Settlement in lawsuit over improperly raised premiums

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Black Hills Federal Credit Union and a Wisconsin-based insurance company have agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that they improperly raised insurance premiums on thousands of loans.

The proposed settlement, which is to be considered by a judge later this month, would resolve an eight-year-old class action lawsuit initially filed by a Rapid City couple.

The Rapid City Journal says Edward and Kathy Thurman got a $30,000 home-equity loan from the credit union in 1995 and bought a disability-insurance plan offered by CUNA Mutual Insurance Society. The couple sued after the credit union and the insurance company failed to improperly inform them their disability-insurance premium was increasing.

They gained class-action status after taking the matter to the South Dakota Supreme Court. The settlement involves 4,461 loans. Kathy Thurman died in 2016.