BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R.C. Knox and Company,
Inc., a wholly-owned insurance agency subsidiary of People's Bank
(Nasdaq: PBCT), has received a subpoena from the Office of the Connecticut
Attorney General. The company is cooperating fully with the Attorney General
and is preparing its response. The subpoena requests copies of documents and
other information from the company and does not allege any illegal conduct by
R.C. Knox. It is part of a continuing investigation by the Attorney General's
office into possible violations of Connecticut's antitrust laws in the
insurance industry and requests information on contingent commission
agreements and bidding practices.
Recent press reports indicate that similar subpoenas have been issued by
the Connecticut Attorney General to at least 35 companies involved in the
insurance industry, including brokers, agents, and carriers.
"R.C. Knox has a number of contingent commission agreements with insurance
carriers," said Valerie Carlson, spokesperson for R.C. Knox. "These agreements
are generally standard agreements written by the insurance carriers and the
compensation R.C. Knox receives under these agreements is typically based on
the claims experience of the insureds and the volume of the business written."
"These agreements are legal in the state of Connecticut and have long been
a standard feature in the insurance marketplace," she said.
"In light of recent press coverage of bid-rigging by national insurance
brokers, we wish to make it clear that it has never been Knox's policy to
submit or ask for fictitious, inflated or sham bids and, to the best of our
knowledge, this practice has never occurred at the company."
SOURCE People's Bank
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Related links: http://www.peoples.com
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/113252.html
CONTACT: Valerie C. Carlson, Corporate Communications of People's Bank, +1-203-338-2351, Fax: +1-203-338-3461, or vccarls@peoples.com
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