Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co will pay $5.75 million as part of a settlement in a lawsuit over the insurance company offering a discount on certain insurance products to West Virginia Farm Bureau members.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s original complaint asserted Nationwide allegedly was violating the West Virginia Unfair Trade Protection Act and the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act by offering an insurance discount on certain insurance products to West Virginia Farm Bureau member who were Nationwide insureds.
According to the lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General’s office, Nationwide’s West Virginia Farm Bureau Discount allegedly should not have been offered as it was discriminatory and the discount was not provided nor provided in full to eligible people.
The suit also claimed Nationwide’s Farm Bureau-related marketing was “unfair, deceptive and/or misleading to West Virginia citizens and/or consumers,” and that Nationwide improperly sold Farm Bureau memberships as a joint venture with the West Virginia Farm Bureau.
“Our agreement will help ensure that Nationwide customers in West Virginia recoup funds they may not have previously received and brings closure to this issue in the state,” Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.
Approximately $3.6 million will go to the West Virginia Attorney General’s office, with the remainder headed toward attorney fees and restitution to consumers.
Nationwide admitted no wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit.
