More than half of super fund members have at least a “reasonable” understanding of their insurance, a study by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) shows.

About 46% say they have a reasonable grasp and more than 12% have a very good understanding, according to the research by CoreData.

Only 9% say they have no understanding, while 11.9% have a very poor grasp and 20.3% have reasonably poor comprehension.

ASFA CEO Pauline Vamos says the industry must rethink how it communicates services such as insurance.

“During the past few years the level and quality of information provided by individual funds to members has increased markedly.

“But clearly we need to think of different approaches [because] there are some significant gaps when it comes to fund members understanding how their super works.”

Members want to know more but do not realise how easy it is to obtain information from funds, she says.

“These findings are a call to the funds to connect more deeply into the general community, to really get the messages across, raise awareness and educate fund members.”

About 39% of the 1023 people surveyed did not know how to change or choose insurance options, the study shows.

Ms Vamos says ASFA will run a series of campaigns to raise awareness among fund members.

“We also realise, at present, funds are quite restricted in terms of the information they can provide to members and how it can be presented.

“Therefore, it’s time we seek the regulatory changes necessary to ensure information can be delivered to fund members in a way that helps them make decisions to plan for their retirement.”