Insurance services vs. free financial and alternative help and search for additional benefits besides the eligible compensation

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Additional benefits of insurance contract; Consumer behaviour; Draudimo paslaugos; Draudimo paslaugos ir nemokama finansinė arba adekvati pagalba; Ekspertų vertinimas; Expert-based evaluation; Insurance services; Insurance services vs. free financial or adequate help; Papildomos draudimo sutarties privalumai; Pirkimo ir vartojimo pagrindimas; Purchase and consumption rationale; Vartotojų elgsena; Additional benefits of insurance contract; Consumer behaviour; Draudimo paslaugos; Draudimo paslaugos ir nemokama finansinė arba adekvati pagalba; Ekspertinis vertinimas; Expert-based evaluation; Insurance services; Insurance services vs. free financial or adequate help; Papildomos draudimo sutarties privalumai; Pirkimo ir vartojimo logika; Purchase and consumption rationale; Vartotojo elgsena.

ENPurpose – to express the above mentioned issues as research hypotheses and to test them in order to investigate and justify the very initial core determinants that impact the insurance service purchase decision making process. Design and method – The set of the following research methods is used to investigate and solve the given research problem, i.e. overview of related works, hypothesis testing, survey-based insurance experts’ opinion collecting, evaluation of data resulting from the conducted survey by means of systematic, comparative and logic analysis, content (opinion) analysis, and statistical analysis of data by applying descriptive measures. Findings – The research confirms the gain-based assumptions of insurance consumer behaviour of different authors that have previously been discussed in the scientific literature about one’s search for exaggerated benefits and gains as compared to what the service is really designed for. The research justifies the prevalence of one’s incentives for gaining financial help in other ways than insurance as well as for expecting a return on insurance. The expert-based evaluation unfolds the fact that when purchasing insurance services, about one fifth of the consumers have intentions towards obtaining some additional benefits besides the compensation of the loss that might be experienced. Such research results deny the initial research hypothesis formulated about an existing majority of dishonest consumers. The conducted research discloses that these consumers (tend to) cheat when making life or vehicle insurance agreements. Practical implications – The research proves that the willingness of the consumers to get exaggerated benefits makes them cheat both directly and indirectly. This can supposedly be related to their lack of sufficient educational background.The conducted research suggests that (re)educational measures should be taken for explaining the consumers what the insurance service is really designed for as well as guiding and revealing them the genuine benefits of security by means of insurance as compared to its alternatives. The consumers should be explained that insurance is not designed to make them rich or, in opposite, waste their money, but is a type of investment and savings that has its price. The purposeful educational measures would help the consumers approach and grasp the real value, the real understanding and the real benefits of insurance. In order to reach this goal, those who are highly qualified and competent should be honoured to take the role of educating the consumers. Originality/Value – This paper raises insurance consumption-related issues typical for both developing and developed markets that embeds the consumers’ attitude and behaviour towards insurance service consumption/non-consumption. Insurance consumer behaviour is analysed from a “benefit-out-of-benefit” perspective that consumers look for when making insurance purchase decision. The author postulates that the purchase of insurance services first of all and largely depends on the consumers’ exaggerated search of benefits knowing about what the service is really designed for. This work proposes an improved understanding of the insurance service purchase decision making process. It suggests and incorporates several additional elements (factors) that can impact one’s decision when purchasing insurance services. Namely, they are the availability of free financial and alternative help in case of an accident, and the availability of additional benefits besides the eligible compensation. [From the publication]