The Colorado Division of Insurance found that almost 60 percent of 2,446 consumer complaints against auto insurers last year were valid, according to a new report.
The report, which includes similar data for health and homeowner insurance, gives the ratio of complaints to premiums for companies operating in Colorado. The report has traditionally included the number of complaints lodged against insurance companies. The latest data for 2005 includes a percentage for complaints that the division found were legitimate.
The division’s consumer affairs section returned $7.2 million to consumers in claim payments, overturned denial of benefits and reinstated benefits in 2005, according to a news release.
Human error in handling complaints is sometimes unavoidable, said Emily Pukala, a spokeswoman for Allstate Insurance Co. in Colorado. “Our organization relies heavily on people,” she said.
Allstate, which had 3.9 percent of the private auto insurance market in the state last year, had a complaint ratio of less than one complaint per $1 million in premiums collected. At 79 complaints and $107 million in premiums, the complaints were down from 2004, when there were 109 complaints and $112.3 million in premiums. The division found a total of 37 complaints valid in 2005.
Complaints against Farmers Insurance Exchange, which holds 9.97 percent of the auto market, and State Farm Mutual, which had 9.8 percent of the market, were also down.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
