Insurers Sued Over Fair-Housing Act

Allstate Insurance Co., State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., State Farm General Insurance Co., Grange Mutual Casualty Co. and Republic Insurance Co. have been sued over the way they handled insurance for homes for people with disabilities. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, accuses the companies of denying insurance or refusing to offer standard insurance to landlords who rent to persons with disabilities. The plaintiffs are individual landlords; the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington; and Oxford House Inc., which provides housing for recovering drug addicts. They say the companies violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. The insurers, through the National Assn. of Independent Insurers, a trade group, have disputed the lawsuit’s contentions.