ACE has reached a $9m settlement with the Attorney General for the State of Pennsylvania over underwriting practices...

ACE has reached a settlement over its underwriting practices and contingent commissions with the Attorney General and the Insurance Department of the State of Pennsylvania.

ACE has agreed to make a $9m payment and to comply with the business practice guidelines that the company established in 2004 to assure ongoing antitrust compliance in its domestic operations.

Describing the settlement as “an important step toward closure”, Robert Cusumano, ACE general counsel added: “The settlement also reinforces our belief that the reforms and guidelines that the Company put in place two years ago continue to be state-of-the-art safeguards that the regulatory community will embrace.”

The settlement will be paid from reserves set aside in prior quarters and will have no effect on ACE's financial results for 2007.