Attorneys who handle insurance claims will generally know what is going on within the insurance industry. While most claims are handled properly and an insurance attorney never hears about those that are handled properly, it is the ones that are not handled properly that come to the attention of insurance attorneys.
The Insurance Journal published an article in early 2014, told of insurance complaints being filed in Texas. Here is the title of the article, “Insurer Group: Texas Auto, Homeowner Complaints at a record Low.” Here is what the article tells us.
“In 2013, Texas drivers and homeowners filed the fewest number of complaints against their insurance companies since the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) began keeping records, the Insurance Council of Texas reports.
According to TDI’s Consumer Protection division, there was approximately one justified complaint for every 16,000 auto or homeowner insurance policies in effect.
Homeowner complaints peaked in 2009, but last year with about a quarter of a million more policies in effect, only 364 justified complaints were filed against insurers, a new record low, the ICT said.
Auto insurance complaints have been going down every year since 2002. Last year, with nearly 15 million auto policies in effect, 900 drivers filed complaints with TDI, another record low.
“These record low numbers for complaints demonstrate that insurance companies are responding quickly and offering fair settlements to their customers” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the ICT. “Insurance companies take pride in protecting their policyholders and TDI’s data shows insurers have been successful in keeping complaints down to a minimum.”
The majority of complaints filed with TDI over property/ casualty issues deal with delays in settling claims. With a complaint in hand TDI’s Consumer Protection division steps into help resolve these claims for consumers.”
The source of this information is The Insurance Council of Texas. The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) is a non-profit state insurance trade association of property and casualty insurers writing business in Texas. ICT does not lobby, but follows the legislative process and reports to the membership on important legislative initiatives and changes in insurance law. Its seminars and annual symposium also provide updates on important issues.
ICT provides consumers with insurance information and sponsors programs that provide student scholarships, fights insurance fraud, supports crime and fire prevention and generates an annual hurricane awareness campaign aimed at preparing coastal residents for catastrophic storms.
An attorney who handles many insurance complaints will tell you that ICT is slanted toward favorable reporting of insurance companies and their practices.
A person who has a complaint has a hard battle to fight when dealing with an insurance company. That is why it is a must that a person dealing with an insurance company get an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.
It is important to realize that the Texas Department of Insurance is extremely understaffed and rarely will they properly investigate claims unless it is something that is wide spread and drawing media attention. They make it easy to file a complaint, but a look of their enforcement actions is not very impressive.
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