My last blog post on the possibility of a social media backlash got some attention — heck, it even inspired Aartrijk blogger Charles Wasilewski to compare me to Betty White.

But whether we're branding our businesses using Facebook, Foursquare, LinkFaceTwit or speaking at the Kiwanis Club, an insidious fact lurks under all this hoo-ha — something I wrote about in this blog back in 2008, and made a reappearance in yesterday's National Underwriter. And that is, as the headline said, “Insurance assets not Americans' top financial priority.”

From the May 20 news story:

Americans recognize the importance of protecting their assets, but ensuring adequate insurance coverage for homes, cars and other possessions ranks low on Americans' financial priority list, according to a recent Country Financial survey.

The survey, compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC and based on telephone calls to 3,000 Americans, found that just 2.3 percent of Americans listed having the right level of insurance protection on assets as their top financial priority…

With respect to respondents' biggest financial priorities, having enough money to pay monthly bills far exceeded other concerns, with 53.1 percent stating it is their top priority (Ed: emphasis mine). Saving for a secure retirement (16.6 percent), having adequate health insurance (3.9 percent), saving for a child's education (2.8 percent), and “some other priority” (5.2 percent) also topped having the right level of insurance protection on assets.

I know I write for a property-casualty publication whose readers primarily insure businesses, and that this article specifically deals with consumers. But the significance of the boldfaced statement above — that more than half of the respondents were more concerned about simply paying their bills than anything else — shouldn't be lost on anyone who sells any kind of insurance — or anything else, for that matter.