Lockyer Subpoenas Safeco Corp.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer subpoenaed Seattle-based property/casualty insurer Safeco Corp. in connection with his investigation into bid rigging and price fixing in the insurance industry, according to Reuters. Safeco said it would cooperate with the subpoena, which was received on Nov. 23.

Hartford Financial Services Group received a subpoena from Lockyer last week. Lockyer is investigating possible antitrust violations and fraudulent activity within California’s insurance industry. He announced his intention to conduct an insurance industry investigation in October shortly after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against the world’s largest broker, Marsh Inc. California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi is also conducting his own inquiry.