Allstate vows to make homeowners insurance easier to obtain in minority areas

Jet, March 17, 1997

In response to recent discrimination complaints. Allstate Insurance pledged to make insurance easier to obtain in low-income and minority neighborhoods.

The vow is part of Allstate's agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Fair Housing Alliance.

The insurance company, the country's second-largest property and casualty insurer, also asked the alliance to test the company's sales practices by using pairs of White and minority testers to pose as customers. The alliance says it is the first time a major insurer has agreed to self-testing.

Allstate resisted the alliance's initial accusations that the company was engaging in a pattern of geographic discrimination known as redlining in 1994, according to Bob Pike, senior vice president of Allstate.

"We were already the largest provider of insurance to African Americans, Asians and Hispanics," Pike said in USA Today. "We didn't believe we needed to get any better."

However, the company took a closer look at the charges and saw room for improvement. It has agreed to disclose to HUD and the alliance how it rates geographic areas for the purpose of pricing policies.

The Allstate agreement includes telling homeowners why insurance coverage is denied, canceled or not renewed so the problem can be corrected and the client can reapply.