Home > Blog > Illinois Publishes Complaint Data on Every Auto Insurer — Here’s What It Shows

The Illinois Department of Insurance publishes an annual Consumer Complaints Ratio Report ranking every auto insurer by complaints per $1 million in earned premium. The industry average is 0.29. Several companies exceeded 3.0 — more than ten times that average — with claims handling accounting for 85% to 95% of their complaints. The report is free and available to anyone at insurance.illinois.gov.

Last Updated: April 2, 2026

Last Updated: March 28, 2026

Here is the bottom line before you read any further. The biggest risk with a bad insurer is not that your premium will be miscalculated or your billing will have an error. The risk is that when you are hurt in a car accident and file a claim, the company will not handle it properly. They will delay. They will lowball. They will make you fight for money you are owed. The state’s own data shows which companies do this the most — and how often.

Every year, the Illinois Department of Insurance publishes a report that most people never hear about: the Consumer Complaints Ratio Report. It tracks how many complaints Illinois consumers filed against each insurance company, then adjusts for company size so you can compare a small regional carrier against a national giant on equal footing. The most recent report tells a story worth reading before you pick your next auto policy.

What the Complaint Ratio Measures

The raw number of complaints does not mean much by itself. State Farm had 399 auto complaints in the most recent report. American Alliance Casualty had 462. But State Farm collected $2.85 billion in Illinois auto premiums that year, while American Alliance collected about $108 million.

The complaint ratio adjusts for this. It measures complaints filed per $1 million in earned premium. A lower number means fewer unhappy customers per dollar of business the company writes.

The industry average for auto insurance in Illinois is 0.2885. Companies below that number are doing better than average. Companies above it are doing worse. Some are doing much worse.

The Auto Insurers Drawing the Most Complaints

Several companies had complaint ratios ten to fifteen times the industry average.

American Alliance Casualty Company posted a ratio of 4.29 — nearly 15 times average — with 462 complaints against $108 million in earned premium. Of those, 437 were about claims handling.

United Equitable Insurance Company came in at 4.37, with 84 complaints on $19.2 million in premium. 78 of those were claims handling.

Direct Auto Insurance Company hit 3.67 with 294 complaints and $80 million in premium. Claims handling accounted for 283.

American Freedom Insurance Company landed at 3.55 with 132 complaints. Claims handling: 121.

First Chicago Insurance Company posted 3.18 with 184 complaints. Claims handling: 182.

American Heartland Insurance Company posted 3.31 with 69 complaints on $20.8 million in premium. 65 of those 69 were claims handling. We have seen this company’s tactics firsthand — in one of our cases, Heartland sued its own policyholders in a Chicago courtroom rather than pay a straightforward uninsured motorist claim. You can read the full account in our post on what happens when your own insurer fights your UM claim.

The pattern across all of these companies is hard to miss. These are not complaints about billing errors or premium calculations. They are complaints about what happens when a policyholder actually needs the insurance to work — when they file a claim and the company delays, underpays, or denies it.

The Insurers with the Fewest Complaints

On the other end of the spectrum, several companies had ratios well below the industry average.

Country Preferred Insurance Company came in at 0.05 with 21 complaints on $432 million in premium — one of the lowest ratios in the entire report.

Country Mutual Insurance Company posted 0.07 on $214 million in earned premium — only 14 complaints.

Illinois Farmers Insurance Company came in at 0.07 as well, with 10 complaints against $147 million in premium.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company — the largest auto insurer in Illinois by premium volume at $2.85 billion — posted 0.14, comfortably below average. At that scale, maintaining a low ratio is not easy.

GEICO Secure Insurance Company posted 0.15 on $223 million in premium.

Why Claims Handling Dominates

Across all lines of insurance in Illinois, claims handling was the reason for 55.7% of complaints filed. For auto insurance at the worst-performing companies, that number climbs to 85% or higher.

The data bears this out at the individual company level. When a company has a complaint ratio ten or fifteen times the average, and nine out of ten of those complaints are about claims handling, it is not a coincidence — it is a business model.

Insurance companies use structured claim evaluation systems designed with conservative valuation assumptions built in. These systems preference objective findings, discount subjective complaints, and suppress high-end outcomes. When a company with that kind of system also has a pattern of procedural delay and denial, the result is predictable. The timeline for settling an insurance claim stretches out, and the offers shrink.

That problem extends beyond policyholders making claims on their own coverage. If the at-fault driver in your accident carries a policy with a high-complaint insurer, you are the one who ends up dealing with that company’s claims department. When an insurer has a documented pattern of bad faith claims handling, it affects everyone on the other side of the claim.

How to Look This Up Yourself

The full report is published by the Illinois Department of Insurance and available to anyone at insurance.illinois.gov. Search for “Consumer Complaints Ratio Report” or look under consumer resources.

Before you renew your auto policy or switch carriers, it takes five minutes to look up how your insurer stacks up. A cheap premium does not count for much if the company will not pay your claim when it matters.

What to Do If Your Insurer Is Not Treating Your Claim Fairly

If you have been in a car accident in Illinois and the insurance company is giving you the runaround — slow responses, lowball offers, or denials that do not add up — you are not imagining things. Some companies have a documented pattern of exactly that behavior, and the state’s own data proves it.

An experienced personal injury attorney can tell you whether the offer on the table reflects what your claim is actually worth, or whether the insurer is counting on you to give up and take less than you deserve.

Injured? Get the Help You Deserve.

The attorneys at Parker & Parker offer free, no-obligation consultations. Call (309) 673-0069 or schedule online to discuss your case today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Illinois insurance complaint ratio?

The complaint ratio measures the number of consumer complaints filed against an insurer per $1 million in earned premium for auto insurance, or per 10,000 policies for other lines. It is published annually by the Illinois Department of Insurance and allows consumers to compare companies of different sizes on equal footing.

Which auto insurance company has the most complaints in Illinois?

In the most recent report, American Alliance Casualty Company and United Equitable Insurance Company had the highest complaint ratios among auto insurers, at 4.29 and 4.37 respectively — both more than fourteen times the industry average of 0.29. Claims handling was the primary complaint category for both.

Where can I look up my insurance company’s complaint history?

The Consumer Complaints Ratio Report is available for free on the Illinois Department of Insurance website at insurance.illinois.gov. You can search for your insurer by name and see its complaint ratio, total complaints, and the breakdown by complaint category.

What should I do if my insurance company is not handling my claim fairly?

You can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance. You can also consult with a personal injury attorney to evaluate whether the company’s conduct constitutes bad faith under Illinois law, which can result in additional penalties under 215 ILCS 5/155.

If you have been injured in an accident and an insurance company is not handling your claim fairly, our experienced Peoria personal injury attorneys can evaluate what your claim is worth and whether the insurer’s conduct has crossed the line.

Illinois Publishes Complaint Data on Every Auto Insurer — Here’s What It Shows