| Are Americans insurance-savvy? |
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While
most people thought getting ID theft insurance was smart, they didn't think too
highly of pet medical insurance, wedding insurance, trip insurance or legal insurance.
Eighty-two percent of those surveyed deemed wedding insurance "silly."
More than 50 percent felt that trip, legal and pet medical insurance were impractical
investments. Consumers under the age of 50 were more likely to say that having
ID theft insurance, legal insurance and wedding insurance is smart.
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Savvy or silly? |
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The Consumer Federation of America's
director of insurance expressed disappointment that so many people considered
trip insurance, pet insurance and identity theft insurance as savvy. "They
are not in the vast majority of cases," says the CFA's J. Robert Hunter.
Okumura
was surprised at the high number of people who thought pet medical insurance was
savvy -- 43 percent versus the 53 percent who considered it silly. "What
this underscores is the emotional nature of sales," he says, arguing that
paying $360 in annual premiums only makes sense if the pet is a purebred with
papers. "But when you pay more in annual premiums than you would for a new
pet, the decision crosses over from logical to emotional. Who can put a price
tag on the relationship you have with Lucky?"
As for wedding
insurance-supporters, he remarked, "It seems that people get it about right
for wedding insurance. While relatively inexpensive, the probability of using
this insurance is so small. I suppose, however, if you're planning a $100,000
wedding, it could make sense. Perhaps that's what the 20 percent who thought it
to be savvy had in mind in terms of the cost of the wedding."
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