Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts in Houston, Texas

April 15, 2007

Attorney General Abbott Settles $2.1 Million Antitrust Case

Investigation uncovers collusion in Bermuda insurance market

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today settled a $2.1 million antitrust case with a large commercial casualty insurance company that conspired to avoid competition with the same companies that were its own original investors.

Between 2001 and 2004, Allied World Assurance Co. (AWAC) of Bermuda, and companies affiliated with American International Group (AIG) conspired to coordinate bidding opportunities and share client information.

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Attorney General's lawsuit against Allied World Assurance

“An open, competitive marketplace is critical to the success of our capitalist system,” Attorney General Abbott said. “Texans will not tolerate anticompetitive schemes that violate the law and drive up prices. We will continue cracking down on unlawful operations that hurt Texas policyholders.”

Under the terms of the agreed final judgment, AWAC is prohibited from coordinating with its founding companies on the pricing, marketing, underwriting or quoting of its insurance policies. Those founding companies include AIG, Chubb and Goldman Sachs. According to the judgment, AWAC must maintain an operational separation from its founding companies. AWAC is also prohibited from using policyholder databases maintained by the founding companies and may not allocate customers or submit bids in a manner that violates antitrust laws.

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