INSURANCE

Anti-Redlining Law Proposed: Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.) campaigned in Los Angeles on Friday for his proposed federal legislation to require insurers to supply data showing how they serve inner-city neighborhoods. Just as the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act has exposed and helped eliminate discriminatory bank lending practices, Kennedy said, extending such requirements to the insurance industry would pressure carriers to improve their sales efforts in urban areas. Kennedy and state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi alleged in a public hearing that insurers discriminate against, or redline, certain poorer, minority sections of Los Angeles. Industry representatives countered that low sales reflect low income, not discrimination.