Ace reveals depth of external investigations into bid rigging allegations

In a filing recently made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bermuda-based Ace Ltd. disclosed that the company had received 43 subpoenas and legal enquiries relating to its alleged involvement in bid rigging and price fixing of insurance arrangements in connection with an investigation led by New York’s attorney general Eliot Spitzer into brokerage giant, Marsh & McLennan Co. The subpoenas and legal enquiries received by Ace stemmed from nine state attorneys general offices as well as from Washington D.C. Thus far, insurance commissioners and regulators from 10 states have engaged legal investigations into the alleged actions involving Ace.The Ace filing also reveals that both the SEC and Spitzer have issued subpoenas against the insurer for information relating to "non-traditional or loss mitigation insurance products". Ace is among four insurance companies that have been implicated by Spitzer’s investigation into Marsh. None of the companies in question have been charged. In addition to the external investigations being conducted into Ace, the insurer initiated its own internal investigation which has resulted in the termination of two employees and the suspension of three other employees.