US specialty insurance broker Alliant Insurance Services says it will vigorously defend against Aon’s recently filed lawsuit for claims arising from the departure of employees at Aon’s construction services group.
Aon alleges Alliant’s latest poaching raid is part of a pattern of hiring brokers from rivals to grow its business.
Alliant notes previous incidents in which Aon unsuccessfully sued them, including in 2014 when it was claimed that one of Aon’s former producer’s computer hard drives were missing; it was later determined that Aon had removed the hard drive itself for forensic analysis.
Alliant says it has strict hiring protocols designed to ensure new hires return all property and equipment to former employers and do not engage in any improper acquisition, use, or disclosure of confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information in connection with their employment.
“Alliant also instructs prospective employees to act solely on behalf of their current employer until they resign and not to solicit any other employees to join Alliant. Aon has unsuccessfully challenged these protocols before,” reads a statement released by the firm.
