A Study on Adoption of Online Automobile Insurance from the Aspect of Trust-Reinforcement : Approach by Gender and Purchase Intention Level

Interest in online automobile insurance has recently soared, and due to price competitiveness and ease of purchase, it has been gaining a following from consumers. The perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in the area of electronic commerce have been suggested as important factors for purchasing intention in the Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which has been applied to cases from spreadsheets, to the Internet, to information systems, to wireless Internet, etc. Further, there is much in the literature on how, in the area of electronic commerce, generating and building trust strengthens customers' purchase intention. This paper applies the TAM model to the study of adoption of online automobile insurance. In particular, the trust factor, which is considered important for the acceptance of online automobile insurance, was examined with additional factors, and analyses were performed in terms of gender and the level of purchase intention to suggest strategic possibilities for differentiated marketing strategies. The results of this study should provide useful guidance for automobile insurers on motivating consumers to purchase policies online.