Duperreault says: “We are happy to put it behind us.”

Insurance broker Marsh & McLennan agreed to pay $435m to settle two of the biggest remaining shareholder lawsuits triggered by the 2004 Spitzer inquiry into contingent commissions, reported Dow Jones.

"We are happy to put it behind us," Brian Duperreault, Marsh & McLennan's chief executive, said of the settlements, speaking at an insurance conference in New York.

Marsh agreed to pay $400m to settle a securities suit and $35m to settle another suit related to charges under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. $230m of the total will be covered by insurance, said Dow Jones.

Duperreault said the settlement will have an impact on the company's fourth-quarter results as well as a tax effect.

The 2004 scandal, uncovered by former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, started as in investigation into contingent commissions but evolved into a criminal investigation when active bid rigging was uncovered.