We've launched a new complaint response system that's speeding up the time between consumer insurance complaints and resolutions.
As Washington state's insurance regulatory agency and an advocate for consumers, we help with thousands of consumer complaints each year. Typical complaints involve wrongly denied claims, delayed payments and cancelled coverage.
The new online system, which is a secure link between our office and insurance companies we regulate, allows us to quickly get those complaints (along with our questions or concerns) to insurers. They'll look into the case and often reconsider their initial decision.
For years, largely in the interest of protecting complainants' private information, this process was handled by mail. Insurance companies were allowed 30 calendar days to respond to a complaint.
The new online system is also secure -- and it's dramatically faster. Now insurers must respond electronically within 15 business days.
In other words, we've cut the time to process consumer complaints against insurers by more than 25 percent.
Got a complaint about your insurer? You can file a complaint online or call our Consumer Hotline 1-800-562-6900.
