Last month’s settlement between New York authorities and former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice R. Greenberg brings an undramatic end to a courtroom saga that began when former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer turned his attention to the commercial insurance and reinsurance industry 12 years ago.

Given the anger and frustration Mr. Spitzer’s actions provoked within the insurance sector, it’s perhaps not surprising that when his political career derailed after a prostitution scandal a few years later, the schadenfreude felt by many in the industry was clearly discernible.

But for all the billions in settlements and dozens of lawsuits, motions and appeals — in addition to the angst and the personal upheavals that resulted for many in the industry — it’s fair to ask what the investigations achieved for the industry and its clients.

In terms of settlement funds, the $9 million that Mr. Greenberg paid is comparatively negligible, considering the organizations involved and the size of the reinsurance contracts. The wider investigation into the use of finite risk coverage, however, did chill that part of the market. Today, reinsurers look for other ways to structure contracts to deal with long-tail risks, and the market appears to have adapted.

But the side of Mr. Spitzer’s investigations that affected commercial policyholders the most was his probe of bid-rigging and practices where brokers allegedly steered business to insurers that paid the highest contingent commission. The settlement funds paid by the largest brokers were substantial, and, at least at the beginning, industry practices were forcibly changed to stop big brokers from charging contingent commissions.

The move was welcomed by many risk managers, who understandably saw a conflict of interest in their brokers being paid extra bonuses by insurers. But the bans on contingents ended, and some brokers found other ways of earning supplementary commissions. For midmarket brokers in particular, contingents never went away and remain an important component of their profits.

Perhaps the one lasting effect of the Spitzer investigations has been greater transparency, with brokers sharing details on their commission structures more openly with clients. That’s a welcome development, but it’s hard not to feel that such a simple business courtesy should have required far less turmoil to put in place.