Farmers to Settle Ohio Bias Suit
Farmers Insurance Group will pay $4.3 million to settle an Ohio case that claimed the company refused to insure homeowners in minority neighborhoods, Atty. Gen. Betty Montgomery said Monday.
The Los Angeles-based company will spend $3 million for grants and low-interest loans to develop, build and repair owner-occupied homes throughout the state and will pay a total of $1.3 million to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the Toledo Fair Housing Center and Housing Advocates of Cleveland.
The settlement stemmed from a 1999 Lucas County lawsuit that accused the company of discriminating in its insurance practices.
The Toledo Fair Housing Center sued the company after two black women said it wouldn’t sell replacement insurance policies for their homes because they were built before 1950.
The policies pay for the replacement of a home if it is destroyed.
The company instructed agents to apply these restrictive guidelines, said Lisa Rice, the Fair Housing Center’s executive director.
A message seeking comment was left Monday with the insurance company.
The company changed its guidelines in 1998, officials have said.
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