The Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal has brought a civil...

The Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal has filed charges against Marsh & McLennan (MMC) and Ace.

The suit accuses Ace of paying a $50,000 contingency fee to MMC in order for it steer business its way.

The complaint, which was filed on Friday, said MMC and its subsidiary Marsh USA Risk Services misrepresented the commission it received on a contract with the Connecticut department of administrative services.

The contract, signed in 2001, stated: "payment of broker commissions shall not be part of the insurers premium".

But Blumenthal accuses MMC of immediately initiating talks with Ace indicating the broker would require an extra contingency fee from the company.

According to the suit, after the contract was bound, Ace agreed to pay Marsh a $50,000 contingency fee on the business.

While Ace said to the state that its $80m was "net of brokerage commissions," neither the insurer nor Marsh ever disclosed the fee to the state, the suit charges.

In a statement, the attorney general said the suit was the first in a series of legal actions he expects to take in response to insurance industry abuses.