Through the recent financial crisis, the various institutions that make up the financial world have been accused in one way or another of not being there for their customers. It’s no surprise, then, that very few Americans (between 2 and 5 percent) say they find statements made by a spokesperson for one of these types of companies completely believable, according to a new Harris Poll survey by Harris Interactive.
Just less than half (49 percent) of Americans said they would find a statement by a health insurance spokesperson somewhat believable, and another 49 percent would find it not at all believable. Comparing that with other financial institutions, Americans find statements by spokespersons from accounting firms, banks, and investment firms more believable than statements by health insurance companies.
On the other hand, almost two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) say they find statements made by a spokesperson from a credit card company not at all believable. The majority said the same about statements made by spokespersons for both government agencies that regulate financial institutions (53 percent) and mortgage companies (51 percent).
The survey was conducted online between April 12 and 19, 2010; 2,755 U.S. adults participated.
TABLE 1 STATEMENTS MADE BY FINANCIAL COMPANIES “Generally speaking, how believable do you normally find statements made by someone who works for one of these companies?” Base: All adults |
|||||
Believable (NET) |
Completely Believable |
Somewhat Believable |
Not at all |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
Accounting firms |
67 |
5 |
62 |
33 |
|
Banks |
62 |
4 |
57 |
38 |
|
Investment firms |
55 |
2 |
52 |
45 |
|
Health insurance companies |
51 |
2 |
49 |
49 |
|
Mortgage companies |
49 |
2 |
47 |
51 |
|
Government agencies that regulate financial institutions |
47 |
4 |
43 |
53 |
|
Credit card companies |
36 |
2 |
34 |
64 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding |
TABLE 2 STATEMENTS MADE BY FINANCIAL COMPANIES – NOT BELIEVABLE “Generally speaking, how believable do you normally find statements made by someone who works for one of these companies?” Summary of those who say “Not at all believable” Base: All adults |
|||||||||
Total |
Generation |
Party ID |
|||||||
Echo Boomers (18-33) |
Gen. X (34-45) |
Baby Boomers (46-64) |
Matures (65+) |
Rep. |
Dem. |
Ind. |
|||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
Credit card companies |
64 |
56 |
68 |
69 |
64 |
56 |
70 |
66 |
|
Government agencies that regulate financial institutions |
53 |
35 |
57 |
59 |
64 |
65 |
40 |
58 |
|
Mortgage companies |
51 |
39 |
53 |
57 |
58 |
42 |
57 |
52 |
|
Health insurance companies |
49 |
41 |
52 |
54 |
48 |
36 |
56 |
53 |
|
Investment firms |
45 |
36 |
49 |
50 |
48 |
38 |
50 |
45 |
|
Banks |
38 |
28 |
40 |
45 |
40 |
30 |
44 |
39 |
|
Accounting firms |
33 |
26 |
37 |
36 |
33 |
26 |
38 |
31 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding |
|||||||||
Generational differences
Echo boomers – those aged 18-33 – are across the board more likely to find statements made by health insurance companies more believable than older generations.