NEW NAIC INSURANCE IQ STUDY REVEALS AMERICANS LACKING IN CONFIDENCE, KNOWLEDGE OF INSURANCE CHOICES

[1776Forever]

NEW NAIC National Association of Insurance Commissioners INSURANCE IQ STUDY REVEALS AMERICANS LACKING IN CONFIDENCE, KNOWLEDGE OF INSURANCE CHOICES

Survey indicates only 45% of Americans feel confident making insurance decisions and 86% do not fully understand terms used in current health care reform discussions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 6, 2010)

http://www.naic.org/Releases/2010_docs/iiq_new.htm

In today’s challenging economic environment and with questions about the implications of the newly passed health care bill, it’s never been more important for consumers to understand their insurance options. Yet, according to a new survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), only 45 percent of Americans feel confident making insurance decisions and more than 60 percent failed to correctly answer basic questions about insurance coverage, including:

•Does auto insurance cover personal property stolen from your car?
•At what age do most people become eligible for Medicare?
•Can credit scores affect your auto insurance premium?

The answers—no, 65 years of age and yes—eluded the majority of the 1,000 American adults who took the survey, which was comprised of two sections—one section gauging broader consumer perceptions on insurance and a second 10-question IQ component that tested specific knowledge. In fact, most respondents only answered four out of 10 questions correctly on the IQ component. That’s an average score of only 40 percent—a failing grade by most U.S. educational grading standards.

Also troubling is the fact that 86 percent of respondents said they do not understand all of the terms being used in the current discussion on health care reform....

Other key findings related to knowledge of health care and insurance coverage include:

•More than half (55 percent) of all Americans do not understand what a pre-existing condition is, which is critical when selecting health care coverage. A pre-existing condition is any health problem that existed before someone applies for a health insurance policy or enrolled in a new health plan.

•Forty percent do not know the age (65 years of age) at which most people become eligible for Medicare.

•More than half of Americans (53 percent) think that they can only make changes to their group health insurance coverage during the open enrollment period provided by their employer, and 16 percent admit they have no idea when changes can be made. In actuality, certain exceptions apply for new employees or employees with life-changing events such as pregnancies or marriage...

(More at link)

..........

I found this interesting:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/31/the-insurance-industry-goes-to-war-on-health-care-regulations/

"The National Association of Insurance Commissioners have the task of writing many of the regulations that will govern insurance companies, and according to Wendell Potter, at a recent NAIC meeting he saw 1,700 representatives of the insurance industry, balanced by just 29 consumer representatives. Never mind the state-level regulations governing the exchanges that will have to be written; if anything those officials are even more captured by industry."

[sinkingfeeling]

1. This does not surprise me. I've grown immune to the ignorance of the ordinary American citizen.