A New York-based insurance company, Greater New York Mutual Insurance Co., will pay $45,000 for violating Connecticut state insurance laws, including those regarding rebates and premiums.

The fine comes after a market conduct examination by regulators with the Connecticut Insurance Department, done through a survey with the insurer, according to the Hartford (Conn.) Courant. The exam covered conduct in the Connecticut market during 2006 for the insurer, which has a branch office in Glastonbury, Conn., selling commercial property and casualty insurance.

Greater New York Insurance Cos., the parent company, has its headquarters in New York, N.Y., and seven offices in other states, including Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Connecticut Insurance Department found that the mutual insurance company had paid lower-than-usual commissions to agents – at the agent’s request – on 17 policies, which resulted in lower premiums to the customers, according to the Courant.  That act violates the state’s anti-rebating law.

Thomas D. Hughes, executive vice president and general counsel for the parent company, told the Courant that agents asked for smaller commissions because their expenses related to the policies were lower than usual.

Hughes added that the company did not realize it was violating Connecticut law and that it takes regulatory compliance in all states “very seriously.”

The exam also exposed sales through agents who were not licensed in Connecticut or who were not property appointed by the company to sell its policies, the Courant reported. In a few cases, Greater New York failed to compensate claimants for the loss of use of their vehicles following an accident.

Hughes told the newspaper the company was taking “stringent corrective measures” to fix all the violations highlighted in the exam.