Willis Group Holdings Ltd., the third-largest insurance broker in the world, announced Friday that it had amended its 2005 agreement with the New York attorney general and the state's insurance department to allow payment from insurance carriers for its services as a managing general agent.
Willis had agreed in April 2005 to pay $51 million to settle investigations by the New York and Minnesota attorneys general of alleged conflicts of interest when it accepted insurer payments while acting as a broker for insurance sales to its clients.
The amendment recognizes that when operating as a managing general agent Willis is representing and performing services for the insurer and therefore can be paid by the insurer without a conflict, the company said. Under the original agreement, called an assurance of discontinuance, Willis said it would accept payment only from its client.
