Nearly 500,000 African-Americans will share $27 million in a class action settlement reached yesterday with Unitrin Inc., a life insurance provider that allegedly overcharged blacks because of their race. The policies were mainly sold door to door to unsuspecting poor black customers between the late 1920's and 1970. Insurance companies often charged African-Americans excessive rates because they were believed to be a higher insurance risk. Plaintiff attorneys argued that the practice of establishing higher rates for certain racial groups was illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1966.

Unitrin, a Chicago-based corporation, is the parent company of United Insurance Company of America, Reliable Life Insurance Co. and Union National Life Insurance Co. Recently, the Life Insurance Company of Georgia, serving approximately 1 million clients throughout the south, settled a similar racial bias lawsuit for $55 million.