Posted On: October 18, 2004, 3:19 pm CDT

Posted By: Jack Mosely

This could actually cause the brokers-Marsh, AON, Willis,Gallagher, HUB, B&B-you pick 'em, a lot of trouble. They have been growing under the idea that they could use their size to extract a better deal from the carriers than the local agents and regional pseudo-brokers and thus deliver enhanced shareholder value-remember that 20 years ago, most brokers were either privately held or closely held companies-none were on anybody's radar screen. If this gets stopped-either by people like Spitzer or voluntarily to avoid uprisings by shareholders, then there is no advantage to the size of any of these brokerage houses any longer. That in turn would change the dynamics of many of the super sized carriers-Travelers, Hartford, CNA, etc. and how they in turn treat business acqusition. This could end up being the story of the year