A Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Study of the Determinants of the Insurance Purchase Decision-Making in Zambia
Date
2020-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Zambia has low insurance consumption and penetration. The particularities around the insurance purchase decision-making have not been researched. Financial decision-making has been a topic of interest as increased financial services uptake is one method of increasing financial inclusion. This thesis defines and compares the Insurance Purchase Decision-making (IPD) of the Workers in the Pensions and Insurance Industry (WPII) and the Urban Poor (UP) using a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. In the quantitative phase, data was collected using a questionnaire and analysed using IBM SPSS and IBM AMOS for Structural Equation Modelling. Significant differences emerged in the two populations regarding their IPD: the risk coping mechanisms, the extent of loss aversion, and education attained. The qualitative phase delved into detail on the areas that were not clear in the quantitative phase and used structured interviews to collect data. The thesis has confirmed that the decision-making of the two populations and their perceptions on insurance differ. The thematic analysis in the qualitative phase of the thesis highlight three major themes from both populations that insurance practice and management and the government need to undertake to enhance insurance consumption: financial literacy, service quality and regulation. This thesis has contributed to the literature on the IPD in Zambia; towards a detailed understanding of the IPD in Zambia through the integration of an interdisciplinary mixed methods approach; and highlights how the WPII and the UP make their IPD. The thesis highlights the potential consumers’ needs and inclination towards insurance and how insurance practice could take advantage of the consumers’ needs in undertaking market segmentation and penetration. The thesis optimises the insurance needs of the two populations: their expectations, their experiences, their understanding of and perceptions on insurance. The activities that insurance practice and management should do to enhance insurance consumption in Zambia have been highlighted.
Description
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Wits School of Governance, at the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020.
Keywords
Low insurance consumption and penetration, Financial decision-making, Insurance Purchase Decision-making (IPD), Workers in the Pensions and Insurance Industry (WPII), Urban Poor (UP), Zambia, UCTD
Citation
Haamukwanza, Chimuka Leo. (2020). A Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Study of the Determinants of the Insurance Purchase Decision-Making in Zambia. [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/40758