Spitzer Subpoenas General Re, Endurance Specialty

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Jan. 7, 1:09 p.m.EST?New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, continuinghis probe into insurance business practices, served subpoenas thisweek to Berkshire Hathaway's General Re Corporation and EnduranceSpecialty Holdings.[@@]

General Re, the reinsurance business unit of Omaha, Neb.-basedBerkshire Hathaway Inc., said it received a subpoena from Mr.Spitzer's office yesterday.

The company said the request deals with documents andinformation relating to non-traditional or loss mitigationinsurance products, and the materials requested are virtuallyidentical to those already asked for by the Securities and ExchangeCommission last week.

"Berkshire Hathaway and General Re will cooperate fully with theNew York State attorney general," the company stated.

Yesterday, Mr. Spitzer also sent a subpoena to EnduranceReinsurance Corporation of America, the U.S. unit of Bermuda-basedEndurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.

The Endurance Specialty spokesperson told NationalUnderwriter that Mr. Spitzer's office has requested documentsin connection with the probe into contingent commission agreementsfor broker payments.

Among other things, the subpoena seeks documents concerningefforts by any insurance broker to exclude or limit an insurer'saccess to the insurance market and documents concerning efforts orrequests by any broker to manipulate bids or price quotes, orsubmit false or inflated bids or price quotes in insurancemarkets.

The Endurance Specialty representative noted that her companyhas worked with Marsh & McLennan Companies. "Marsh is one ofthe largest brokers in the world, so they are one of the brokerswe've worked with," the representative said, but she emphasizedthat Endurance has not been named in any lawsuits stemming from theinvestigation.

Marsh has been accused in a civil suit by Mr. Spitzer's officeof accepting fee payments that were payoffs for steering businessto insurers who were part of a price-fixing scheme.