Kansas consumers can use a new tool when shopping for seven major lines of insurance, such as auto, homeowners and health coverage.

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger last week released her department’s 2003 consumer complaint ratio report, which measures the number of complaints against insurance companies doing business in Kansas.

“Complaints and inquiries from the public are an indication of the kind of service companies are providing to their customers,” Praeger said. “They help us identify insurance companies or agents that may need to be investigated for violation of Kansas insurance laws or rules.”

The state’s insurance department closed 5,219 complaints last year. That compares with 4,848 complaints in 2001, the last time the department published the report.

Of the 5,219 complaints last year, 38 percent targeted auto insurance companies, 29 percent health, 18 percent homeowners, 7 percent life, 5 percent HMO (health maintenance organization) plans, 2 percent long-term care plans and 2 percent annuities.

Charlene Bailey, a spokeswoman for the insurance department, said complaints against auto insurers were increasing because of the use of credit scoring. Insurance companies in recent years have used consumers’ credit reports to help them make decisions about whether to insure them and what to charge them.

People with bad credit generally pay higher premiums than people who have better credit.

About 65 percent of all consumer complaints dealt with problems related to claims, including unsatisfactory settlements, denials and delays.

With the exception of the HMO category, the report includes companies that have at least 10 closed complaints and/or wrote at least 1 percent of the statewide total premiums for that type of insurance in 2003. The ratios for HMOs include all of the companies writing those premiums because there are only a small number of companies offering the insurance.

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The complaint ratio is a statistic that shows the number of closed complaints for every $1 million of premium that the firm sold in Kansas in 2003.

For example, if a company had a complaint ratio of 1.58, it means the company had 1.58 complaints for every $1 million of premium sold.

The company in the accident and health insurance category with the highest complaint ratio was American National Insurance Co., with a ratio of 6.72.

Bankers Life and Casualty Co. had the highest complaint ratio in the annuities category, with 0.27.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. had the highest ratio in the automobile category, with 12.06. It did less than $1 million in business in 2003, the report says.

FirstGuard Health Plan had the highest ratio in the HMO category, with 1.19. It also did less than $1 million in business in 2003, according to the report.

Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Co. had the highest ratio in the homeowners category, with 2.96.

American General Life and Accident had the highest ratio in the life category, with 3.61.

Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company had the highest ratio in the long-term care insurance category, with 0.39.