DCI News

Jefferson City, Mo - Missourians can use the 2015 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 2013 and 2015. 

"After carefully considering individual insurance needs, benefits, premium costs and other factors, Missourians still may not know which insurance product to purchase," Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance John M. Huff said. "The index can help consumers choose by allowing them to compare the amount of complaints against a company."

The 2015 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 reason 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.