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Insurance company caters to Christians, say fair housing groups
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
An insurance company that markets special deals to ''churchgoers and people of faith'' is being sued by fair housing groups in Washington, D.C., and Akron for religious discrimination.
GuideOne Mutual Insurance Co.'s FaithGuard program for homeowners insurance is geared toward Christians and is prohibited by the fair housing law, the National Fair Housing Alliance and Fair Housing Advocates Association said Tuesday.
The groups filed suit against the West Des Moines, Iowa-based company late Monday in federal court in Akron.
''If I went to the grocery store to buy some bread, they couldn't have a section for Christian bread,'' said Shanna Smith, president and chief executive officer of the National Fair Housing Alliance. ''It's about a level playing field and equal access to
a product. You can't put a corporate bias into the sale of a product.''
GuideOne issued a statement saying FaithGuard, which is available in Ohio, is not discriminatory and the complaint is baseless.
''In fact, before the FaithGuard product was introduced, it was examined and approved by insurance departments in each of the 19 states where it is offered,'' said Tom Farr, general counsel for GuideOne Insurance, which promotes itself as ''America's leading insurer of churches, churchgoers and faith-based institutions.''
The lawsuit is not an attack on religion, Smith said, but an effort to make sure the company offers homeowner policies that don't discriminate against nonbelievers and non-Christians. She compared the program to one that would provide extra benefits based on race or whether people have children, which also are protected under the fair housing law.
Insurance benefits for homeowners cannot be tied to religion, said Vincent Curry, executive director of the Fair Housing Advocates Association.
''Faith is important in people's lives, but there are times when faith and religion cannot come into play,'' he said.
Company denies bias
In its statement, though,GuideOne said the product is ''available to everyone — whether they attend church or not and without regard to religion or denomination. No one has ever been denied the product based on church membership or attendance.
''There are no religion-related underwriting eligibility guidelines to obtain the product, and the company does not consider whether someone is a churchgoer before issuing a policy.''
The FaithGuard program, which doesn't cost extra, offers benefits that include waiving a deductible ''if there is a loss of personal property while it is in the care, custody and control of the church;'' doubling medical limits for an injury at a church-related event at the policyholder's home; paying up to $7,500 in mortgage payments if the policyholder is disabled in an accident at his or her home; and paying up to $750 in church tithing or donations if the policyholder has an accident at his or her home, according to the company's Web site. The program often refers to ''church'' in written materials, as opposed to a synagogue or mosque, and is clearly tied to the Christian faith, Smith and Curry said.
The company also offers the FaithGuard program for auto insurance.
GuideOne routinely asks for religious affiliation when talking with prospective customers for homeowners insurance and a special form asks applicants to state their religious denomination, according to the suit.
The housing groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in December 2006 after discovering the FaithGuard program on the company's Web site, Smith said. GuideOne failed to respond to their concerns, leading to the lawsuit, she said.
HUD investigating
A HUD spokeswoman said the complaint remains under investigation.
Ohio Department of Insurance spokeswoman Carly Glick said the state questioned the company about a potential for discrimination in 2004. But the additional benefits associated with FaithGuard are free and only an option for customers, she said.
State officials also concluded the word ''church'' was used in a universal sense and not for a particular faith, she said.
The suit seeks to prevent the company from offering the FaithGuard program and asks for an unnamed amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
A copy of the lawsuit is available on the National Fair Housing Alliance Web site at http://www.nationalfairhousing.org.
For more details about GuideOne, go online to: https://www.guideone.com/
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
An insurance company that markets special deals to ''churchgoers and people of faith'' is being sued by fair housing groups in Washington, D.C., and Akron for religious discrimination.
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