Jeffrey Blum, executive director of the group, said the City of Philadelphia is among those places where redlining occurs. He noted that the Kensington and Southwest Philadelphia sections are among those neighborhoods where such discrimination takes place frequently.
The insurance companies named in the complaint are: Nationwide, Aetna Life and Casualty, Harleysville, Erie, Allstate, State Farm and Keystone.
"We believe that illegal auto insurance redlining is going on throughout the state of Pennsylvania, and it must stop," Blum said.
He told reporters at a news conference that redlining affects all Pennsylvania drivers, especially those in Philadelphia, even if they don't live in neighborhoods that are redlined.
"Insurers allege that auto insurance premiums are soaring because there are too many uninsured motorists," he said. "Yet, insurers are engaged in withholding coverage from good drivers simply because of where they happen to live." As a result, he said, insurance is more costly for everyone.
The group, funded primarily through door-to-door solicitations and individual memberships, asked that state insurance commissioner Constance Foster investigate the charges and halt the alleged practices.
The group's charges are based on a study it issued in May 1988 called ''Unavailable At Any Cost."
The study concluded that Nationwide, Aetna and Harleysville required some policyholders to obtain other insurance coverages, such as homeowners or hospitalization insurance, in order to buy an auto policy. Blum said such a requirement is illegal.
Blum said the companies are required to insure drivers throughout the state, but noted that some companies apparently didn't sell insurance in the Philadelphia area.
For example, no Erie Insurance agents were listed in Yellow Pages directories covering Delaware County, Lower Bucks County, Eastern Montgomery County or Philadelphia. However, company agents were listed in Yellow Pages for Harrisburg, Allentown and Scranton.
