Consumer Understanding

  • James Hunt (National Insurance Consumer Organization) stated that in his experience most people are very confused about the coverage they have.
  • Mr. Morgan (Ohio)
    • stated that his experience was that consumers did not understand what they had purchased.
    • He said there should be an understandable way of saying that the company is guessing because there is no way to know what will happen in the future.

1993-1, NAIC Proceedings

  • Judy FAUCETT: In line with John's comments, we were told by one group that actually runs focus groups that if you got a group of recent purchasers of insurance in a room, you might get responses of what they think they did or what they think they should have done, as opposed to what they actually did.

1991 - SOA - Illustrations, Society of Actuaries - 20p

  • We have to get out of our mode of talking about these policies in language that can only be understood by the person who wrote the language.
    • I find, after 30 years plus of experience in the life insurance business, that there is jargon used in illustrations that I don't understand.
    • I can have difficulty in taking an illustration and figuring out what in the world the authors are trying to illustrate and how they are doing it.

--  Robert E. Wilcox - Chairman of the Life Disclosure Working Group (NAIC)

1994 - SOA - Problems and Solutions for Product Illustrations, Society of Actuaries - 28p

  • If we are going to have a group of consumers of our products who are satisfied with what they get, we have to meet their expectations.
  • Obviously, there are two adjustment points whereby that can be accomplished.
    • One is that you can change the outcome to match the expectations.
    • The other is to change the expectation to match the outcome.

-- Robert E. Wilcox - Chairman of the Life Disclosure Working Group (NAIC)

1994 - SOA - Problems and Solutions for Product Illustrations, Society of Actuaries - 28p