Consumer Complaints on Auto Insurance
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.
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If not satisfied, contact the company’s
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customer service office or claims office;
most likely it’s a toll-free number.
If customer service or the claims office
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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 stop
should be the Consumer Services Division
of the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI).
Call toll-free:
1-800-686-1526
Ask to speak with an automobile
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insurance analyst.
The analyst will answer questions over
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the phone and explain any additional
steps you should take to resolve your own
problem.
Our staff will give you honest, unbiased
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answers — if it sounds as if the company
has done nothing wrong, we’ll tell you.
ODI & complaints
If your issue requires follow up with the
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company, we’ll send you a complaint
form and instructions for filing a written
complaint.
We generally will send the company a
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copy of your complaint and ask them to
resolve it or explain their side of the story.
By law, companies must respond to
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the Department of Insurance — most
companies do so in a timely manner.
We will review all the facts to make sure
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the company has upheld its contract with
you and has followed insurance rules and
laws.
Counting complaints
In 2008, ODI received a total of 1,583
complaints about automobile insurance from
Ohio consumers.
If your complaint raises questions
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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
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unhappy with the company or agent.
It does not necessarily mean the law has
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been broken or that anyone did an