The most likely explanation is that the subject reminds members of their mortality. Better not to think about it and focus on investment returns.

The lack of interest was confirmed by a recent survey of more than 2000 industry fund members conducted by Sweeney Research. The survey covers nine industry funds.

The findings are quite worrying. Not only is member interest in insurance low, but a high proportion of respondents (40 per cent of males and 52 per cent of women) felt overwhelmed by and had only sketchy knowledge of the subject.

The good news is that the same survey also found no major antipathy toward insurance. They didn't hate it; they just didn't understand it.

Many respondents were also ignorant of the tax advantages of purchasing insurance within super as opposed to outside super, where it has to be paid for with after-tax dollars.

In fact, only 13 per cent of respondents were aware of the tax advantage of having insurance within super.

Unsurprisingly, young people had hardly any interest in the subject, while the highest interest came from families and women.

People with positive views on insurance regarded it as convenient: it was automatically bought at the same time as the super fund was chosen, it was hassle-free, it had tax advantages and it was cheaper than if it were bought outside super.

Fund trustees are racking their brains to find a better way of communicating this message to their members.

The survey found that half those surveyed were underinsured by at least $100,000.

Further, most members surveyed either didn't know how much cover they had or thought they had much higher cover than they did. The average level of death cover held by industry fund members is $189,000, well short of a sufficient sum to pay out a mortgage, educate children and replace family income.

The average amount of death cover required was shown in the survey to be $431,000.

The average level of total or permanent disability cover held was even lower, at $162,000, compared with a required average cover of $437,000. So the funds have their work cut out to close the gap.

Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they reviewed their cover annually, often as a result of a change in circumstances, such as buying a house or starting a family.

Just under a third they reviewed their cover after receiving information received from some external source and half of these said the information received came from their super fund.

But the survey also showed that some young fund members without dependants had too much cover and could do with a lot less, highlighting the need to tailor packages to members' individual circumstances.

The chairman of Industry Funds Forum and the head of the REST super fund, Damien Hill, says many people put insurance in the "too hard" basket.

He says one of the key challenges for the super industry is to design more innovative products that better relate to members' needs at different stages of life, such as buying a home, marrying and starting a family.

So how much insurance cover does the average fund member need?

A generally accepted view among industry experts is that the sum equates to three-quarters of your annual income multiplied by seven, then adding any outstanding debts.

That puts the average adequate insurance cover required at $550,000 for a reasonable standard of living in the event of the member's death while employed.