Original Research
Measuring consumer knowledge of life insurance products in South Africa
Submitted: 23 March 2018 | Published: 30 June 2016
About the author(s)
M. Ramchander, Faculty of Management Sciences, Durban University of Technology, ML Sultan Campus, South AfricaFull Text:
PDF (194KB)Abstract
The financial services industry is characterized by product suppliers having more information than consumers regarding product features and services. The purpose of this article is to explore this information asymmetry with particular reference to the life insurance industry. Financial advisors, acting as intermediaries, are charged with the task of resolving this asymmetry through mandatory disclosures demanded by regulation. In South Africa, the Financial Services Board (FSB) monitors, regulates and supervises the financial services industry through the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act of 2002 and The Code of Conduct for Financial Advisors. This paper distinguishes financial products from other products and highlights the need for disclosures regarding product features, by financial advisors. Using multistage sampling a national survey was conducted to establish whether consumers are knowledgeable of the features of basic insurance products. The findings were that consumers have a low to very low level of understanding of the features of basic insurance products. The study makes an important contribution to insurers’ understanding of consumers’ knowledge regarding the features of basic life insurance products. Furthermore, the findings would also contribute to insurers
understanding the level to which intermediaries resolve the information asymmetry between product suppliers and consumers.
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Crossref Citations
1. Measuring Students’ Knowledge Level of Life Insurance: A Case on the Students of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management at the Dumlupinar University, Turkey
Özer Bakar, Yavuz Soykan, Burcu Acar
Journal of Educational and Social Research vol: 8 issue: 1 first page: 75 year: 2018
doi: 10.2478/jesr-2018-0009