St. Paul Travelers Probed By 5 States

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Nov. 10, 4:08 p.m. EST?The St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. revealed in its Securitiesand Exchange Commission filing that the company has receivedsubpoenas or informational requests from various attorneys generaland regulators from five states.[@@]

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company's SEC filing yesterday statedthat, "as part of ongoing, industry-wide investigations ofinsurance sales practices," it has received subpoenas and similarrequests for information from the Office of the New York StateAttorney General, the Office of the Connecticut State AttorneyGeneral, and the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General.

The St. Paul Travelers said in its filing that attorneys generalfrom these three states requested documents and sought information"relating to the conduct of business between insurance brokers andthe company and its subsidiaries."

Additionally, The St. Paul Travelers noted in its filing that anumber of the company's subsidiaries have also received similarrequests for information, from the North Carolina InsuranceDepartment as well as from the Illinois Department of Financial andProfessional Regulation Division of Insurance.

"It has been widely reported that other governmental andregulatory authorities are conducting similar inquiries, and thecompany and its subsidiaries may receive additional requests forinformation from these authorities," according to The St. PaulTravelers SEC filing.

The company said it "will cooperate fully with these requestsfor information." Company representatives declined to commentfurther on ongoing regulatory investigations.