Judge Rules Spitzer Suit May Continue; Liberty Mutual Not Giving Up Fight

March 30, 2007

  • March 30, 2007 at 7:06 am
    Ele Phante says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I worked at one of Liberty\’s operating companies and it was a memorable experience I will not soon forget. So…there is at least one elephant in the house. Speaking of elephants, they usually travel in packs and leave a trail behind. And while generally quiet, you do not want to piss a bunch of them off.

  • March 31, 2007 at 12:01 pm
    RRR says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Why didn\’t Spitzer go after the auto makers – Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc for their contigent commissions to dealerships for selling more cars? …. Oh, right that is a sales bonus, not a contigent commission for selling more insurance.

    Now he is Governor of New York.

    Hmmmm.

  • March 30, 2007 at 12:48 pm
    Richard says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    1000 hoorays for Liberty Mutual to stand up against Spitzer. It\’s about time we defended ourselves.

  • March 30, 2007 at 1:07 am
    ins geek says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    agreed – Spitzer conveniently forgets about loss ratios in the contingent commission calculation – NY voters were truly fooled by this guy – he is misrepresentation personified

  • March 30, 2007 at 1:09 am
    Liberty or Death? says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Liberty has a history of sacrificing its salespeople and lower and mid-level underwriters to protect higher-ups from regulatory and legal actions. Just ask the Liberty alums at your place of work. It also has a record of being sanctioned by judges for withholding subpoenaed information from discovery (e.g. a Colorado case a few years back). Wait–I guess they\’re like any other firm that way. Silly me!

    I bet those files are pretty clean by now at Liberty. Hope they\’re the same at all those big brokers that dealt with them, or you and they may be \”going down,\” a la the naive Alberto \”no recuerdo\” Gonzalez.

    Liberty has always had an equivocal, love-hate, mostly hate relationship with the brokerage community. If I had done a lot of business with them, I would be sweating bullets. If I had taken advantage of their initial naivete in dealing with the brokerage world with special contracts and that whole big brokerage corruption apparatus that Spitzer has thankfully exposed, I would be making plans to move to Brazil.

    Liberty\’s naivete about the brokerage world may be what is inducing them to persist in this unique course. They may end up being self-serving by damaging the brokerage community more. \”If we are going to go down, then we are going to bring everyone else with us\” or some such thoughts may be lurking in the background.

    Deal with busines partners you can trust to do the right thing? Hmmm.

    As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Theme for this Sunday\’s sermon….The bogeyman is coming.

  • March 30, 2007 at 1:34 am
    Justin A. Skier says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    As a former LM employee for 16 years I can personally attest to their high professional standards and record of doing the right thing. Keep up the good fight!

  • March 30, 2007 at 1:41 am
    Jewel says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    \”New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer announces a lawsuit against H& R Block Inc., accusing it of fraudulently marketing high-fee IRAs. …\”

    Granted I don\’t watch the news as much as I should (and granted the above isn\’t about insurance but rather financial services) and I am not as educated on this as other people, but this guy to me sounds like a joke.

    I worked at H & R Block for one tax season and although I didn\’t go back, I NEVER encountered any of the situations he accused H & R Block of doing. I think the problem was either ignorant tax preparers or poor training on the part of the managers/trainers at various locations. I was NEVER forced to sell IRA\’s or lose my job. I was educated enough in the IRA to sell them to my clients.

    \”The suits claimed that the company failed to tell customers that the payments — formerly called \”rapid refunds\” — were actually high-interest, short-term loans.\”

    This is also a bunch of bs. I know all of the preparers in my office were VERY clear that these \”instant\” refunds were loans and had applicable interest rates which were disclosed (on paper at each desk in the office). Ignorance is not an excuse. This is a classic case of \”wanting their cake and eating it too.\” I have no doubt some preparers might not have been so clear. But, I never encountered anyone at H & R Block condoning this behavior.

    Anyway, as I said, I think he just sounds like a big idiot who has nothing better to do than waste time and make companies pay out money they shouldn\’t have to. I am all about looking out for the little people, but companies (who have not done anything wrong) shouldn\’t be bullied too.

  • March 30, 2007 at 2:20 am
    earle says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Insurance companies have the right to reward producers for certain levels of premims written, not forgetting that such payments are reduced or forfeited depending on loss ratios.Many,if not all of the commercial clients have bonus arrangements with their producers,without profitability taken into account,and should have no complaints.The legality issue raised is political. Fight on Liberty and Maurice !

  • March 30, 2007 at 6:09 am
    KEVIN says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    JUST WHO DOES SPITZER THINK HE\’S FOOLING ?
    HE DIDN\’T FOOL MR GREENBURG; HE AMBUSHED HIM

  • March 31, 2007 at 9:55 am
    Rick says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    If AIG, Travelers & Chubb were mutuals, as Liberty is, they probably would have fought Spitzer also.

  • March 31, 2007 at 6:00 am
    augie says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Just who/what in hell does he think he is and think he\’s doing ?
    What about EVERY OTHER COMPANY IN THE WORLD which operates (must) operate on an incentive basis
    Did this nerd grow-up in a cave
    When he was in private practice, didn\’t he get bonus or % of partnership if he won more cases etc
    He sullied a magnificent man, Maurice Greenburg who brought more sense and innovation to the industry, and he did it all for own politcal expediency and his own gain
    Spitzer disgusts me and he must go !
    Just watch his \”dedication\” to being Governor….-if the Democrats get constipated he\’ll bail out of Albany, for what he\’s been fishing for in the first place !!

  • April 2, 2007 at 10:36 am
    brad sickinger says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Hey dipshits, the auto industry was not rigging bids like these crooks were.

  • April 2, 2007 at 11:06 am
    Patriot says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Go Liberty Mutual!!! Kiick some serious ***. Too bad the other companies rolled over and did not fight.



Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*