Erie Insurance files lawsuit against Maryland regulators over findings of discrimination [Baltimore Sun]
Erie said in a federal lawsuit that the
The lawsuit said the agency and insurance commissioner “suddenly, arbitrarily, capriciously and with improper motive surprised Erie by issuing the four public determination letters,” which ruled in favor of four
Three of the brokerage firms, all small businesses, filed separate complaints in
According to Erie’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in
“From the outset, we have cooperated fully with the
The agency’s four separate but identical rulings makes public information that’s confidential, attorney-client privileged or work-product protected, the lawsuit says. Some documents appear to have been obtained through searches of Erie’s systems and did not come from the insurer, the complaint says.
“Each of the four Determination Letters contain highly damaging, and unfounded determinations by the Administration that Erie violated [state law] in its treatment of Ross, BIN, Welsch and Burley – based entirely on the confidential, privileged and protected documents that are illegally referenced,” the company says in the lawsuit.
The insurance administration had found that Erie unlawfully canceled or rejected business from brokers based on race or for other discriminatory or arbitrary reasons. The insurer also unlawfully canceled or changed agreements for qualified applicants based on “adverse loss ratio,” a measure of an insurer’s profitability, the state agency had said in the rulings.
“The loss ratio metrics that Erie adopted were designed to target agencies writing business in urban areas with large minority populations and to reduce the volume of business being written in those areas,” the agency’s determination letters said.
The state’s investigation found that Erie’s auto insurance business in
The insurer, a Fortune 500 company with more than 6 million home, auto, life and business policies, said it disagreed with the findings and requested a hearing with the agency to appeal.
Cummings said the company is “deeply troubled” by the brokers’ allegations because “we find discrimination of any kind abhorrent and inconsistent with the values that have guided our business for nearly 100 years. We are proud of the strong relationship and trust we’ve earned with our independent agents and customers in
The four brokers original complaints had accused
Both
The state had found that
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