HCC Comments on N.Y. Investigation into Brokers, Companies; Suspends MSA Payments

Stephen L. Way, chairman and chief executive officer of Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc., recently commented on the State of New York’s investigation into various insurance brokers and companies.

“We have no involvement with any price or premium fixing and have not received any requests for information from the N.Y. Attorney General’s office,” Way said. “We of course do not condone such practices and conduct our business at HCC in accordance with the highest legal and ethical standards that have been in place long before Sarbanes-Oxley.”

Regarding market service agreements (MSAs), Way stated, “Several of our subsidiaries have current MSA agreements in place with certain major insurance brokers, in accordance with market practice; however, we have voluntarily suspended payments under all such agreements. It should be noted that the average total commission that we pay to our producing brokers has reduced since 2001, the start of the hard market. It should be further noted that aggressive competition among insurers in soft markets often leads to higher commissions to producers at the same time as lower premiums for insureds.”

HCC is an international insurance holding company and a leading specialty insurance group since 1974, based in Houston, Texas, with offices across the United States and in Bermuda, England and Spain.