The Consumer Federation of America and Center for Economic Justice urged State Insurance Departments to investigate racial bias in insurance claims handling and anti-fraud efforts. In a detailed letter, the consumer advocates asked that each state respond to a short survey about their current efforts to identify and root out claims handling bias and racial discrimination at the insurance companies they regulate.

A recent New York Times investigation revealed detailed allegations of discrimination against Black policyholders at State Farm, the nation’s largest insurer. Fraud investigators at State Farm were pressured to investigate claims in Black neighborhoods and deny them because they were supposedly at higher risk for fraud.