Only 45 percent of Americans feel confident making insurancedecisions and more than 60 percent failed to correctly answer basicquestions about insurance coverage in a new survey from theNational Association ofInsurance Commissioners.

The survey was comprised of two sections: One section gaugingbroader consumer perceptions on insurance and a second 10-questionIQ component that tested specific knowledge.

According to the NAIC, most respondents only answered four outof 10 questions correctly on the IQ component. That's an averagescore of only 40 percent.

Furthermore, a majority (86 percent) of respondents said they donot understand all of the terms being used in the currentdiscussion on health care reform.

"Consumers today are being forced to make difficult decisionsabout their insurance coverage --decisions that could have a veryprofound impact on their financial future," said NAIC ChiefExecutive Officer Therese M. (Terri) Vaughan. "At the same time,they are being overwhelmed with new and sometimes conflictinginformation about changes to our nation's health care policies. Bydoing their homework and brushing up on the facts, they can improvetheir Insurance IQ, which will ultimately enable them to make thebest decisions for themselves and their families."

Key findings related to knowledge of health care and insurancecoverage:

• More than half (55 percent) of all Americans do not understandwhat a pre-existing condition is, which is critical when selectinghealth care coverage. A pre-existing condition is any healthproblem that existed before someone applies for a health insurancepolicy or enrolled in a new health plan.
• Forty percent do not know the age (65 years of age) at whichmost people become eligible for Medicare.
• More than half of Americans (53 percent) think that they canonly make changes to their group health insurance coverage duringthe open enrollment period provided by their employer, and 16 percentadmit they have no idea when changes can be made. In actuality,certain exceptions apply for new employees or employees withlife-changing events such as pregnancies or marriage.

About the Survey

The NAIC conducted the Insurance IQ study March 2-12, 2010to highlight consumer concerns and questions; uncovermisinformation and insurance myths; and underscore the financialand emotional impact of poor decisions. The Insurance IntelligenceQuotient was based on a 10-question quiz on different types ofinsurance. Participants were given a grade based on the number ofquestions answered correctly. The participant sample included anationally representative sample of 1,000 American adults ages 18and older with a margin of error +/- 3.1 percent in 95 out of 100cases.