.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;}
Iowa consumers are “seriously uninformed” about insurance fundamentals, according to a survey conducted for the Iowa Insurance Commissioner’s Office.

The survey of 1,200 Iowans, conducted by three St. Ambrose University professors in Davenport, was designed to gather information on people’s attitudes, knowledge and beliefs about the use of credit scores to determine insurability and insurance rates. The survey is part of a study by the insurance division’s consumer advocate to determine whether the practice is fair, particularly to minorities who tend to have less credit access and lower credit scores.

Based on the survey results, “there is no evidence to suggest that the minority population of Iowa is disproportionately subjected to adverse actions based on the use of credit scores,” the authors of the report wrote.

The report suggested a policy recommendation to the legislature to include a block of instruction for high school students on both insurance and the wide-ranging effects of credit scores, along with training in other skills such as maintaining a checkbook and using credit cards.

The insurance division will present the results of the report on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Iowa Department of Education ICN Classroom in the Grimes Building, 400 E. 14th St. A copy of the report is also available online at www.insuranceca.iowa.gov. Read a related Business Record story at http://tiny.cc/5CFqd.