Consumer Complaints on Auto Insurance
Try solving the dispute yourself Insurance is a very competitive business. If you give the company a chance, you will generally find folks are willing if not eager to straighten out problems. • Start with the agent. • If not satisfied, contact the company’s customer service office or claims office; most likely it’s a toll-free number. • If customer service or the claims office falls short of your expectations, ask to speak with a supervisor about the company's procedure for resolving disputes. If you’re still not satisfied, call the Ohio Department of Insurance If your self-help efforts fail, your next stop should be the Consumer Services Division of the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI). ODI & complaints • If your issue requires follow up with the company, we’ll send you a complaint form and instructions for filing a written complaint. • We generally will send the company a copy of your complaint and ask them to resolve it or explain their side of the story. • By law, companies must respond to the Department of Insurance — most companies do so in a timely manner. • We will review all the facts to make sure the company has upheld its contract with you and has followed insurance rules and laws. Counting complaints In 2008, ODI received a total of 1,583 complaints about automobile insurance from Ohio consumers. • If your complaint raises questions that cause us to contact the agent or company, we will register it in our computer as a “complaint.” • A complaint means a customer has been unhappy with the company or agent. • It does not necessarily mean the law has been broken or that anyone did anything wrong. Company complaint records — 2008 The next page shows complaint records for auto insurance companies. The “complaint ratio” column can help you make apples-toapples comparisons. Complaint ratio example: if a company's complaint ratio is 1.0, it had one complaint for every $1 million it collected in premiums from Ohio customers. The lower the complaint ratio, the better.
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2008 Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Complaint Statistics
Total number: In 2008, consumer complaints on auto insurance received by the Ohio Department of Insurance... Total number: In 2008, authorized companies having auto insurance premiums in Ohio... Total number: In 2008, authorized companies having auto insurance complaints in Ohio... Total number: In 2008, complaints about auto insurance involving authorized companies in Ohio… Total number: In 2008, auto insurers having at least ten complaints in Ohio…
1,583
Reason
446
182
1,521
Complaints
38
Top 10 Reasons for Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Complaints in 2008
1. Claim / settlement delay 478 2. Unsatisfactory claim / settlement offer 360 3. Claim denial 322 4. Coverage / policy cancellation or non-renewal 120 5. Premium refund due, but not paid 78 6. Marketing / sales misrepresentation 50 7. Premium amount / rating issues 43 8. Premium notice / billing issues 16 9. Premium payment not credited 13 10. Comparative negligence 6 >> Total complaints represented by the above Top 10 reasons = 1,486 >> Represents 90% of the 1,653 total auto insurance complaint reasons registered in 2008
2008 Private Passenger Auto Insurance Complaint Ratios
Notes: Includes every company that received at least ten complaints about auto insurance in 2008 Market Share is the company's percentage of Ohio's total auto premium in 2008 Complaint Ratio is a comparison of the company's Ohio auto premium and Ohio complaints in 2008 We've shortened company names by omitting words like 'Insurance' and 'Company' Private Passenger Auto Insurers
(in alphabetical order)
Ohio Auto Premium
$9,469,235 $127,003,614 $180,407,282 $111,577,623 $112,821,494 $194,516,662 $151,435,943 $77,378,938 $77,378,938 $12,412,098 $4,756,854 $76,795,486 $53,075,525 $290,797,882 $81,957,724 $26,375,467 $134,118,415 $107,522,742 $213,436,158 $158,961,496 $27,884,832 $33,770,204 $2,808,614 $19,634,089 $12,434,149 $65,668,970 $170,145,926 $105,117,104 $234,747,101 $74,056,340 $94,398,327 $863,116,317 $51,978,340 $3,517,821 $3 517 821 $42,694,846 $26,192,660 $11,541,150 $50,081,648 $91,461,811 $4,106,070,887 $5,768,938,792 71.18%
Ohio Market Share
0.16% 2.20% 3.13% 1.93% 1.96% 3.37% 2.63% 1.34% 1.34% 0.22% 0.08% 1.33% 0.92% 5.04% 1.42% 0.46% 2.32% 1.86% 3.70% 2.76% 0.48% 0.59% 0.05% 0.34% 0.22% 1.14% 2.95% 1.82% 4.07% 1.28% 1.64% 14.96% 0.90% 0.06% 0 06% 0.74% 0.45% 0.20% 0.87% 1.59% 71.18% 100.0%
Complaint to Premium Ratio
1.16 0.29 0.42 0.31 0.30 0.08 0.17 0.28 0.28 2.09 2.73 0.35 0.32 0.25 0.37 0.42 0.12 0.26 0.13 0.23 0.79 0.59 4.98 1.88 2.73 0.70 0.21 0.15 0.13 1.65 0.12 0.14 0.27 2.84 2 84 0.26 0.38 0.87 0.52 0.15 0.28 0.26
Total Consumer Complaints
11 37 76 35 34 15 26 22 26 13 27 17 72 30 11 16 28 27 36 22 20 14 37 34 46 36 16 30 122 11 123 14 10 11 10 10 26 14 1,165 1,521 76.59%
Alfa Vision Ins Corp Allstate Fire & Cas Ins Co Allstate Ins Co Allstate Prop & Cas Ins Co American Family Ins Co Cincinnati Ins Co Erie Ins Co Farmers Ins Of Columbus Inc First Acceptance Ins Co Inc Geico Cas Co Geico Gen Ins Co Geico Ind Co Grange Mut Cas Co Liberty Mut Fire Ins Co Metropolitan Prop & Cas Ins Co Motorists Mut Ins Co Nationwide Ins Co Of Amer Nationwide Mut Fire Ins Co Nationwide Mut Ins Co Nationwide Prop & Cas Ins Co Northbrook Ind Co Ohio Cas Ins Co Permanent Gen Assur Corp Of OH Personal Service Ins Co Progressive Cas Ins Co Progressive Direct Ins Co Progressive Preferred Ins Co Progressive Specialty Ins Co Safe Auto Ins Co State Automobile Mut Ins Co State Farm Mut Auto Ins Co United Ohio Ins Co United Services Automobile Assn Universal Cas Co USAA Cas Ins co Victoria Automobile Ins Co Victoria Specialty Ins Co Westfield Ins Co Total Carriers Above / 2008 All Ohio Auto Carriers / 2008
Above Carriers Percent of
All Auto Carriers / 2008