Jonathan A. Dachs

I am privileged yet again to report on the State of New York Department of Financial Services' recently published 2019 Automobile Insurance Complaint Ranking.

The 2019 "Annual Ranking," based upon data for the calendar year 2018, ranks 151 automobile insurance companies actively doing business in New York state. As in the past, this report ranks the individual companies themselves, rather than just the corporate groups of which those companies may be members. This method of listing is intended to give consumers a more accurate picture of their insurer's performance. Also, as in the past, insurers are ranked based upon a complaint ratio, which is determined by the number of private passenger automobile insurance complaints upheld against them and closed by the Department of Financial Services, as a percentage of their average total private passenger automobile premium volume in New York state over a two-year period.

In 2018, the Department received a total of 3,171 private passenger auto insurance complaints (down from 3,367 in 2017), of which 310 (down from 394 in 2017) were upheld. Neither commercial auto complaints nor complaints made directly to the insurer are included in determining the complaint ratios. Complaints either not upheld by the Department or withdrawn by the consumer are also not included in the calculations of the ratios. An upheld complaint occurs when the Department agrees with a consumer that an auto insurer made an inappropriate decision. Typical complaints are those involving such issues as delays in the payment of no-fault claims, and nonrenewals of policies. Complaints about the value of monetary settlements and policy terminations are also common.

The 2018 average complaint ratio for all companies was 0.0228 per $1 million in premiums (down from 0.0305 in 2017). This average ratio was derived by dividing the number of complaints upheld against all companies in 2018 (310) by the average premium for 2018 for all companies ($13,611,942 million, or $13.61 billion) (up from $12,938,319 million, or $12.93 billion in 2017). The average number of upheld complaints per company was 2.1 (down from 2.5 in 2017).

The Charts

Chart 1 lists the "Top 89," i.e., the 89 companies with the fewest upheld complaints against them, or, the best performers of 2018—each of which achieved a complaint ratio of 0.00. Although these companies all have the same complaint ratio, they are ranked differently because of the differences in their average annual premiums.

Chart 2 reveals the opposite side of the spectrum; it lists the "Bottom 25," the 25 auto insurers with the worst performance record for the calendar year 2018. In that chart, the company with the highest (worst) ratio is listed first; the company with the lowest ratio is listed last.

Chart 3, denominated "The Big Ten," separately lists the performance of the 10 largest auto insurers in New York, as measured by their premiums written.

It should be noted that the Department urges readers or users of its ranking to consider that "large insurance companies doing a lot of business typically generate more complaints than smaller companies, so while ratios may allow you to compare small companies with large companies by looking at complaints as a percentage of premiums written, only one or two additional upheld complaints per year can have a significant impact on a smaller insurer." The Department also notes: "Because the ranking includes all of the auto insurers in New York, some must be at the bottom of each year's list even if every company is performing well." Finally, the Department advises consumers that "[w]hile this ranking might provide information to consider when choosing an insurance company, it should not be your only consideration," and suggests that the consumer visit the "Automobile Owners Resource Center" of its website for more information on shopping for auto insurance.

Copies of the Department of Financial Services' annual rankings may be obtained free of charge by calling the Department's toll-free telephone number: (800) 342-3736. In addition, the annual rankings are accessible on the Department's website.

Complaints against insurance companies may be filed online at https://www.dfs.ny.gov.