Insurers’ handling of claims has put a thorn in consumers’ collective side this year, with delays, denials and unsatisfactory settlements or offers taking the top three spots on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) recently released list of consumer complaints.
The NAIC’s list, compiled from data from state insurance departments, shows that claim delays made up 18.68 percent of consumer complaints across the country, while claim denials were close behind with 18.18 percent. Unsatisfactory settlements came in third with 14.91 percent of all complaints. Together, the three categories totaled nearly 52 percent of all complaints and 43,557 total complaints to state insurance departments through Aug. 24, 2009.
Last year, the same categories made up the top three most frequent complaints, with a total of 72,944 – 51.86 percent of all complaints.
Health insurance (37.49 percent of all complaints) beat out auto insurance (34.98 percent) as the most frequently complained about type of insurance this year.
State insurance departments voluntarily supply data to the NAIC for its Complaints Database System, and not all states supply information. To download complete NAIC complaint reports, click HERE.
