Financial Literacy and P/C Insurance

This PowerPoint report, presented by Steven Weisbart, senior vice president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), at the NAMIC Merit Society Awards Luncheon, focuses on the nature of financial literacy and how it effects the property/casualty insurance business. The presentation defines the concept of financial literacy and a displays a three-question test that has been used worldwide with a variety of populations to measure the extent of general financial literacy. It notes that the results differ widely by age group and education, uses results from I.I.I. public opinion polls to show that homeowners display behavior that implies a lack of financial literacy. A section considers whether financial literacy can be taught, and it concludes with a proposal of a three-question test that could, perhaps, test insurance literacy.