Thursday, March 13, 2025

Maryland Insurance Administration Takes Action Against Erie Insurance for Discriminatory Business Practices

The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) has taken corrective actions against certain insurers of the Erie Insurance Group after a market conduct examination uncovered unlawful practices resulting in fewer Erie policies written and renewed in urban ZIP codes, particularly in Baltimore City.

The examination resulted in a Market Conduct Examination Report. As stated in the report, the examination found that Pennsylvania-based Erie encouraged insurance agents affiliated with its companies to engage in a practice they called “front line underwriting," in which the agents were encouraged to reject otherwise qualified applicants who they deemed might be unprofitable for the company. Once an insurer establishes its underwriting eligibility guidelines and rates and files those rates with the MIA, it cannot under Maryland insurance law refuse to issue a policy to anyone who meets those guidelines.

The MIA's examination also found that Erie agents were penalized if their books of business resulted in a certain loss ratio, regardless of whether their customers qualified for Erie coverage. The penalties included reduced commissions and termination. The MIA found that this reliance on loss ratio primarily impacted insurance agents serving urban areas such as Baltimore.

As part of the Market Conduct Examination Report, the MIA and Erie agreed to a consent order with corrective actions. Under the order, Erie must: 

  • Cease and desist from all unlawful practices, including front line underwriting and direct or indirect use of adverse loss ratios, except as permitted by law.
  • Submit a corrective action plan for review and approval to the MIA.
  • Submit a list of all agent terminations and commission reductions, with an explanation of the actions, and prepare an efficient process for resolving any adverse findings concerning the proprietary of those actions.
  • Pay an administrative penalty of $400,000, due within one year of the order. If the MIA finds that the company is in continued compliance with the order, $200,000 of the penalty will be waived.

The investigations began in 2021, based on complaints from four insurance agencies about Erie's practices. In 2023, the MIA issued four public determination letters stating that Erie had violated Maryland state insurance law.

Before the Market Conduct Examination Report was released, Erie filed due process complaints in U.S. District Court. The MIA prevailed in that case, and Erie appealed to the U.S. Fourth Circuit, which ruled in favor of the MIA in June 2024. The MIA then entered into settlement discussions with Erie, resulting in the consent order. Erie maintains that it did not violate the Insurance Article but agreed to the directives and corrective actions in the report.

Read the March 13, 2025 MIA article.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

The 2025 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum is on March 24-27, 2025!

 

2025 Housing Policy Forum

2025 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum

March 24-27, 2025
| Capitol Hill Day: March 27

NLIHC’s annual housing policy forum is an opportunity to engage with and learn from thought leaders, policy experts, researchers, tenant advocates, affordable housing practitioners, and members of Congress about how to end the housing and homelessness crisis impacting low-income renters in America.

In-person registration for NLIHC’s Housing Policy Forum 2025 is sold out! On-site registration is unavailable. 

Register today to attend virtually! Virtual registrants will have livestream access to plenary sessions and NLIHC's 2025 Leadership Awards Reception. 

Virtual registration 

Contact

Jen Butler
VP of External Affairs

Adelle Chenier
Director of Events


The Baltimore Inclusionary Housing Board Meeting is March 14th!

 

REGISTER

Celebrate March as Women's History Month!

March is Women's History Month!  The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

Locally, the Baltimore City Women’s Commission invites you to join us for a special luncheon in celebration of Women’s History Month! Under the theme "Moving Forward Together: Women Educating and Inspiring Generations," we will honor the remarkable women educators of Baltimore City who are making a profound difference in the lives of their students. This inspiring event will feature a keynote address from former Senator Jill P. Carter, a performance by international comedian and performer Ti Malik Coleman, and remarks from the Mayor and members of the Women’s Commission. General admission is $25.00.

Event Details:
📅 Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025.
⏰ Time: 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
📍 Location: Tawes Ballroom, Coppin State University.
📍 Address: 2500 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216.

Free parking is available in Lot F on the Coppin Campus behind the Miles W. Connor Administration Building. To access, turn right (or left if coming westbound on North Avenue) onto Loop Road and drive up towards the Softball/Soccer Fields and turn right into the lot. A parking attendant from the Office of Equity and Civil Rights will be there to direct you to open parking spaces. For accessibility parking, please park in lot D.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Register Here!
Luncheon Event Flyer
OECR Logo
 

7 E. Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone # 410-396-3141

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Please Help Defeat the 30-Day Eviction Notice for Subsidized Housing

 

A digital graphic with a light blue background features bold text. "ACTION ALERT" appears in large, dark blue capital letters. Below, "Save the 30-Day Eviction Notice" is in bold red. A smaller message at the bottom reads, "THE HOUSING CRISIS IS BAD ENOUGH."

