Federal Class Action Against Marsh, 4 Insurers Alleging Consumer Fraud to be Filed Today in Boston

Massachusetts trial lawyer Robert Bonsignore is prepared to file a class action suit in U.S. District Court today in Boston accusing insurance broker Marsh and several insurers of price-fixing and consumer fraud.

Bonsignore said his suit would target Ace Insurance Co., American International Group, MetLife and Hartford Financial Services for allegedly paying kickbacks for business to Marsh.

Bonsignore told Insurance Journal he could not yet put a price tag on the damages to consumers if the case is certified but maintained the suit could be “huge.” Bonsignore, who said his father sold insurance, hopes the class action will lead to major changes in the insurance industry.

Bonsignore accused the insurance industry leaders of claiming a “litigation crisis” and blaming victims of accidents and malpractice when in fact “they were the ones harming consumers and causing rates to go up through unscrupulous deals.”

He said he wants to see the chief executives at major insurers lose their jobs. “Insurance is not corrupt,” he said, “It’s the people who have been making these deals that have to go. There needs to be a cleaning out of the executives.”

The lawsuit follows New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer ‘s charges last October alleging that Marsh illegally steered accounts to AIG, Ace Insurance and the Hartford. Bonsignore’s suit also names MetLife.