ACTUAL AND PERCEIVED FINANCIAL LITERACY IN INSURANCE

Professionals and lay public like to discuss insurance and the matters related to this financial product. The most common topic of discussion tends to be the feelings caused by inadequate compensation for insured person after the occurrence of an insured loss. Moreover, after floods or other natural disasters the media use to publish appeals requesting compensation for uninsured people. These are the textbook examples declaring unrealistic expectations that have people regarding the insurance as well as overall level of financial literacy. Individuals often refuse to admit their insufficient level of financial knowledge, and act, evaluate and expect like they possess enough experience and knowledge. The main aim of the paper is to assess differences between actual and perceived financial literacy in the area of insurance in Slovakia at a sample of 849 respondents. Based on the results, we can conclude the existence of significant differences between the actual and perceived financial literacy.