ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310049
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Nationwide faces redlining probe
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is facing scrutiny from federal authorities and lawsuits in at least seven states for allegedly telling its agents to avoid insuring homeowners in minority neighborhoods. The Justice Department is looking into whether the nation's sixth-largest property and casualty insurer violated civil rights laws.
The lawsuits accuse the insurer of refusing to write policies on the basis of race or residence in low-income areas. They were filed in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Florida and Connecticut.
Nationwide spokesman John Millen said redlining is against company policy. He said Nationwide is working on a plan to increase business in urban neighborhoods, but not because of the Justice Department inquiries.
The National Fair Housing Alliance said people in white neighborhoods received better coverage and lower rates than homeowners in black areas.
-Associated Press
Trigon to pay for law violations
RICHMOND - Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield has paid $225,000 to settle regulators' allegations that it violated state insurance law. The settlement earlier this month was a result of a 1995 state Bureau of Insurance examination of the insurer's three health maintenance organizations.
The company has corrected or is correcting the problems, said Gerald Milsky, the bureau's deputy commissioner for life and health insurance.
Trigon paid a fine of $5 million in 1994 to settle bureau allegations it had misled customers about their co-insurance and agreed to refund about $70 million in excess payments. It paid $950,000 in 1995 to settle bureau complaints about its advertising and the way it handled claims.
-Associated Press
Mortgage rates up
WASHINGTON - Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.88 percent this week, up from 7.85 percent last week and the highest since 7.88 percent Oct. 17, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.55 percent, down from 5.57 percent. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.38 percent, up from 7.35 percent.
-Associated Press
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