The settlement agreement alleges that ACE was a full participant in a scheme to fix insurance prices in the excess casualty area. The Assurance details a scheme in which ACE would knowingly provide a losing bid to provide insurance coverage to create the illusion of a competitive bidding process. The assurance also details ACE’s use of improper “finite reinsurance” to bolster both its own financial results and those of its clients. For example, in 2000 ACE entered into a sham “reinsurance” agreement with American Capital Access (“ACA”), a privately held United States insurer. Under the terms of the deal, ACE and ACA entered into a series of written reinsurance contracts that appeared to contain sufficient risk to qualify as reinsurance. In reality, however, the two parties entered into secret side agreements that capped and guaranteed the profits ACE could make from the deal, thereby eliminating any risk for either party. ACE agreed to issue an apology, reform its business practices, pay $40 million into a restitution fund and pay $40 million in fines and penalties ($24 million to NY, $8 million each to IL and CT).