No. A-04/01
Property & Casualty
- Auto

Auto Insurance Companies' Claimant Satisfaction Survey for 2001

To the attention of all insurance companies licensed to
transact automobile insurance in Ontario

With this bulletin, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is releasing its fourth annual Claimant Satisfaction Survey requirements for property and casualty (P & C) insurance companies that write private passenger automobile business.

The survey is a compliance mechanism that monitors and helps improve insurance companies’ claims management practices relating to private passenger automobile claims. FSCO releases the results of the survey to the public so consumers can make more informed choices when buying auto insurance.

Companies are required to conduct the survey using the attached Guidelines for Ontario Auto Insurance Claimant Satisfaction Research (Guidelines). The Guidelines are essentially the same as those issued in previous years and were developed in consultation with the industry.

Companies with less than $10 million in direct written premiums (Private Passenger Automobile) or with fewer than 300 closed claims in 2000 are not required to undertake the survey. Insurers must notify FSCO in writing if they qualify for exemption from conducting the survey.

To ensure consistency in the data collected, insurers must retain a marketing research organization that is a member of the Canadian Association of Marketing Research Organizations (CAMRO). Insurers are required to file the tabulated results of the survey with FSCO by May 25, 2001.

We are also attaching a set of questions and answers (Q’s and A’s) to this bulletin to assist you in undertaking the survey.

Improving consumer information

FSCO has had discussions with representatives of the insurance industry about the need to ensure that consumers receive information that is useful when they are making their decision to purchase automobile insurance.

With this in mind, I have asked the Insurance Ombudsman, Ann Bythell, to establish a working group that would include representatives of the industry, to examine ways of potentially improving future claimant satisfaction surveys and developing a more comprehensive communication strategy for the survey results.

If you need additional information or if your company qualifies for exemption from conducting the 2001 Claim Satisfaction Survey, please contact Jim Fox, senior adviser, Office of the Insurance Ombudsman, FSCO, at (416) 590-7277; fax (416) 590-8480.

Dina Palozzi
Chief Executive Officer and
Superintendent of Financial Services

March 14, 2001

Attachments:

• Guidelines for Ontario Auto Insurance Claimant Satisfaction Research
• Questions and Answers on Claimant Satisfaction Survey