A federal judge in Pittsburgh has approved a class action settlement brought by 20 women who claimed they were denied mortgage insurance because they were either pregnant or on maternity leave.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Milwaukee-based Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. (MGIC) agreed to the settlement that could reach $500,000 to 20 women. This follows a similar settlement in May to a related case brought against MGIC by the U.S. Department of Justice, which resulted in the insurer agreeing to pay as much as $515,000 to 70 women.
‘As part of the settlement, MGIC did not admit fault,’ says Dan Stilwell, MGIC's vice president and chief compliance officer, wrote Thursday in response to questions. ‘However, the company did review and clarify its underwriting guidelines to help make sure that insurance applications are processed as we always intended.’