The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation joined the states of Texas, Georgia, California and Ohio in reaching a settlement with Americo Life Inc.

The settlement will provide additional benefits to black consumers who were historically sold various types of insurance policies at higher rates than policies sold to whites, according to a release from the state insurance office.

The Texas Department of Insurance served as the lead regulatory negotiator for the five-state group that acted on behalf of all members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The settlement affects small face amount life insurance policies, commonly known as industrial life or burial policies, which were sold to blacks at a higher cost or with lesser benefits than policies sold to whites. The policies were not sold directly by Americo but by insurance companies that Americo subsequently acquired, the release said.

For each person who is identified as a holder of an eligible policy, the company will add 25 percent to the face amount of the policy, the release said. All valid claims under this settlement will be honored for a period of four years.

Because of gaps in record keeping, state regulators don't know how many Floridians are affected by the settlement.

A list of the companies and online claim forms are available on a special Race-Based Pricing Web site maintained by the Texas Department of Insurance at www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/rbsettlement.html

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