Millions in subsidized housing rely on the 30-day eviction notice to remain housed. But the “Respect State Housing Laws Act” would erase that safeguardwhen the last thing we need is more evictions.

We’re urging Congress to reject this bill and uphold tenants’ basic rights. Will you help by adding your voice?

When federal protections are rolled back, it puts our most vulnerable community members at risk and lowers the bar for everyone. 

A digital graphic resembling a pop-up notification has a light pink background and a rounded rectangular box with a drop shadow. "ACTION ALERT!" appears in large, dark blue, italicized letters. Below, bold text states, "Save the 30-Day Eviction Notice." Smaller text reads: "The housing crisis is bad enough. A new bill threatens to repeal bare minimum protections for renters in federally subsidized housing. Tell Congress to oppose the so-called 'Respect State Housing Laws Act.'” At the bottom, a button-like element displays "bit.ly/stop-rshla" with an arrow.

The last thing we need is more evictions, so please join us in opposing this bill. 

Send your letter now to defend the 30-day notice requirement and help keep people in their homes!

Thank you for joining us in this fight!

Help Spread the Word

National Housing Law Project Leads 200+ Orgs In New Letter Urging Congress To Protect Tenants From Avoidable Evictions

The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) has sent a letter to congressional leadership signed by more than 200 national, state, and local organizations urging Congress to protect tenants from unfair, unexpected, and avoidable evictions at any time. In various states, landlords can evict tenants in the private market with little, if any, notice. Federal law requires a 30-day notice for those tenants living in housing under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Agriculture (USDA), other federal housing programs, as well as other federally-backed housing. By giving tenants 30 days to fix issues with their tenancy before their landlord can file an eviction, the law helps both tenants and landlords avoid undergoing an expensive eviction process. NHLP and the George Washington University Health Justice Policy and Advocacy Clinic will soon meet with congressional leaders to discuss protecting the 30-day notice requirement and prevent a reversal of this critical protection.

The letter comes after lawmakers backed by real estate industry corporations reintroduced bicameral legislation that would repeal 30-day notice and put seniors, families with children, people of color, people with disabilities, and veterans at immediate risk of displacement or even homelessness. If passed, the bill would roll back existing protections that tenants, landlords, and courts rely upon, and shrink the notice period for an eviction across the country from 30 days to as little as five days or less in federal housing programs and federally-backed properties.

Read the National Housing Law Project’s letter and statement in response to the 30-day notice repeal bill. Find here a research brief with data showing how 30-day notice protects tenants and stabilizes communities.

Read the February 28, 2025 NHLP article.

HUD Baltimore Field Office to Close, Along with Many Other HUD Field & Regional Offices

 

The Baltimore field office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will soon be permanently closed, along with many other HUD field offices. The downtown Baltimore office, which employs about 90, is to be shut down. All who work there will likely be terminated by order of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. The closure is part of HUD's reduction of regional and field offices.

Eliminating the Baltimore office and transferring cases to other FHA offices will mean it will take longer to receive approvals and resolve issues between the loan originator and the agency. Boston or New York are already swamped with servicing the loans. HUD construction analysts, appraisers, underwriters, and, most importantly, asset management who know the market here are all going to be eliminated. It is going to make it much more difficult to finance and monitor housing.

The biggest impact will be a severe slowdown in processing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans for multi-family projects, one of the Baltimore office’s major functions. An observer commented, “It doesn’t make any sense to do this in the name of saving money. They finance anything from affordable- to market-rate projects, and they also asset manage them. They actually make money – billions – for the federal government that gets put back into the general fund.” Created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression under the authority of the National Housing Act of 1934, the FHA is one of the main government agencies that offers low down payment mortgages for qualifying homebuyers.

Other functions of the Baltimore office include Community Planning and Development (CPD), which administers local grants to promote better housing and expanded economic opportunities to low and moderate income persons, and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing-related activities. Another loss from the shutdown of the field office will be oversight of Section 8 and voucher housing and local public housing authorities. Because this office administers the money to public housing authorities and keeps a watch over those funds, there will be more opportunity for fraud.

Responding after publication, the HUD Public Affairs Office said “no decisions have been finalized.”

Read the March 5, 2025 BaltimoreBrew article.

Read the March 5, 2025 Bloomberg article.