The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration (“DIFP”) has released its consumer complaint index presenting data on complaints against insurance companies the DIFP received between 2016 and 2018.
Over this three-year period, the DIFP said, it received nearly 8,000 consumer complaints for the selected lines of business. The DIFP said that, for most lines of insurance, the most common reason for complaints was claim denials or other issues arising from the claim settlement process. Health insurance generated the most complaints. Complaints for all lines of insurance declined modestly over the last several years, according to the DFIP.
“Choosing an insurance product can be confusing for some consumers,” the DFIP's director, Chlora Lindley-Myers, said. “Comparing the number of complaints against a company can be helpful when determining the right product for you and your family.”
The 86 page report presents data for seven lines of business including private passenger automobile, life and annuity, accident and health, long-term care, Medicare supplement, HMOs, and homeowners, including farm, mobile home, personal fire, and allied lines.
The DFIP explained that the complaint index compares the ratio of complaints to premium sales for each company to the industry average, for each line of business.
A company with a complaint index of 100 percent or more shows that the DFIP received more complaints than the industry average for that company. A company with a complaint index of less than 100 percent had fewer complaints filed against it than industry average and a company with a complaint index of 100 percent was on par with the industry average.
Learn more: insurance.mo.gov.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].