Trust in insurance ::the importance of experiences

This paper investigates the predictors of trust in insurance and the importance of experiences in a cross‐country setting using a recent insurance industry survey conducted in seven industrialized countries. Preliminary data analysis reveals a very high prevalence of bad experiences with insurance whereby more than 50% of respondents acknowledge having had a bad experience with insurance. Our main findings show that experiences with insurance are one of the most important factors influencing trust in insurance, with the negative effect of a bad experience being more pronounced than the positive effect of a good experience. We also find that trust in insurance is higher among females, younger and less educated individuals, while being lower among individuals with higher insurance literacy. Additionally, access to insurance information through the internet is associated with lower trust in insurance, while higher trust is observed among individuals using newspapers and magazines