. 1 Aon advanced 1 percent.
“For the big three brokers there’s definitely upside,” Shields said in an interview.
Contingent commissions, which insurers pay to entice brokers, vary in amount based on the quantity of coverage sold by the middleman and how profitable the policies turn out to be for carriers. In 2004, Spitzer called some contingent commissions “classic cartel behavior.”
Spitzer left his post without extending the fee ban to all smaller agents. He went on to become governor of New York, a position he resigned in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal. In the last two years, Aon, Marsh & McLennan and Willis called for common rules to be applied to all middlemen.
See the full article from “BusinessWeek”