The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has painted a positive view for the bleak financial future.

The organisation said as we move into 2009, a weak economy, falling home values and increasing rates in unemployment will all have important effects on insurance consumers nationwide.

Yet, while these situations pose distressing thoughts, they also provide opportunities to save on insurance costs.

NAIC President and New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny stated: “Many households will enter the New Year with a smaller budget and will seek ways to save money. Now is the time for consumers to get smart about their insurance and take advantage of the opportunities to maximize their coverage, minimize their costs and protect themselves financially.”

Many Americans have not yet purchased any sort of insurance

Despite the eager testaments from the NAIC, it failed to notice that many American consumers are still living without insurance such as health insurance, and this number is thought to have drop when considering the current credit crunch.

Comprehensive state wide data recorded in California throughout 2007 revealed that nearly 6.4 million state residents had not purchased health cover either for a while or for the whole year.

The study used statistics from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), which is the latest representative illustration of the population’s state of health. Some 20% of those under the age of 65 also lacked insurances for the same periods of time.

There are those who believe this situation can change.  E. Richard Brown, director of the Centre for Health Policy Research commented: “We're looking at the final year of an economic expansion and yet the gains in coverage were small. If the employer-based system can't increase health insurance in good times, how will they do it in bad? The answer is: they can't. Only comprehensive health care reform will change the equation.”

California Endowment president and chief executive director Dr. Robert K. Ross added: “Our current system of health coverage locks too many families out. We desperately need a system that ensures all Californians have access to health coverage, regardless of health status, income and employment."

California Wellness Foundation president and CEO, Gary l. Yates noted that in the economic climate it is difficult to assess those with insurance policies: “This policy brief is another example of the critical information that the UCLA Centre for Health Policy Research is able to provide through analysis of data from the California Health Interview Survey. It is difficult to overestimate the relevance of this data source in times like these, when so many Californians lack adequate health coverage."

However, researchers have theorized that the rate of unemployment is the main reason for such a huge decline in employment-based health insurances, as this rate increased to 6.8% in 2003 and is currently estimated at over 9%.

Yet, the rate of insurance dropped from 56.4% in 2001 to 53.8% in 2003, which meant that nearly half of the working population was left exposed without health insurance.