The Best and the Worst: Complaint History of Auto Insurance Companies
The history of the auto insurance industry is marked by companies that rank high in customer satisfaction and companies which quite simply, do not. This article will explore the best and the worst complaint histories of auto insurance companies in the US.
When selecting an auto insurance company to do business with, one can utilize the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Consumer Information Source (CIS) to research the customer satisfaction associated with different companies. One’s search begins with a specific company name which will return information regarding the company’s Complaint Record, its Financial Report, and Licensing Information for any given year.
Geico Complaint Counts
Of the 71,687 auto insurance company complaints recorded by the NAIC in 2008, the most common are categorized as Private Passenger complaints. The Geico General Insurance Company was credited with 1,093 such complaints out of a total 1,115 complaints that year for Geico. A provider of auto insurance across the United States, Geico is one of the more commonly known companies and has one of the better complaint histories. According to the Washington State Office of Insurance website, Geico received a complaint index of 0.83 for the year 2008, which means its record of Private Passenger complaints was below the industry average of 1.0. Please refer to the table below for further details regarding the types of complaints received by Geico in 2008:
Private Passenger 1093 Uninsured Motorist/Under-insured Motorist 12
Group Private Passenger 0 No-Fault/Personal Injury 26
Commercial 3 Personal Effects Coverage 0
Motorcycle 3 Policy Proof of Interest 0
Motorhome 0 Rental Reimbursement 14
Motorsport 0 Towing 0
Rental 1 JUA Related 0
Other 6 Physical Damage Waiver 1
Liability 316 Collision Damage Waiver 0
Physical Damage 84 Supplemental Liability 1
Collision 72 Personal Passenger 16
Comprehensive 36 Other 38
Medical Payments 6
Esurance Complaint Counts
With a complaint index well above the 1.0 average, the Esurance Insurance Company has one of the worst complaint histories in auto insurance. The Washington State Office of Insurance website gave Esurance a complaint index of 29.52 for 2008. Their total number of auto insurance company complaints for 2008 was 288, with 280 being Private Passenger complaints. Further detail of these complaints is represented in the table below:
Private Passenger 280 Uninsured Motorist/Under-insured Motorist 2
Group Private Passenger 0 No-Fault/Personal Injury 3
Commercial 2 Personal Effects Coverage 0
Motorcycle 0 Policy Proof of Interest 0
Motorhome 0 Rental Reimbursement 3
Motorsport 0 Towing 0
Rental 0 JUA Related 0
Other 5 Physical Damage Waiver 0
Liability 85 Collision Damage Waiver 0
Physical Damage 22 Supplemental Liability 0
Collision 17 Personal Passenger 4
Comprehensive 5 Other 7
Medical Payments 1
The NAIC’s website is a valuable resource for the auto insurance consumer. As one can see from the data presented above, it provides great insight into any company of interest. The complaint index assigned to companies, such as that provided by Washington State, is another useful tool in evaluating the complaint record of a specific company. Other states provide similar information so one may find detail about a company’s service in their own state.
February 06, 2010, Posted by Rainy Day Mitch