Consumer complaint index

Download the entire 2008 Consumer Complaint Report

The DIFP complaint index measures how many complaints the department received for a consecutive three-year period relative to the amount of product-specific premium a Missouri licensed company experienced that same period. For instance, if a company issues both homeowners and automobile insurance policies, the data would be segmented into a homeowner complaint index and an automobile complaint index.

The higher the index number, the worse the complaint record:

• 100 percent means that the department received the normally expected number of complaints about that company.
• 99 percent or less indicates the company was the subject of less than the normally expected number of complaints.
• More than 100 percent shows the department received more than the normally expected number of complaints about that company.

The DIFP encourages consumers to use the complaint index as a "tiebreaker" in choosing an insurance policy - after carefully considering individual insurance needs, benefits, premium costs, service and other factors in your purchasing decision.

Search complaints by reason

Complaint indices compare the ratio of complaints to premium for each company to the industry average, for each line of business:

Financial ratings

You can check out A.M. Best ratings (requires registration) and Standard & Poor's ratings on their Web sites.

The Insurance Consumer Hotline - 1-800-726-7390 - provides information on whether a company is in good standing in Missouri and the A.M. Best rating on the financial strength of up to three insurers. You may also contact the department's headquarters and regional offices for the same information: