(Reuters) — The Swedish Competition Authority on Wednesday said it had raided several insurers, including one owned by Finland's Sampo, as part of an investigation into suspected collusion over tendering for contracts.
Court documents showed raids were carried out at IF Skadeforsakring, Trygg-Hansa Forsakring, Folksam Omsesidig Sakforsakring, and the Swedish unit of AIG Europe Ltd.
"I can confirm we have made unannounced visits," Jimmy Dominius, a spokesman for the authority, said.
Folksam confirmed the raid but declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for IF said the company was cooperating fully with the Competition Authority.
"It is good that they are doing a full investigation of this," IF spokeswoman Caroline Uliana said.
Trygg-Hansa Forsakring and AIG Europe Ltd. did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The authority is investigating whether the companies colluded in anti-competitive practices with insurance brokers over contracts for both public authorities and private companies.
The competition authority has been investigating a number of insurance brokers over suspected market abuse since March.
Several top insurance brokers issued statements Friday announcing that they are being investigated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority for sharing competitively sensitive information within the aviation and insurance sectors.