Rausch v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

The Commission argued that the district court erred in holding that an insurance company does not take “adverse action” against a consumer, as that term is defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, when, based on information in a consumer report, the insurance company sets a price for insurance that is higher than the price it would have charged if the information had been more favorable. The brief explains that the district court misinterpreted both the wording of the Act and its legislative history when it held that there can be no “increase” in the price that an insurance company charges to a new customer regardless of the price that other customers are charged.