A new survey by Metlife has revealed widespread ignorance and distrust about insurance in super, with a lack of awareness about how it works, what it costs, or how to modify it.

The insurer’s annual insurance in super survey shows that more than one in four Australians don’t know they have access to life cover in super, and only 50% claim to know what cover they have.

Nearly 40% didn’t know they could modify the level of their cover, and 28% didn’t know they were paying a premium. Of those that were aware they were paying premiums, only 34% knew the amount being charged. And 14% of people surveyed discovered they had insurance when they realised premiums were coming out of their account.

“Research suggests there are more than 13.5 million separate insurance policies held through super, so it’s likely many consumers have cover without even knowing it,” the survey says.

It says 57% of respondents don’t know how to calculate how much cover they need.

Despite the lack of knowledge, 72% of respondents trust their super fund to help them make informed decisions about life insurance, and 70% trust their super fund to help them understand how much they need.

The figures are worse according to gender, with only 19% of women aware of having insurance in super and then modified their cover, compared with 25% of men.

Women are also much less likely to know how much they’re covered for, with only 66% aware they are paying premiums, compared to 76% of men.

“Distrust, poor reputation and negative publicity” results in 66% of people being concerned about whether their insurer would pay a claim. And because of the variety of ways people eventually become aware of their insurance in super, it’s often assumed that insurers are trying to hide the existence of the cover, the survey says.

The Metlife survey comes hot on the heels of an MLC survey which finds that a persistent lack of engagement around insurance in super has affected the industry’s campaign to encourage people to retain their insurance in super when the Protecting Your Super legislation was passed.