At the same time, OCI announces its recently published report on 1998 Insurance Complaints and Administrative Actions against insurers, available to the public in print or at OCI's website. The annual report lists companies that had 10 or more complaints and above average ratios of complaints to premiums collected. In other words, it compares insurance companies' complaints to the amount of business they do annually in each area of insurance. The state received nearly 9,000 complaints last year. OCI regards any written expression of dissatisfaction with a company or agent as a complaint, so the above total does not necessarily indicate a legal violation by a company or agent, or action taken against one.
Consumers can use the list as one tool to compare insurers before taking out a policy.
Insurance buyers can use the OCI report to inquire about a specific company's ability to respond to problems. Texas was the only other state that scored as high. The newest CFA report was released at the beginning of this month. In Madison, call 266-0103.