The New York State Insurance Department said it upheld 993 consumer complaints against private passenger automobile insurance companies last year, and Berkshire Hathaway's GEICO brand accounted for 177 of those.

The figures were contained in the department's "2008 Annual Ranking of Automobile Insurance Complaints," released today.

"The ranking is a valuable tool consumers can use to evaluate the performance of their insurance company. They can also use this information to check the performance of other companies if they are shopping for auto insurance. Indeed, the market is competitive and it is always a good time to compare prices," said Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo, in a statement.

The department said the auto rankings are based on a complaint ratio--the number of complaints upheld against companies as a percentage of their total business--and are designed to give consumers a yardstick.

The ranking shows that 6,301 complaints were filed in 2007 against auto insurance companies, or groups of companies. Besides the 993 complaints upheld in favor of consumers, 3,563 complaints were withdrawn or not upheld, and 1,745 were ruled as "question of fact" cases.

Question-of-fact disputes are not counted against insurers because the department cannot legally determine the facts of these cases.

The numbers indicate that the state upheld one consumer complaint for every $9.8 million in premiums paid, based on the total of approximately $10 billion that New Yorkers spent for car insurance.

Other highlights of the report:

o Four insurers had no upheld complaints--American Express Group, Electric Insurance Group, Eveready Insurance Company and Mercury General Group.

o Among the state's largest insurers in terms of market share, State Farm had the fewest upheld complaints.

o Berkshire/GEICO had 1,182 complaints against its companies. American International Group companied drew 342 complaints, and 114 of those were upheld.

o The three insurers with the most upheld complaints in relation to their premiums were: Long Island Insurance Company (78); Infinity Property & Casualty Insurance Group (12); and Interboro Mutual Indemnity Insurance Company (8).

The 2008 ranking is compiled using premium data from 2006 and 2007, which is analyzed to compensate for the fact that some complaints closed in any given year are begun in the previous year.

Typical consumer complaints involve monetary disputes, such as the value of a total loss, or complaints about insurance companies that do not renew policies.

The ranking is posted online at http://www.ins.state.ny.us/auto/2008/auto2008.pdf. The report is also available by calling the department toll-free at 1-800-342-3736.

In addition, the department's "Consumer Guide to Automobile Insurance," which offers premium comparisons and other useful information, is also available. The Guide is presented in two versions--one for upstate consumers and the second for downstate consumers.

Special Reports /

N.Y. Auto Carriers Drew 6,301 Complaints Last Year

Related Stories

Recommended For You