The Ohio Department of Insurance put out a very interesting press release today (yes, I actually do read these things!) on the topic of the general level of understanding of insurance.
The conclusion?
We don't feel confident about our insurance choices (only 45% do feel confident) and
we do not fully understand terms used in current health care reform discussions (86% of us - that's like pretty well everyone out there that doesn't work for a health insurer!).
I think the pet insurance customers we talk to on the phone have a better idea than most but I still see a few people having trouble with the concept of deductibles and pre-existing conditions in general, let alone the nuances between the different pet insurers so these statistics do not surprise me at all.
More from the press release:
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 are at the end of this article)
....
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.
How would you rate your insurance IQ - a pass or a fail?
For some tips on how to improve your insurance knowledge, check out the rest of the press release on the ODOI website.
The answers to the questions above:
- no,
- 65 years of age and
- yes
These answers 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.
Ouch!
