diff --git a/lib/acts_as_having_settings.rb b/lib/acts_as_having_settings.rb
index 54434fe..2ea18f1 100644
--- a/lib/acts_as_having_settings.rb
+++ b/lib/acts_as_having_settings.rb
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ module ActiveRecord
     end
     class Hash < Value
       def cast_value value
-        ::Hash[value]
+        h = ::Hash[value]
+        h.symbolize_keys!
+        h
       end
     end
   end
--
libgit2 0.21.2