Zurich Price-Fixing Class Action Settled for $150 Million

A $150 million settlement has been approved in the class action against Zurich Financial Services and insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

The suit alleged that the defendants engaged in price fixing between 1994 and 2005. Estimates suggest that there may be 3.79 potential class members who qualify as beneficiaries of the settlement. Under the terms of the agreement nearly 52 percent of the funds are allotted to Zurich policy holders who purchased excess casualty insurance between 2001 and 2004; customers who purchased other types of insurance, or additional policies outside that time frame will be allotted 33.9 percent of the settlement. Class members who did not purchase insurance policies from Zurich, but were nevertheless affected by the wrongdoing will receive 9 percent of the monies.

The states involved in the settlement are: California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

SEPT-10-09: Court Upholds $150M Settlement in Insurer Price-Fixing Class Action [THE NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL]