DC Federal District Court Rejects Travelers Insurance Motion to Dismiss Fair Housing Act Disparate Impact Claim
On
NFHA alleges that the Travelers' policy has an adverse impact on African Americans and women, especially against families living in predominantly
The denial of Travelers' motion to dismiss notably holds that NFHA's housing discrimination complaint has pled viable disparate impact claims on the basis of race and sex under the
The lawsuit is the result of an investigation by NFHA that uncovered this discriminatory business practice. In its motion to dismiss, Travelers attached an affidavit stating that since
"Travelers' practices and underwriting guidelines have a discriminatory impact on the District's most vulnerable households. Everyone knows how hard it is to find safe and decent affordable housing in D.C. So denying insurance to housing providers simply because their tenants use vouchers exacerbates the problem for African Americans, and especially for
Travelers' business practices were discovered by NFHA investigators who contacted five independent insurance agencies that represent Travelers in the D.C. area. The investigators sought insurance coverage for multi-family apartment buildings located in
Another broker, who was not told initially that the property was occupied by voucher recipients, first stated to the investigator that he had spoken with a Travelers' representative and quoted a policy premium between
Stop right there. Subsidized housing is a problem." The broker indicated he doubted that Travelers would underwrite the policy, but he offered to confirm with Travelers directly. The following day, the broker called the investigator and conveyed that he had spoken with a Travelers representative who stated that Travelers would not underwrite a policy for that building and that "any Section 8 would be a problem." The broker then explained that the investigator would likely need to obtain a policy from the secondary market, which would have a premium of approximately
NFHA alleges that Travelers has known since at least 2013 that denying insurance to apartment owners simply because some tenants use Housing Choice Vouchers violates fair housing laws. NFHA member
NFHA is represented by
A copy of the DECISION is available here.http://nationalfairhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/NFHA-v.-Travelers-Opinion-1.pdf
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