A Los Angeles jury awarded $9.9 million to two policyholders of Farmers Insurance Exchange who were forced to borrow money to settle a lawsuit that should have been covered by the insurance company, the law firm that represented the plaintiffs announced Friday.

B.J. Walker and Linda Williams, who live in a Los Angeles condominium, were sued in Los Angeles Superior Court by an 86-year-old neighbor who was injured after being hit by their garage door, which the neighbor claimed was unsafe, according to the Quisenberry Law Firm.

In the lawsuit, Farmers defended the homeowners association, which also named it as a defendant. But the insurer, a subsidiary of Farmers Group Inc., did not defend Walker and Williams, who belonged to the association and claimed also to be covered by the policy individually.

Walker, 80, and Williams, 65, borrowed money from friends, and their credit cards, to settle with the neighbor just before trial. They sued Farmers in March 2004 for breach of contract.

The award includes $51,900 in contract damages, $1.5 million in emotional distress and $8.3 million in punitive damages, Quisenberry said.

Calls to a Farmers spokesperson were not returned.