Jun 18, 2004  |  By: CHRISTOPHER SEELY  | COMMENTS     

After complaints from a gay legal group, insurance provider GEICO Direct said this week it would reverse a decision made earlier this month to deny a married gay couple in New York the same joint coverage offered to married straight couples.

GEICO, the Government Employees Insurance Company recognizable by its green gecko mascot, will extend spousal automobile coverage to the husband of Thomas Hronrich, according to Christine Tasher, a spokesperson for GEICO.

“We are processing the change,” Tasher said in a written statement issued June 16. “The papers are going out in the mail in the morning, and we spoke to the policyholder this afternoon.”

Lambda Legal, the gay legal organization that approached GEICO on June 14 to represent Hronrich and his partner and to pursue spousal rights for all gay couples at GEICO, had not received notification from GEICO concerning the policy change at press time Wednesday.

“We commend GEICO in respecting the Hronrich’s marriage, but we still need to review their statement to determine if it will respect marriage for all similarly situated same-sex couples,” said Alfonso David, staff attorney for Lambda Legal.

GEICO should have initially accepted the Canadian marriage license issued to the couple when they asked in May, David said.

“The law in New York is a recognition law and it is pretty clear that if you are married in a jurisdiction where gay marriage is legal, it must be respected in New York,” David said.

New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer gave credence to that argument in a March opinion, stating that New York law recognizes gay marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions.

Lambda Legal set a deadline of June 28 for GEICO to change Hronrich’s policy, as well as direct employees to offer matrimonial policies to same-sex couples in New York with marriage licenses from Canada or Massachusetts.

GEICO’s policy includes gay couples, according to a statement issued by the company on Wednesday.

“If the individuals are legally married and their resident state recognizes that marriage as valid, then GEICO’s policy is to treat the couple as married,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, GEICO treated two gay couples differently. The company denied spousal rates and coverage to Hronrich and his husband, who asked to remain anonymous.

But another same-sex couple married in Canada and residing in New York, Martin and Andrew Farach-Colton, received policies and benefits similar to those granted to straight, married couples.

Customer service representatives with GEICO provided the two couples with mixed messages when they initially asked about spousal coverage in May, David said. Martin and Andrew Farach-Colton had to submit Spitzer’s legal opinion at least five times before GEICO expanded their coverage, David said.

Lambda has not received complaints about insurance companies from gay couples married in Massachusetts who reside in another state, he said.

As a result of strict insurance regulations in the state of Massachusetts, several large providers do not offer auto insurance in the state, including GEICO, Allstate and State Farm Insurance.

Allstate and State Farm — two of the largest auto insurers in the nation — both comply with applicable state laws, according to company officials.

State Farm is in the process of reviewing the impact of same-sex marriage laws on the company’s policies, Supple said.

Allstate is not reviewing policies at this time, said Laura Margolis, a company spokesperson.

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