Two Georgia insurers settle premium discrepency lawsuits

ATLANTA - Two Georgia-based insurers have agreed to pay $55 million to settle accusations they charged blacks higher premiums for life insurance policies for more than 30 years. <br> <br> Under the settlement announced yesterday, Life Insurance Company of Georgia will pay $51 million to cover about 2.5 million policies sold mainly in 12 Southern states, including 677,000 in Georgia. <br> <br> The settlement also covers policies sold by Southland Life Insurance Company, a Life of Georgia affiliate. <br> <br> Both Atlanta-based companies are owned by the Dutch financial services giant, ING Group, based in Amsterdam. <br> <br> State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said the settlement also calls for a $4 million regulatory fine that will be divided among all 50 states. <br> <br> The settlement is subject to approval by a federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, where a judge has certified a class-action lawsuit combining several previous suits against the company. <br> <br> The case stems from a Georgia investigation that found Life of Georgia had charged blacks up to 35 percent more than whites for the same or similar coverage in the 1950s through the 1970s. <br> <br> In a statement, Life of Georgia called the settlement fair and reasonable. The company is the largest life insurer in Georgia, with about one million people insured in the Southeast.+