Colorado Division of Insurance Releases Consumer Complaint Report |
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Written by U.S. Insurance News
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Friday, 29 September 2006 |
When shopping for a reliable insurance company, residents of Colorado have an unbiased source to turn to: the 2005 Complaint Ratio Report.
The state’s Division of Insurance, part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, has released the report so consumers can see how many complaints have been filed against insurance companies. But this year the state expanded the report to include the percentage of instances in which the consumer complaint against an insurer was upheld.
When shopping for a reliable insurance company, residents of Colorado have an unbiased source to turn to: the 2005 Complaint Ratio Report.
The state’s Division of Insurance, part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, has released the report so consumers can see how many complaints have been filed against insurance companies. But this year the state expanded the report to include the percentage of instances in which the consumer complaint against an insurer was upheld.
The report explains that a “confirmed complaint” is one which the consumer won, either partially or completely, in his complaint against the insurer. At the same time, the Division of Insurance clarified that consumer complaints are not upheld when the insurer was not found to be in violation of a contract provision, regulation, or statute.
The report evaluates insurance companies that issue policies for auto, life, health, or homeowners and farmowners. Carriers are identified by name, the volume of premiums they’ve written in Colorado, their share of the market, the total amount of complaints filed against them with the Division of Insurance, the number and percentage of confirmed complaints, and the overall complaint ratio.
David Rivera, Commissioner of Insurance for Colorado, said the report can provide “meaningful information” that will help consumers choose insurers and types of coverage. “The expanded Complaint Ratio Report is one way for consumers to evaluate their insurer or a company they may be looking to purchase from,” he said.
Companies with five or more complaints—or at least one-tenth of one percent of the premium volume in a line of insurance—were included in the Complaint Ratio Report. The report defines a complaint ratio as the number of complaints per $1 million of business. In addition, the report defines a complaint as written correspondence that describes a grievance against an insurer.
Insurers issuing policies for private-passenger autos, on average, earned the highest complaint ratio. This category included the most number of insurers—82—and complaint ratios ranged from as high as 4.75 to as low as .22. Insurers issuing polices for homeowners and farmowners received the next-highest complaint ratio on average, followed by the health and life insurance lines.
Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan premiums were not included in this report.
The Department of Insurance cautions that the report is intended to be a helpful guideline for insurance consumers, not the sole source of information about insurance companies. The department urges customers to consider such factors as premium costs, benefits, and quality of service too. In addition, consumers should know that companies included in the Complaint Ratio Report are responsible for reconciling documented complaints lodged against them and then reporting discrepancies to the Department of Insurance. According to the department, not all insurers conducted the necessary self-evaluation.
Consumers can access the report at the Division of Insurance Web site (www.dora.state.co.us/insurance). Later in the year the report will be available as an interactive version, where consumers can sort results by a number of different factors.
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