Two senior insurance underwriters at Zurich American Insurance Co. pleaded guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanours related to bid-rigging in the insurance market.
The two men were facing felony charges, but agreed to cooperate with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigation. A New York state judge accepted the pleas. Both now face a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
Spitzer launched an investigation of the insurance industry this year and in October sued insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. for alleged bid-rigging.
Zurich American is a unit of Swiss insurer Zurich Financial.