Claim Issues Dominate Complaints

Claims News Service, Jan. 31, 2:48 p.m. EST — Claim issues continue to top the list of reasons why consumers file formal complaints against their insurers, according to an annual study completed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC’s results showed that issues with delays, denial of claims, and unsatisfactory settlement offers were the top three reasons that spurred consumers to report their insurers to their state’s department of insurance. While the NAIC said that these reasons have remained largely unchanged in the last four years, there was a silver lining for claim managers and professionals. There was a decrease of almost four percent over 2006 in the number of complaints reported, with a little more than 222,000 filed in NAIC’s complaint database system (CDS).In addition to listing complaint types, the NAIC also broke down the complaints by types of coverage. While Accident and Health had the largest single percentage of complaints by type of coverage, Property and Casualty policies — such as auto and homeowners’ insurance — made up nearly half of the total number of complaints. The NAIC said that it collects data through the CDS, which is where states voluntarily report closed complaints. A closed complaint is one that has been investigated and resolved to the satisfaction of the state or jurisdiction in which it is filed. The database now holds data on more than two million complaints. The NAIC said that it does not collect all complaint data from all states, however.

Top Complaints in 2007