Consumer Complaints On Auto Insurance - Ohio Department of ...

Consumer Complaints
on Auto Insurance
Consumers 1-800-686-1526 · OSHIIP 1-800-686-1578 · Fraud & Enforcement 1-800-686-1527
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 step should be the Consumer Services Division of the Ohio Department of
Insurance (ODI).
Call toll-free: 1-800-686-1526
• Ask to speak with a property and casualty insurance analyst.
• The analyst will answer questions over the phone and explain any additional steps you should take to resolve
your own problem.
• Our staff will give you honest, unbiased answers — if it sounds as if the company has done nothing wrong, we’ll
tell you.
ODI & complaints
• You may file an online complaint at www.insurance.ohio.gov or 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.
Click here
to file a consumer complaint.
Counting complaints
In 2011, ODI received a total of 1,176 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 — 2011
The below charts show complaint records for auto insurance companies. The “complaint ratio” column can
help you make apples-to-apples 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.
Continued on side 2
John R. Kasich
Governor
Mary Taylor
Lt. Governor / Director

Consumer Complaints Side 2
2011 Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Complaint Statistics
Total number:
In 2011, consumer
complaints on auto
insurance received by
the Ohio Department
of Insurance...
Total number:
In 2011, authorized
companies having
auto insurance
premiums in Ohio...
Total number: Total number:
In 2011, authorized
companies having
auto insurance
complaints in Ohio...
In 2011, complaints
about auto insurance
involving authorized
companies in Ohio…
Total number:
In 2011, auto
insurers having
at least ten
complaints in
Ohio…
1,176 216 115 1,144 30
Top 10 Reasons for Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Complaints in 2011
Reason
Complaints
1. Claim / settlement delay 329
2. Unsatisfactory claim / settlement offer / value dispute 301
3. Claim denial 255
4. Coverage / policy cancellation or non-renewal 76
6. Premium amount / rating issues 64
7. Premium refund due, but not paid 56
8. Premium notice / billing issues 54
5. Marketing / sales misrepresentation 47
9. Claim Adjuster Handling 7
10. Credit Scoring 7
>> Total complaints represented by the above Top 10 reasons = 1,196
>> Represents 93% of the 1,289 total auto insurance complaint reasons registered in 2011
2011 Private Passenger Auto Insurance Complaint Ratios
Notes:
Includes every company that received at least ten complaints about auto insurance in 2011
Market Share is the company's percentage of Ohio's total auto premium in 2011
Complaint Ratio is a comparison of the company's Ohio auto premium and Ohio complaints in 2011
A Ratio of 1.00 means an insurer received 1 Ohio auto complaint for each $1 million of Ohio auto premium
The average ratio for all auto insurers in 2011 was 0.22 Ohio auto complaints for each $1 million premium
We've shortened company names by omitting words like 'Insurance' and 'Company'
Private Passenger Ohio Ohio Complaint Total
Auto Insurers Auto Market to Premium Consumer
(in alphabetical order) Premium Share Ratio Complaints
Alfa Vision Ins Corp $14,655,296.0 0.29% 1.64 24
Allstate Fire & Cas Ins Co $222,100,982.0 4.39% 0.18 40
Allstate Ins Co $133,391,765.0 2.64% 0.28 37
Allstate Prop & Cas Ins Co $74,219,773.0 1.47% 0.27 20
American Family Ins Co $101,972,879.0 2.02% 0.38 39
Cincinnati Ins Co $124,041,204 2.45% 0.08 10
Erie Ins Co $133,042,127 2.63% 0.16 21
Farmers Ins Of Columbus Inc $106,862,585 2.11% 0.36 39
First Acceptance Ins Co Inc $12,778,616 0.25% 1.25 16
Geico Cas Co $99,920,199 1.98% 0.32 32
Geico Gen Ins Co $64,872,148 1.28% 0.34 22
General Auto Ins Co $19,835,562 0.39% 1.06 21
Grange Mut Cas Co $254,784,135 5.04% 0.17 44
Liberty Mut Fire Ins Co $71,199,812 1.41% 0.31 22
Motorists Mut Ins Co $92,434,095 1.83% 0.15 14
Nationwide Ins Co Of Amer $97,923,641 1.94% 0.20 20
Nationwide Mut Fire Ins Co $50,538,245 1.00% 0.24 12
Nationwide Mut Ins Co $272,737,685 5.39% 0.11 30
Northbrook Ind Co $33,168,081 0.66% 0.36 12
Personal Serv Ins Co $8,904,912 0.18% 2.13 19
Progressive Cas Ins Co $34,985,117 0.69% 0.83 29
Progressive Direct Ins Co $228,467,781 4.52% 0.16 37
Progressive Specialty Ins Co $330,930,033 6.54% 0.14 45
Safe Auto Ins Co $54,836,072 1.08% 1.04 57
Safeco Ins Co Of Illinois $43,797,897 0.87% 0.23 10
State Farm Fire & Cas In Co $64,656,305 1.28% 0.15 10
State Farm Mut Auto Ins Co $895,973,003 17.72% 0.11 96
USAA Casualty Ins Co $46,818,879 0.93% 0.26 12
Victoria Specialty Ins Co $39,899,469 0.79% 0.38 15
Westfield Ins Co $31,296,636 0.62% 0.32 10
Total Carriers Above / 2011 $3,729,748,298 73.76% 0.22 815
All Ohio Auto Carriers / 2011 $5,056,298,077 100.0% 0.22 1,119
Total Carriers Above Percent of All 73.76% 72.83%
John R. Kasich
Governor
Mary Taylor
Lt. Governor / Director