Found in my 'Help' link from GMail.
"Prioritized account recovery support is currently offered on an invitation-only basis for selected users."
So, no, this certainly doesn't fix the problem for a lot of us.
Apparently you have to have signed up for something else first.
I think the safest bet is to just give them your money for an apps account if it really matters, but that might be an alternative as well.
Found in my 'Help' link from GMail.