Missouri Insurance Office Touts Record Aid Levels

The Missouri insurance department says it helped consumers locked in disputes with insurance companies recover a record amount of money this past year.

The state agency says its complaint resolution employees helped people receive an additional $21 million from their insurance companies in 2011. The previous record was $14.6 million, set in 2009.

The department says the latest figures include $5.4 million secured for people hit by tornadoes in Joplin, St. Louis and Sedalia.

In all, the department says it handled more than 3,800 formal complaints last year and helped thousands of others through letters and phone calls. The most common complaints stemmed from denial of claims, followed by delays in processing claims.