(Bloomberg) Michael Cherkasky, chief executive of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos., said some insurers have agreed to higher broker commissions as the company seeks to replace revenue lost in a settlement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Marsh, the world?s largest insurance broker, gave up a type of incentive compensation from insurers when it settled Spitzer?s accusations of bid-rigging and kickbacks in January for $850 million.

The company has negotiated with insurers to make up some of the lost revenue with higher base commissions, calculated as a percentage of the premium that clients pay. ?A whole series have agreed to it, but you?ve got to get all of them,? Cherkasky said today in an interview while attending a conference of corporate risk managers in Philadelphia. ?We won?t start to see how well it?s working until the third or fourth quarter.?

Cherkasky said on March 1 he was counting on higher base commissions to compensate for some of the banned incentive compensation from insurers.

Marsh has cut 5,250 jobs, ousted former CEO Jeffrey Greenberg and slashed its dividend 50 percent since being sued by Spitzer in October.

Insurance brokers such as Marsh typically charge clients in one of two ways: either a flat fee or a percentage of the client?s premium, known as the base commission.

Though clients pay both amounts, brokers often negotiate the base commission with insurers because it is reflected in the overall price.

According to Cherkasky, insurers should be willing to factor in higher base commissions because they are no longer paying hundreds of millions of dollars of incentive fees.

Marsh as well as Aon Corp. and Willis Group Holdings Ltd., its two biggest competitors, gave up the fees after Spitzer?s suit said they created an incentive to ignore clients? interests and steer customers to insurers that paid the most.

The $850 million settlement will reimburse clients who may have been overcharged because insurers were paying the fees. Clients will receive a letter estimating their portion of the restitution fund by May 20, Cherkasky said.

If clients choose to accept the money, they must agree not to sue the broker. ?I have not heard any say they are opting out, but that is self selective,? Cherkasky said. ?Those who plan to opt out won?t usually tell you.?

Since the suit, Marsh has lost more than 20 executives to competitors including Willis.

?I?m not particularly concerned about the upstarts,? Cherkasky said. ?It?s the Aons and Willises that I?m concerned about, but if we get our business right, I?m not concerned about any of them.?

Cherkasky also said he had finished cutting jobs after eliminating more than 8 percent of Marsh?s workforce since November. ?We?re confident we?re done,? he said.