I never thought of myself as a party pooper, but that's how I felt after the hammering I took over my Oct. 20 column and earlier blog posting, in which I not only slammed AIG for taking top producers on junkets right after getting a federal bailout, but challenged agent acceptance of such incentive compensation on principle.

I suggested that taking agents to posh locales creates a potential conflict of interest, tempting supposedly independent producers to place business with a particular carrier because they might win a fancy trip, rather than serve the client's best interest.

At the very least, I said agents should disclose such side rewards to buyers–much like my call earlier this year for doctors to tell patients whether a particular pharmaceutical firm had flown them to a tropical resort to learn all about the wonder drugs they were prescribing.

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