Officials at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America are opposing fee disclosure requirements likely to be accepted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. State insurance commissioners are trying to tighten standards following New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s probe into contingent commissions rewarding insurance brokers for the amount of volume they steer to a particular insurer.

Now the NAIC proposes disclosure of all fees the client pays to the broker demanding that the client sign off on the document exhibiting fee structure. Executives from the leading industry group PCIA believe that the new methods are “costly and unnecessary”.

Robert Zeman, a senior vice-president with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said: "We understand the NAIC’s desire to act quickly and provide guidance to the states. However the organisation needs to balance the need for ’prompt’ action with the need for ’correct’ action."

Eliot Spitzer has questioned if conflict of interest may arise if the broker is motivated by the high contingent commissions rather than by desire to find the best deal for the client. At the time major insurance brokers including Marsh, Aon and Willis have phased out the practice of distributing such bonuses.

Last year, commissions totaled $51.1 billion in the property and casualty insurance sector, with contingent commissions reaching $3.7 billion.