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Dueling websites

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The battle between workers compensation insurance giants American International Group and Liberty Mutual has moved to the internet.

The two have been locked in a long-running legal fight that stemmed from allegations raised in 2006 that for decades AIG underreported workers compensation premiums to the 50 states.

If you haven't been following the story some background is available

here.

Briefly, the ongoing court fight has taken several turns and lately involves how much AIG might pay other commercial insurers who claim they were injured because AIG's underreporting of work comp premiums caused them to pay greater state assessments than they otherwise would have.

To settle those allegations, AIG has offered to pay a class of workers comp insurers $450 million. But Liberty Mutual says that amount won't cover its losses and it is opposing a settlement for that amount.

Several work comp insurers that first sided with Liberty Mutual against AIG are now on the other side. They want to accept the $450 million settlement.

So now there are three websites including one put up by a court-appointed administrator to inform insurance companies about the proposed settlement. It is available

here.

Another site tells Liberty Mutual's side of the story and explains to insurers what their options are if they “agree with Liberty that the proposed settlement is unfair and inadequate.” It is available here.

Finally, there is a site touting the benefits of accepting AIG's $450 million settlement. It was set up in opposition to Liberty Mutual's site by insurers known as the Settlement Class Plaintiffs. It is available

here.