Determinants of Property Insurance Demand in Slovak Republic: Challenges and Obstacles

Abstract

In the Slovak Republic, non-life insurance consumption is significantlylower compared to Western European countries. The paper tests various personal, demographic and economic factors and their impact on the individual property insurance demand in the Slovak Republic. Using survey data, we identified the following as statistically significant determinants of property insurance demand: gender, age, marital status, propensity to save, level of income, being a head of household. Our results can help insurers to better understand their potential consumers and to improve their acquisition and segmentation techniques. Our findings are important, especially, in times after launching a new tax on non-life insurance premiums, as individuals in Slovakia are very sensitive to the premium and often fail to buy adequate coverage in property insurance.