AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF CAUSES AFFECTING CONSUMER HEALTH INSURANCE PURCHASE DECISIONS IN HYDERABAD

Authors:

Chyavana Kondapally, Dr. M.Vikram Reddy, Dr. B. Mohan Kumar

Keywords:

Health insurance, purchase decision, Hyderabad, affordability, coverage, trust, digital convenience, agent influence, logistic regression

Abstract:

This study investigates the determinants of consumer purchase decisions for retail health insurance plans in Hyderabad. Drawing on a synthetic yet statistically consistent dataset of 520 adult urban residents (constructed to reflect plausible demographic patterns in Indian cities), we examine the influence of affordability, perceived coverage adequacy, trust in insurers, digital convenience, agent influence, perceived health risk, and socio-demographic factors on purchase behavior. Logistic regression analysis reveals that prior claims experience (Average Marginal Effect, AME ≈ +0.137, p ≈ .011), perceived coverage adequacy (AME ≈ +0.042, p ≈ .007), and agent influence (AME ≈ +0.033, p ≈ .031) are significant positive predictors of actual purchase. Income (AME ≈ +0.034, p ≈ .052) and trust in the insurer (AME ≈ +0.031, p ≈ .058) show marginal significance. The overall purchase rate in the sample is approximately 45.6%. These findings offer actionable insights for insurers regarding product design, distribution strategies, and consumer education initiatives.

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