In addition, some 86 percent of respondents with auto policies said they were satisfied with their auto insurers, the survey found.

The majority of respondents also stated that they were happy with how the insurance industry handled the needs of customers who were affected by the events of Sept. 11. Sixty-one percent said they believe the insurance industry has been responsive to its customers affected by the terror attacks.

IRC pointed out, however, that the percentage of satisfied consumers has declined slightly since its last survey two years ago.

In 2000, 97 percent of respondents expressed their satisfaction with companies that provide their homeowners insurance, while 96 percent said they were happy with their auto insurers--the current satisfaction level is in line with the results from its 1995 survey, IRC said.

"This is part of IRC's public attitude monitor where we periodically interview the public on topics related to risk management," said Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president at the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America, the parent organizations for the IRC.

"The results were not surprising--we typically find a high satisfaction level, and the small drop this year was in line with the overall insurance environment. Our feeling is that the decline was the result of rate increases in property-casualty lines of insurance, triggered by declining profitability due to rising repair costs, falling investment income, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and other catastrophes," Ms. Sprinkel said.

But despite rate increases, consumer satisfaction with the insurance industry remains exceptionally strong, she noted.

"Improvements in technology, customer service and product offerings helped to offset the impact of rising costs on consumer satisfaction," she said, adding, "So I don't think we can assume that the level of consumer satisfaction will continue to drop even if the rates continue to go up."

Furthermore, the satisfaction rate in the IRC survey looks especially high when compared to other financial service sectors, Ms. Sprinkel added.

"In a recent consumer satisfaction index by the University of Michigan, banks had a score of 72 out of 100 in the financial services sector, while property-casualty lines came in at 79 out of 100," she said.