Have hidden payments hiked your household insurance bills?(Up front: news / trends / advice)

Officials in several states are investigating the insurance industry to determine whether inflated commissions may have inflated premiums. Investigators say that may also mean that individuals have paid too much for employee benefits and for life, auto, and homeowners' coverage.

OVERPAYMENTS AT WORK

In October 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., a major commercial insurance broker, with bid-rigging, price-fixing, and other fraudulent practices. That means a company could be paying too much for its health or group-life coverage, and the employees may also have overpaid in the form of too-high payroll contributions.

The Attorney General's Office told us that it doesn't yet know what remedies may result from its investigation, but a spokesperson said that one remedy may be to restore money to customers if they were harmed.

OVERPAYMENTS AT HOME

Consumers may also be overpaying for insurance purchased through independent insurance brokerages, which are supposed to find you the best deal, and earn a commission on sales. Spitzer and other investigators want to know whether agents receive extra commissions for steering business to a particular insurer.

David Evans, senior vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, an industry trade group, ...