The Louisiana Department of Insurance receives, on average, more than 3,600 complaints every year from consumers who are dissatisfied with how they have been treated by their insurance provider.1 If you live in Louisiana and think that your insurance claim or policy has been delayed, wrongly denied, or deliberately underpaid, you can file a complaint with LDI and request an investigation into the matter.
To file a complaint, visit the department’s website and select “File a Complaint” under the “How Do I…?” section. You will then select “I am a consumer.” The LDI website is very user-friendly and directs you to a video and a helpful step-by-step guide to walk you through the filing process. LDI recommends that you file a complaint online but also gives you the option to call 1-800-259-5300 to request a copy of the complaint form. You can also print the form and mail it to P.O. Box 94214, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9214.
The complaint form requests your contact information, the name of the insurance company, agency, or agent involved, and the applicable policy or claim number. It then asks for the reason for your complaint and a description of your problem. The description should include details about what happened, who was involved, why you think the company was wrong, your efforts to solve the issue on your own, and what you think a fair solution would be. After submitting your complaint, LDI also recommends that you send copies (not originals) of relevant documentation, like your policy, your filed claim, and correspondence between you and your company.
Within a week of receiving your complaint, the LDI will send you a letter acknowledging its receipt and assigning you a file number and a compliance examiner. Your compliance examiner will also send a copy of your complaint to your insurance company and ask for an explanation. Once the company responds, your compliance examiner will review all the information to make sure that no regulations or laws have been broken. The examiner will then send you a letter explaining his determination and recommending possible next steps for you to take.
The LDI cannot provide legal advice, act as your attorney, interfere in a pending lawsuit, or order an insurance company to pay you. It also cannot resolve factual disputes. Its main job is to investigate, answer your questions, and enforce state insurance laws. If you have questions about the complaint process or want to know if the Louisiana Department of Insurance can help you, you can call them at (225) 342-5900. If you have other questions or concerns about your insurance claim, please do not hesitate to contact Merlin Law Group for a free case evaluation.
(Note: This guest blog is by Liberty Ritchie, a Licensed Legal Intern in our Oklahoma City office)
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1 Jim Donelon, How to File an Insurance Complaint, Louisiana Department of Insurance, (n.d.), https://www.ldi.la.gov/docs/default-source/documents/publicaffairs/consumerpublications/file-a-complaint.pdf?sfvrsn=4
