INSURANCE COMPLAINTS DOWN IN 1995

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Illinois consumers appear to be more satisfied with their insurance coverage according to 1995 complaint information released today by Director of Insurance Mark Boozell. Total insurance company complaints closed by the Department of Insurance dropped from 11,987 in 1994 to 11,018 in 1995; while written grievances against health maintenance organizations declined to 569 from 610.

"Complaint analysis is never an exact science, but we believe the lower numbers are due in part to heightened public awareness," Boozell said. "Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated about doing their insurance homework before they buy a policy. The more information they have up front, the less likely they'll run into problems or misunderstandings at claims time," he said.

Of the total 1995 complaints, auto insurance accounted for 45 percent; group accident and health for 17 percent; individual life for 9 percent; individual accident and health for 8 percent; homeowners for 7 percent; and HMOs for 5 percent. The remaining 9 percent were miscellaneous coverages.

Seventy (70) percent of the grievances against insurers and 94.2 percent of those against HMOs involved claims handling. Other reasons for complaints included: underwriting - insurers, 12 percent and HMOs, 3.3 percent; policyholder service - insurers, 10 percent and HMOs, 2.5 percent; marketing and sales - insurers, 8 percent and HMOs, none.

Geographically, 81 percent of HMO and 68 percent of insurance company complaints came from the Chicago/Metropolitan Cook County areas, while downstate accounted for 12 percent and 27 percent respectively.

The Department of Insurance calculates a complaint ratio and ranks all HMOs, but limits the insurance company listings to those charged with ten or more complaints per line of coverage. A rank of 1 reflects the lowest complaint ratio in the group.