The complaint index

How to read it

The index is normalised for company size, which is what makes it useful — a large insurer naturally generates more complaints than a small one, and raw counts would tell you nothing.

A value of 1.00 means the company received the number of complaints expected for its share of the market. Above 1.00 means more than expected; below means fewer.

So an index of 2.00 means roughly twice the complaints you'd expect for a company that size, and 0.50 means about half.

What it can and can't tell you

• It reflects complaints closed by regulators, not every dissatisfied customer
• It doesn't distinguish complaints found to have merit from those that weren't
• It varies by line of business — a company can look different for auto than for life
• Small companies produce volatile figures, since few complaints move the number a lot
• It says nothing about price, coverage breadth, or financial strength

How to use it properly

Look at the index for the specific line you're buying, over more than one year, and compare it against the other insurers you're actually considering rather than against the whole market.

A consistently high index across several years is a genuine signal. A single elevated year, particularly for a smaller company, is much weaker evidence.

Also look at the reasons

The data breaks complaints down by type — claim handling, delays, denials, policyholder service, underwriting. That breakdown is often more informative than the index itself.

An insurer whose complaints cluster around claim delays is telling you something specific about the experience you'd have at the point that matters most.

Check it alongside financial strength

The complaint index measures how a company treats people. Financial strength ratings measure whether it can pay. Those are different questions and a company can score well on one and poorly on the other.

For a policy you may hold for decades, both are worth two minutes of your time.