Effects of SO2 Pollution on Household Insurance Purchasing in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

There have been considerable concerns regarding the effects of air pollution on health and economy over the past decades across the world. As insurance coverage has been closely related to household welfare, we aim to investigate the influence of air pollution, in particular, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution on household purchases of commercial health insurance using data from the 2017 China Household Financial Survey (CHFS). The results show that the rise in SO2 emission has a significant positive association with tendency of residents to participate in commercial health insurance. The possibility of household commercial health insurance purchasing increases by 4% per 1,000 tons of SO2 emission. In addition, the proportion of commercial health insurance expenditure in household annual income increases by 29% per 1,000 tons of SO2 emission. The effects are also found to differ among resident groups. Residents in eastern parts of China are more likely to buy commercial health insurance facing SO2 pollution compared to those in western parts of China; people with higher income are more likely to be affected compared to those with lower income; families with the household head being female are more likely to be affected compared to those with the household head being male. This research provides baseline information on the formulation and implementation of future operation strategy in commercial health insurance companies of China.

Can Trust Motivate Farmers to Purchase Natural Disaster Insurance? Evidence from Earthquake-Stricken Areas of Sichuan, China

Natural disasters cause great losses of property and life in many areas of China. However, rural residents do not always insure themselves against these losses. Measuring the correlation between trust and farmers’ behavior related to the purchasing of natural disaster insurance is of great significance to the implementation of natural disaster insurance pilot programs and insurance systems in China. This article analyzes data from a survey of 327 households in four districts and counties of Sichuan Province, China, that were affected by the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes. According to the relevant theories of trust, trust was divided into three dimensions: authority trust, collective trust, and relationship trust. Then a technology acceptance model was built, and PLS-SEM was used to comprehensively analyze the correlation between different dimensions of trust and farmers’ insurance purchase behavior. The results show that (1) only relationship trust was directly and significantly positively correlated with insurance purchasing behavior. Although there was no direct significant correlation between authoritative trust or collective trust and buying behavior, relationship trust was found to indirectly affect buying behavior. (2) Younger farmers and those with higher incomes are more likely to buy disaster insurance if they live in a disaster-threat zone, have experienced disasters, and are risk averse. We then discuss the correlations between farmers’ trust and natural disaster insurance purchasing in areas threatened by earthquake disasters. This provides a policy inspiration for the promotion of disaster insurance and the construction of insurance systems in China.

Part I Assessment and Pre-Investment Management of Political Risk, 3 Investment Insurance

This chapter deals with the modalities of political risk insurance. Purchasing political risk insurance is one of the simplest and most direct steps that an investor can take to reduce exposure to political risk. Political risk insurance is similar in many respects to ordinary business risk insurance. It typically provides coverage against political risk such as currency inconvertibility, expropriation, and political violence. Such insurance is available from a number of sources, including State-sponsored insurance agencies such as United States’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), private insurers such as Lloyds of London, and the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The chapter focuses on the MIGA and OPIC insurance schemes. It also discusses other national insurance programmes and private insurers that offer political risk insurance.

Online life insurance purchasing intention: Applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

We developed and examined a theoretical model to explain the key factors influencing Chinese customers' purchasing intention of online life insurance. The proposed theoretical model incorporated the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) with 2 external factors: online trust and perceived risk. SmartPLS 2.0 was used to analyze the data collected from field survey questionnaires (N = 315). The results showed that customers' online life insurance purchasing intention was significantly impacted by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. In addition, online trust acted as both a direct antecedent of purchasing intention and an indirect antecedent through perceived risk. These findings offer Chinese insurers some guidelines for designing and marketing through this channel to increase their sales.

Understanding why Chinese contractors are not willing to purchase construction insurance

Purpose Construction insurance has been advocated as a useful financial means to transfer risks and mitigate potential project losses. However, there is a general reluctance to purchase construction insurance in China. The purpose of this paper is to develop an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to understand and predict contractors’ construction insurance purchasing intention. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire survey. The respondents comprise 130 project directors/managers and contract managers/administrators who were involved in or familiar with the construction insurance purchasing or managing. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings This study developed an extended TPB model to explain the contractors’ intention formation. The results indicated that the insurance purchasing intention was mainly influenced by attitudes and subjective norm, rather than perceived behavioral control. The analyses also revealed that the added variables (risk perception and past experience) had a significant impact on the attitudes and perceived behavioral control. Originality/value This study identified the factors leading to Chinese contractors’ low willingness to purchase construction insurance by extending the TPB model to the context of construction insurance purchasing. The extended TPB model may serve as a theoretical framework and basis for the Chinese contractors, insurers, and regulators to understand the root causes of contractors’ low willingness to purchase construction insurance and make joint efforts to address the risks and insurance in the construction industry.