The NAIC complaint index is a public number that compares how many complaints an insurer gets to its market share. Here's how to read it, and what it does and doesn't prove.
The NAIC Complaint Index is one of the few public, apples-to-apples numbers you can use to compare insurers on service, not just solvency. It is published through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Consumer Information Source, drawing on complaints that state insurance departments record.
How the index is built
The index compares an insurer’s share of complaints to its share of premium in a given market. The methodology is set so that a value of 1.00 represents the national median, the baseline. From there:
- Above 1.00 means the company received more complaints than its market share would predict.
- Below 1.00 means it received fewer complaints than its size would predict.
So an index of 2.00 is not “two complaints”; it means roughly twice the complaints expected for a company of that size. Because it is normalized to market share, you can compare a large national carrier against a smaller one.
What it can tell you
- Relative complaint volume. A consistently high index across years is a signal worth weighing.
- Trend. One bad year differs from a persistent pattern; look across multiple years.
- A starting question, not a verdict. A high index tells you to dig, not that your specific claim was mishandled.
What it can’t tell you
- The reason for complaints. The index counts complaints; it doesn’t grade their merits.
- Your carrier’s financial strength. That is a separate question; see Demotech vs. AM Best.
- How your individual claim will go. Averages don’t decide facts.
How to use it with our resources
Pair the complaint index with a look at the carrier itself. Our insurance-companies profiles gather public-record details on the insurers we cover; we don’t rank or “vet” companies, we point you to the primary sources so you can check them yourself. State departments (Florida’s Department of Financial Services and the South Carolina Department of Insurance) also take and track complaints directly.
If your claim was denied or underpaid
The complaint index is context, not a claim strategy. If you were denied or lowballed, the next steps are about your policy and your loss, our coverage and claims guides, the public-adjuster directory, and our deadline tools are the practical starting points. Florida’s unfair-claim-practices standard sits at Fla. Stat. § 626.9541; South Carolina’s improper-practices provisions sit in S.C. Code Title 38, Chapter 59.
This is general information, not legal advice. Complaint data is one input among many; confirm anything that affects your claim with a licensed professional.
General information, not legal advice, laws and policies vary and change. Confirm current statutes and your own dates with a licensed attorney before acting.