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"Expanding our Insure U program directly reflects the varied lifesituations and needs that characterize our diverse nation," said NAICPresident and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. "Insure U is animportant resource to help consumers better understand insurance issuesspecific to their experiences. I'm proud that we have four new ways forAmericans to get smart about insurance."
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The Insure U curriculum, available at www.insureUonline.org, providesinsurance tips and special considerations on four basic types of insurance:auto, home, health and life. The expanded topics build on the four lifesituations already available on the site: young singles, young families,established families and seniors.
In developing the new Insure U content, the NAIC conducted nationalresearch in March 2008 among domestic partners, single parents, grandparentsraising grandchildren and members of the military.
"In order to help us develop relevant tips and information, we firstneeded to find out where the information gaps occur," said NAIC Executive VicePresident and CEO Catherine J. Weatherford. "Our research identified manymisperceptions and misunderstandings about insurance among these consumergroups."
Following is a summary of the key research findings, with interpretivecommentary provided by the NAIC:
"The NAIC and state insurance departments are committed to educatingconsumers across multiple life situations on insurance issues that couldimpact their lives," Weatherford said. "Insure U is at the foundation of thispublic duty -- reaching millions of consumers every year and helping them makemore informed insurance decisions."
The Insure U curriculum also provides information about how to avoid beingscammed by fake insurance companies selling fraudulent insurance policies.Disaster preparedness and long-term care insurance tips are also included.After reviewing the curriculum, consumers can take an online quiz and downloadan Insure U diploma.
About the NAIC
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the National Association of InsuranceCommissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insuranceregulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S.territories. The NAIC's overriding objective is to assist state insuranceregulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financialstability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal,computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, theNAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years,state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industryand the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontlineprotection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms andcoordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changingmarketplace. For more information, visit www.naic.org/press_home.htm.Domestic Partners -- 49 percent of domestic partners said they have no formal documentation providing evidence of their relationship. * For insurance purposes, such documentation is important in situations where policies specifically provide benefits to members of a family or household. -- Only 47 percent of domestic partners said they had plans that allowed coverage of their partner. * That means more than half the people in these committed relationships had to obtain coverage from another source, possibly paying more m
