|
Delays, Denials Top Consumer Insurer
Complaints
|
|
National Underwriter
NU Online News Service
Insurance company delays, denials
of claims and unsatisfactory settlement offers were the top three
reasons consumers filed formal complaints against their carriers last
year, according to data gathered by regulators.
The National Association of
Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., said policy cancellations
and premium/insurance rating issues completed the top five, reasons for
complaints.
Data was collected by the NAIC
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 222,814 consumer
complaints were reported to the CDS in the 2007 calendar year.
Aggregate data compiled from the CDS can be accessed on the NAIC’s
Website through the Consumer Information Source.
The following is a list of the
2007 top 5 complaints by total number and percentage of overall
complaints each represents. The list includes: delays, 42,524 (16
percent); denial of claim, 39,152 (14.7 percent); unsatisfactory
settlement/offer, 26,127 (9.8 percent); cancellation, 12,240 (4.6
percent); premium and rating, 11,916 (4.4 percent).
By type of coverage, 2007
complaints were as follows: accident and health, 71,407 (36.4 percent);
auto, 67,327 (34.4 percent); homeowners, 24,530 (12.5 percent); life
and annuity, 17,727 (9 percent); commercial multi-peril, 3,675 (1.8
percent).
For more Property & Casualty
headlines, visit P & C
National Underwriter.
|
