Factors affecting the decision making process of customer when their salesperson jumps ship to another firm : an analysis of the Singapore insurance industry

• Main Authors: Soh, Yong Joo, Lim, Elijah Vincent Deyuan, Yan, Naung Htut
• Other Authors: Koh Siew Kuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Consumer behaviour
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/43679
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The insurance industry in Singapore is highly competitive. Insurance firms are always seeking to expand. Insurance firm spent millions of dollars to build their brand and to recruit the best agents in the industry. In such a competitive climate, insurance agents jumping ship to another firm is a common sight. A major concern to insurance firms will be how to retain customers when such a situation occurs. In this research, we aim to investigate whether customers will follow their agents to their new firm and the factors determining that decision. Specifically, we will look at the effects of customers’ loyalty, satisfaction and trust to their agent versus firm, in the context of the Singapore insurance industry. We test our hypotheses using questionnaire survey data gathered through convenience sampling. A total of 117 responses were obtained, and regression analysis was used to test our hypotheses. Results showed that customers will choose to follow their agent to a new firm when they are very satisfied with their agent; they trust their agent and they are loyal to their agent. Further exploratory analysis into how the firm factor moderates the agent effect on their decision was conducted. A 2x2 decision matrix was developed to show the extent of the different scenarios and how they affect the customer’s decision to switch.