$455 million Farmers settlement: Payments to up to 13 million policyholders

Zurich Financial Services Group said this morning that it and Farmers Group -- which it owns -- have "agreed in principle" to a $455 million settlement of a national class action lawsuit filed in California.

The settlement will affect up to 13 million people.

Here's a copy of Zurich's press release.

We're not sure yet how many of those 13 million people are in Washington state, although we're trying to find out. The settlement payments "may vary considerably," the company says, but will average $35 per policyholder.

What was the lawsuit about? Here's Zurich's summary:

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff challenged the management services fees paid by the Farmers Exchanges (Exchanges) to FGI and certain of its affiliates, which under policyholder subscription agreements act as the attorney-in-fact for policyholder subscribers of the Exchanges.

After our approval, policyholders entitled to participate in the settlement will be mailed notification, with more details. Customers can also contact Farmers regarding the settlement at 1-888-538-5785.

(Note: And thanks to the eagle-eyed reader -- and you know who you are -- who noted that "our" was misspelled "ourt" in the last paragraph. Fixed.)