AIG settles anti-trust allegations from Ohio

2/27/2010

American International Group Inc. agreed to resolve claims from the state of Ohio that the insurer violated antitrust laws by working with brokers to limit competition in the sale of commercial coverage.

AIG and the Ohio Attorney General's Office told a court this week that they have "agreed in principle to settle" the case, the New York company said yesterday in its annual report. The insurer said it would make a payment under the deal, and didn't quantify the amount other than to say it would "not be material to AIG's financial condition."

AIG, the firm that received a $182.3 billion rescue, is resolving legal disputes.

The company also disclosed it had a fourth-quarter loss of $8.9 billion, or $65.51 a share, as it sold large stakes in its insurance businesses in an effort to whittle its massive debt to taxpayers.

The dip back into red numbers ends the bailed-out insurance giant's run of two consecutive profitable quarters. But it marks a vast improvement over the $61.7 billion loss the company posted for the same period a year ago - the largest quarterly loss in U.S. corporate history.

Overall, AIG recorded losses of $10.9 billion for 2009, compared with nearly $100 billion in losses during 2008.