A study released today reports that more than 40 percent of consumers would like their homeowners insurance carrier to offer identity theft coverage.

The findings in the 2006 Homeowners Insurance Study released by J.D. Power and Associates, Westlake Village, Calif., were based on responses from 9,045 homeowners insurance policy holders across the country,

J.D. Power said the survey found identity theft insurance is second only to auto insurance in the list of products homeowners say they would like their insurance provider to offer.

"As personal information breaches by large corporations and government agencies frequently develop into high-profile news, privacy issues have become incredibly close to the consumer consciousness," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates.

Mr. Bowler said, "Consumers increasingly feel compelled to protect themselves from the damage caused by identity theft, representing a growth opportunity for insurance providers."

Another portion of the study found that a large proportion of homeowners do not carry enough insurance to rebuild their homes if destroyed.

More than 25 percent of homeowners surveyed said they believe they are underinsured.

Homeowners who reevaluate their coverage limits on a regular basis to address issues such as increasing building materials and labor costs are significantly more satisfied with their insurer, J.D. Power reported.

Twenty-six percent of homeowners think they have a guaranteed replacement cost policy, while 25 percent said they do not know what kind of policy they have.

Approximately 50 percent of homeowners incorrectly believe the insurance company or their agent--not the homeowner--bears the responsibility for determining the replacement cost of their home and its contents, down from 59 percent in 2005.

"Natural disasters that have devastated communities in the past few years have highlighted the fact that many consumers expose themselves to financial hardship or even ruin by not fully insuring their single-most-valuable asset," said Mr. Bowler.

"Agents are sometimes reluctant to discuss coverage limit policy changes with customers because they believe associated premium increases could cause homeowners to shop for another provider," he noted.

Mr. Bowler said the survey data this year reinforces the idea that discussions concerning coverage limit policy changes "have a strong, positive impact on customer satisfaction."

J.D. Power found that while premium increases impact customer satisfaction, the effects can be dramatically minimized when the insurance provider notifies customers ahead of time and offers an explanation of alternatives.

Customer satisfaction scores provided by homeowners who received a price increase but were given an opportunity to discuss coverage options are 25 points higher than among those who received a price decrease, according to the J.D. Power research.

The study also found that approximately one-half of customers show little price sensitivity, indicating a willingness to remain with their insurance provider at any price.

J.D. Power and Associates is a marketing information services firm doing market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Special Reports /

Consumers Want I.D. Theft Products: Survey

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