Big Customers Sign Up For Marsh Settlement Fund

Payments will be made in 4 installments, on Nov. 1, 2005, and on June 30 in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Perlmutter says the $100 million left over in the settlement funds will be used for additional client settlements in accordance with the settlement agreement.

Marsh and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., have announced that state commissioners will accept the agreement and end their own actions against Marsh.

But that announcement does not have any bearing on other litigation or the discussions Marsh is having with several attorneys general, Perlmutter says.

Recently, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that he is expanding his lawsuit against Marsh to include allegations of bid-rigging, price fixing and illegally steering state business and consumers to favored insurers in return for “tens of millions of dollars in undisclosed kickbacks.”

Blumenthal says the new allegations, which were previously limited to a state contract, could now involve “thousands” of the state’s residents. He says the suit would seek money back for corporate, nonprofit, government and individuals harmed by Marsh’s practices.

“There were about 1,100 Connecticut policyholders who elected to participate in the [Marsh] settlement out of 2,800,” Blumenthal says. “Our lawsuit seeks to help to obtain compensation for the remaining 1,700 or even additional compensation for those who participated. So, this [settlement] litigation in no way makes our litigation moot or academic.”