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The Value of Personal Contact in Marketing Insurance: Client Judgments of Representativeness and Mental Availability

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  • Michael Theil

Abstract

Much previous research in decision analyses has focused on the processes of simplification that the decision maker applies in order to obtain a reduced set of alternatives. In the present work, we show how the principles of judgment by representativeness and mental availability can be applied to insurance decisions. We extend this view by considering interaction between these two heuristics and by analyzing the effect of the longer time horizon typical for insurance problems. The results of such simplification are shown to be inherently unstable. Nevertheless, it is possible to explain on the basis of our analysis why certain marketing practices dominate insurance markets.

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  • Michael Theil, 2003. "The Value of Personal Contact in Marketing Insurance: Client Judgments of Representativeness and Mental Availability," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 6(2), pages 145-157, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:6:y:2003:i:2:p:145-157
    DOI: J.1098-1616.2003.029.x
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    1. Thomas Köhne & Christoph Brömmelmeyer, 2018. "The New Insurance Distribution Regulation in the EU—A Critical Assessment from a Legal and Economic Perspective," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 43(4), pages 704-739, October.

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