The insurance industry, he said, needs to overcome consumers' perception that coverage is a necessary evil and do more to educate the consuming public about the insurance they buy.

"Clearly, I think it is evident that all of us can do a better job [educating the public about insurance]," said Mr. Csiszar, who is South Carolina insurance commissioner as well as NAIC president.

Mr. Csiszar's remarks to the National Underwriter came as Kansas City-based NAIC's "Get Smart About Insurance Week" was under way. The week is dedicated to making consumers aware of the value insurance has in their lives.

A telephone survey of 1,009 adults, conducted by OCR International, asked a range of questions about the various types of insurance coverage they may have including home, auto, personal liability, disability, life, health and others.

Of those surveyed, 72 percent said they felt they had the right amount of coverage, a five percentage point increase over last year, but only 33 percent said they understand the details of their coverage "very well."

Only 20 percent of younger adults, between the ages of 18 to 24, said they understood their insurance "very well," compared to 45 percent of older customers, ages 65 and up. The NAIC noted that the overall percentage of adults who understand insurance "very well' has remained constant over the past two years.

Agents, Mr. Csiszar said, need to continue doing what they have been doing, becoming more involved in the customer's financial decision-making process by offering a broad range of financial answers as their customer's needs change. They also need to get consumers to reevaluate their insurance needs, something consumers "are not accustomed to thinking about," Mr. Csiszar added.

"It is not a change that is going to happen overnight," he said, citing banking as an example of an industry that has changed its perception among the buying public from being despised to welcomed.

"People may not like the one-dollar fee they pay, but they understand the value of getting a loan, he said."

Jeffrey A. Myers, vice president of communications for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America based in Alexandria, Va., said agents continue to work to educate consumers about insurance, but consumers also expect agents to help them make those decisions.

"What agents can take from this [survey] is that they have a role to play in the continuing education of the consumer," said Mr. Myers. "The bottom line, however, is that the average person just doesn't understand insurance, and it is going to take a concerted effort of the entire industry to continue to reach out and educate consumers."

In the busy world of today, he noted, many people simply don't have the time to become savvy about their insurance coverage because "they are stretched in many different directions."

"Our own studies have shown that consumers want an agent to help them with that process," he said. "But they can become more savvy by learning about the business. A smart consumer is the best consumer to work with."