Consumer guide
The NAIC complaint index, explained
It's the single most useful number for judging how an insurer treats people when they claim — and almost no insurer advertises it. Here's exactly what the NAIC complaint index measures, how to read it, and how it differs from the “complaint ratio” you'll see quoted elsewhere.
What the index actually measures
Every state insurance regulator logs formal complaints against every licensed insurer. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) pools them and converts each company's complaint count into a complaint index that adjusts for size. The logic is simple: a giant insurer will naturally receive more complaints in raw numbers than a tiny one, so the index compares a company's share of complaints against its share of premium in a market.
- 1.00 — exactly the number of complaints expected for a company that size. The national baseline.
- Below 1.00 — fewer complaints than expected. 0.50 means half as many. Good.
- Above 1.00 — more than expected. 2.00 means twice as many. A warning sign.
Because complaints are filed overwhelmingly by people whose claims were delayed, underpaid or denied, the index is the closest thing to an objective, third-party read on claims behaviour — far harder to game than star ratings, which skew toward the easy buying experience.
Worked example
NEXT Insurance's underwriting entity carried a 2025 complaint index of 1.63 — 63% more complaints than expected for its premium volume. The buying experience is excellent, but the regulator data flags trouble at claim time. See the full breakdown in our NEXT Insurance complaints & claims record.
Complaint index vs complaint ratio
The two terms are often used interchangeably, and on the NAIC's consumer tool they point to the same size-adjusted figure. The distinction worth knowing: an index is normalised so 1.00 is the median expectation, while a raw complaint ratiocan also mean complaints per volume of business at a single state regulator, with no national baseline. When you see a number quoted, check which one it is — a “ratio” without a 1.00 reference point isn't telling you whether it's good or bad.
How to look one up
The source is the NAIC Consumer Information Source (CIS). You select a state, search the company, and read its complaint index by year and line of business. Two traps to avoid:
- Search the carrier, not the brand. Many small-business insurers are agencies (MGAs) whose policies are underwritten by a different company. Only the underwriting carrier has an index — so you need its legal entity name (and NAIC company code).
- Read it by year. Indices move year to year, and a single year is noisy for a small insurer. A pattern across several years is the real signal.
What it doesn't tell you
The index measures complaint volumerelative to size, not severity, and it can swing hard for small or fast-growing insurers off a handful of cases. It also says nothing about whether a company can pay at all — that's the job of the AM Best financial-strength rating. A strong AM Best rating beside a high complaint index is the telling combination: they can pay, but customers report a fight to get paid. We explain exactly how we weigh all of this in our methodology.
FAQ
- What is a good NAIC complaint index?
- Below 1.00 is good — it means the company drew fewer complaints than its market share predicts. 1.00 is exactly average. Anything meaningfully above 1.00 (say 1.50+) means more complaints than expected for a company that size, which usually points to friction at claim time. Treat a single year cautiously for small insurers; look for a pattern across years.
- What is the difference between the NAIC complaint index and complaint ratio?
- People use the terms interchangeably, and on the NAIC's consumer tool they refer to the same idea: a company's share of complaints divided by its share of premium in a market. 'Index' is the NAIC's own label (1.00 = the national median expectation). 'Complaint ratio' is the more general term and can also refer to a raw count of complaints per volume of business at the state level — always check whether a number is the size-adjusted index or a raw ratio.
- How do I find an insurer's NAIC complaint index?
- Use the NAIC Consumer Information Source (CIS) at content.naic.org. You pick a state, search the company, and read the complaint index from the report. The catch: you must search the underwriting entity, not the brand — many small-business 'insurers' are agencies (MGAs) whose policies are written by a different carrier, and only that carrier has an index.
- Why doesn't my insurer have a complaint index?
- Either it's too new or too small to have a statistically meaningful complaint history, or it's an MGA/broker that doesn't underwrite its own policies. In the second case the complaint record that matters belongs to the carrier holding the paper — assigning an index to the broker itself is a category error.