|
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
NAIC CITES TOP INSURANCE COMPLAINTS FOR
2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 6, 2009) -
According to data released today by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the top three reasons
consumers filed formal complaints against their insurance companies
in 2008 were delays, denials of claims and unsatisfactory settlement
offers. Premium/insurance rating and policy cancellation issues
completed the top five.
The NAIC collected the data through its centralized electronic
Complaint Database System (CDS), through which states voluntarily
report "closed" complaints. A closed complaint is a complaint that
has been investigated and resolved to the satisfaction of the state
or jurisdiction in which it is filed. First established in 1990, the
CDS was significantly expanded in 1998 and now houses data on
more than 2 million complaints.
A total of 195,669 confirmed consumer complaints on insurance
companies were reported to the CDS in the 2008 calendar
year. This information is based on the submission of data to
the NAIC from the state insurance departments. The CDS is
continually updated, as new information is received from the states
on an ongoing basis. The NAIC does not collect all complaint
data from all states.
Aggregate data compiled from the CDS can be accessed on the
NAIC's Web site through the Consumer
Information Source. By accessing this program, consumers can
obtain company-specific complaint ratios (the ratio of the company's
market share of complaints compared to the company's market share of
premiums for a specific policy type), as well as aggregate counts of
complaints by state and by type of coverage for specific
companies.
Below are charts detailing the top five types of complaints and
the top five complained about types of insurance coverage for 2008.
The charts include the total number of complaints (for complaint
type and line of coverage), followed by the percentage of overall
complaints each type represents. (For example, "denial of
claim" comprised 18.4 percent of all complaints received by the
NAIC in 2008.)
Top Five Reasons for Complaints in 2008
| |
Total No. |
|
Percentage |
| Delays |
26,844 |
|
19.1% |
| Denial of Claim |
25,851 |
|
18.4% |
| Unsatisfactory Settlement/Offer |
20,021 |
|
14.2% |
| Premium and Rating |
6,644 |
|
4.7% |
|
Cancellation |
5,618 |
|
4.0% |
Top Five Complaints by Type of Coverage in
2008
| |
Total No. |
|
Percentage |
| Accident and Health |
72,351 |
|
36.9% |
| Auto |
71,967 |
|
36.7% |
| Homeowners |
23,212 |
|
11.8% |
| Life and Annuity |
18,594 |
|
9.5% |
| Commercial Multi-Peril |
3,741 |
|
1.9% |
Complaint Trend Reports (2006 - 2009)
In addition, the NAIC posts monthly trend reports on the CIS home
page that provide historical data about complaints by reason
and type of insurance, as well as by how the complaints were
resolved. The reports include:
For more information, visit https://eapps.naic.org/cis. |

About the NAIC
Formed in 1871, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
(NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory
officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S.
territories. The NAIC has three offices: Executive Office, Washington,
D.C.; Central Office, Kansas City, Mo.; and Securities Valuation Office,
New York City. The NAIC serves the needs of consumers and the industry,
with an overriding objective of supporting state insurance regulators as
they protect consumers and maintain the financial stability of the
insurance marketplace. For more information, visit www.naic.org.

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Contacts
Communications
Division (816) 783-8909 news@naic.org
Scott
Holeman Communications Director
Jeremy
Wilkinson Electronic
Communications Manager
Heidi
Cline Communications Specialist
Vanessa
Sink Communications Specialist
Carly
Halvorson Communications Intern
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