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CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES ANTITRUST ACTION AGAINST GUY CARPENTER CHALLENGING THE USE OF REINSURANCE FACILITIES WITH LEAD REINSURERS

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Opening a new front, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a 107 page Complaint in Connecticut state court against reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Company and Excess Reinsurance Company, alleging violations of the Connecticut antitrust and unfair trade practices statutes by fixing prices, creating closed reinsurance markets and allocating reinsurance markets. This action has potentially broad significance since one of the practices it challenges is the creation by reinsurance brokers of a reinsurance facility with a “lead” reinsurer, in which other reinsurers can participate only if the agree to the pricing and other terms set by the lead reinsurer. The Complaint alleges that such a facility is “totally insulated from competition or any competitive market forces.” The role of a “lead” reinsurer in setting market rates and terms is not an unusual concept in some lines of reinsurance and markets. State of Connecticut v. Guy Carpenter & Company and Excess Reinsurance Company, Superior Court, Judicial District of Hartford (October 4, 2007).