Under Conn. Settlement Recalculation, Aon to Pay More to Clients and Towns

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal reported that more than 20 Connecticut municipalities, corporations and individuals will receive more money than anticipated from the Aon Corporation settlement after his office discovered miscalculations by Aon.

Aon has acknowledged it mistakenly miscalculated the settlement shares owed to certain policyholders and has agreed to extend the deadline for consumers to file notice of whether they accept their share of the settlement. The company is notifying towns and other policyholders affected by the error of the corrected amount.

Among those towns receiving higher than expected settlement shares are Hartford ($44,775.73, an increase of $40,905.87); Sterling Board of Education ($5,313.19, an increase of $4,283.82); Bristol ($22,051.70, an increase of $17,979.19); East Hampton ($21.561.95, an increase of $16,476.42); Fairfield ($135,816.27, an increase of $87,803.65); Groton ($7,524.96, an increase of $5,543.13); North Branford ($33,997.29, an increase of $25,342.66); Enfield ($79,778.36, an increase of $62,210.39); Newtown ($15,707.66, an increase of $12,360.98); Portland ($8,379.33, which represents a 100 percent increase because the town was not initially included in the calculation); and Windham Public Schools ($49,347.84, an increase of $39,837).

Eligible policyholders had until Nov. 30 to officially request their share of the settlement, which will be distributed in three installments – on Dec. 31, 2005, Sept. 30, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2007.

“My office uncovered steep miscalculations in Aon’s planned payments to policyholders,” Blumenthal said. “We will ensure that every eligible policyholder is paid every penny of restitution, almost 6,000 Connecticut towns and cities, taxpayers, nonprofits and corporations. Aon rightfully took immediate steps to resolve these miscalculations when brought to their attention by my office and has continued to cooperate with our ongoing investigation into insurance industry abuses. We will completely and forcefully end the insurance industry’s ‘pay to play’ mentality.”

Aon, based in Chicago, Ill., earned millions of dollars in secret, illegal commissions stemming from its lucrative business with Connecticut municipalities and other consumers, Blumenthal found. In March, Blumenthal announced a $190 million nationwide settlement with the company. Aon also agreed to cease its illegal practices and cooperate with Blumenthal’s ongoing investigation into industry abuses.

There is $4.6 million being distributed among almost 6,000 insurance policyholders in Connecticut under the settlement.

For additional details on the settlement distribution, consumers may call the Aon Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-800-419-3922 or visit the Regulatory Settlement Website for Aon.