Attitudes Toward Life Assurance: a Case Study of the Middle Class in Nairobi

Abstract

The main objective 0f this study was to determine the type of a~titudes middle class people living in Nairobi held toward life assurance. Besides, the following secondary objectives wer.'einvestigated: (if Whether middle class people living in Nairobi were satisfied or dissatisfied with life assur~~ce. (ii) Why middle cla~s people living in Nairobi were satisfied or dissatisfied with life assurance. (iii·) Whether those who 'hadlife assurance policies held pos it.ive/negative attitudes. (iv) Whether those who did not have life assurance policies held negative/positive attitudes. I , The primary data for the study was collected 'between 7th Apr:Ll,1987 and 2nd May, 1987. The population!of interest was middle·class households in Nairobi. From a map of ~Nairobi available at the Nairobi City Commission's planning . . office (see appendix G) the researcher developed a sampling frame (see appendic F) containing only reside~tial areas which (see aj.pend.ix A).. For each of the five areas, -l8 quC'stiorm:;.:.i:':··es' were c1early i~nfiable wit'hthe middle class. A sample of five residential areas was chosen for the stufS. Self administered queqtio o"other research assistants. It was intended that a sample size of go respondents be used in the study but only a total of 84 respondents completed the questionnaires and it was these that were analysed·for this study. The data collected was presented using tables. Percentages and total scores were used for analysing the data. The major findings were: -The middle class people in Nairobi basically held negative attitudes to·wardlife assurance. The majority, 60.7% of the respondents held negative attitudes toward life assurance. Only 22.6% held positive attitudes. It was observed that the -respondents demographics had no impact on attitude~$ t' \ On satisfaction/dissatisfa.ction with life ass:rrance, the ; study r-evea'Led that the majority, 85.7% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the way life assurance matters were .: handled in Kenya.' Only 1:4.3% were ·satisfied. .Anattempt to .establish if any relationships existed between respondent satisfaction/dcissatisfaction and various responderrt demographics found out tha t no such relationships ex fied respondents were satisfied found out that the majority of the satisfied respo"ndents gave two reasons as the reasons for satisfaction. These were: appropriate advise given to the clients at the time life assurance policies were sold~and the non complex nature of life assurance . contracts. The other reasons for satisfaction like the fact that life assurance premiums were low were mentioned by a few satisfied respondents only. An attempt to investigate the reasons for respondent dissatisfaction with life assurance found out that the .majority of those who were dissatisfied gave the following as reasons-for dissatisfaction: inappropriate advise given by life assurance companies or their agents at tbe time the policy is soLd, difficult nature of life assurance. contracts, tricks used .by agents, and inability of insurarige agents to understand the policies they ~old. The other reasons for dissatisfaction like claim settlement were not popular reasons. Finally, the study-found out -that the policy status, that is, holding or non-holding of life assurance policy by the middle class ~eople in Nairobi did not have ap~ relationship with their attitude.