Missouri Insurance Regulators Recover $2M in First Quarter

The Missouri Department of Insurance reported that it has recovered more than $2 million to consumers in first quarter of 2012. Health insurance and claim denial are the major sources of complaints, the department said.

Missouri consumers who filed complaints with the insurance department received an additional $2.2 million in claim payments from their insurance companies in the first quarter of 2012. The department has received more than 10,000 complaints and inquiries so far this year compared to nearly 7,500 at this time last year.

Health insurance continues to generate the most complaints from consumers, up more than 100 from this time last year, followed by auto and homeowners insurance. The most common reasons for complaints were denial of claims, claim delays and unsatisfactory offers.

The department has been busy in the first quarter assisting consumers affected by the tornadoes and severe weather that swept across southwest Missouri Feb. 28 through March 1. Representatives from the department spent three days in Branson helping consumers, along with spending a week at U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Centers in Dallas, Stone and Taney counties.

In the first quarter of 2012, the department handled more than 1,030 formal complaints and assisted nearly 2,640 consumers in writing and another 6,600 over the telephone.

The top categories of complaints were:

The department’s Market Conduct Section has returned $663,000 to consumers as a result of exams and investigations in the first quarter. Enforcement actions also resulted in nearly $243,000 in fines for insurance companies.