“If a customer insists on leaving...,” the broker continues. “You settle the case and get paid. You go to the people that make that non-compete issue go away, and you negotiate a settlement.”
Another broker speculated that the Aon-Alliant controversy could tarnish reputations for fair dealings and make contractor clients wary—but that assumes one can decide whether a line was crossed or if everyone is simply looking out for his or her own interests.
As others point out, in a business in which individual producers are the brokerage firm’s main assets, this may be the way business is conducted.
