Koster reaches $575K settlement with Calif. insurance agencies

The office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Monday the settlement of one lawsuit and the filing of another, both with companies that allegedly violated state telemarketing and no-call laws.

The settlement agreement with California-based Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange and Fire Insurance Exchange will have the agencies pay $575,000 to Missouri - the largest settlement ever paid to the state by a telemarketer, according to a news release.

Koster said 275 complaints were logged against the agencies over a four-year period.

The funds will pay for consumer education and advocacy, enforcement of state consumer laws and the costs of investigating and prosecuting the case. The agreement further dictates the agencies would adopt policies to prevent future violations including agent training and annual audits, according to the release.

Koster’s office also filed suit Monday against St. Louis-based Charter Communications for violating state and federal telemarketing laws. His office received 350 complaints regarding calls made by the company to sell services.

“There is no excuse for a business operating in Missouri to ignore our no-call laws,” Koster said in a separate release. “We ask consumers to continue helping us fight illegal, unwanted telemarketing calls by reporting violations to our office, as 350 Missourians did about Charter.”

Missourians have filed 4.5 million telephone numbers with the no-call list, according to the state office.