Missourians can use the 2018 Consumer Complaint Index as a tool when choosing an insurer. The Missouri Department of Insurance released the index, which presents data on complaints against insurance companies received by the department between 2016 and 2018. 

Over this three-year period, the DIFP received nearly 8,000 consumer complaints for the selected lines of business.  For most lines of insurance, the most common reason for complaints was claim denials or other issues arising from the claim settlement process.  Health insurance generated the most complaints. Complaints for all lines of insurance declined modestly over the last several years. Consumers can use the report to determine how their insurer stacks up against others for a given line of business.

"Choosing an insurance product can be confusing for some consumers,” Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration Chlora Lindley-Myers said. “Comparing the number of complaints against a company can be helpful when determining the right product for you and your family.”

The 2018 Consumer Complaint Index presents data for seven lines of business including private passenger automobile, life and annuity, accident and health, long-term care, Medicare supplement, HMO's and homeowners which includes farm, mobile home, personal fire and allied lines. 

One of the reasons the department makes this information publicly available is to allow consumers to use the index as a metric when choosing between different insurance companies. The complaint index compares the ratio of complaints to premium sales for each company to the industry average, for each line of business.

Companies with a complaint index of 100 percent or more shows that the department received more complaints than the industry average for that company.  Companies with a complaint index of less than 100 percent had fewer complaints filed against them than industry average and companies with a complaint index of 100 percent were on par with the industry average.  

If consumers have insurance related questions, they can call department's Insurance Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390 or visit insurance.mo.gov.