코로나바이러스에 대한 위험지각이 건강관심도와 실손보험 구매의도에 미치는 영향 연구: MZ세대를 중심으로

The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in December 2019, raised public health awareness and increased individual health consciousness, while the financial burden of treatment costs and income loss from infection highlighted the need for economic safety nets such as private health insurance. Accordingly, this study aimed to verify the effects of Personal Risk Perception and Social Risk Perception on Private Health Insurance Purchase Intention, mediated by Health Consciousness, targeting the Millennial generation, who have emerged as a key consumer group in the insurance industry. The study was conducted on 300 Millennials aged 20-39 across the nation through an online survey with a balanced gender ratio, and the data was analyzed using a structural equation model. The analysis revealed two key findings. First, neither personal nor social risk perception directly affected purchase intention. This contradicts prior research and may be explained by Millennials' preference for direct investment over insurance in the pandemic-induced low-interest environment, driven by their higher risk tolerance and investment self-efficacy. For them, the financial utility of private health insurance appeared low. Second, a significant indirect path was found: personal risk perception positively influenced health consciousness, which in turn positively influenced purchase intention. This suggests that Millennials consider purchasing insurance not merely due to risk perception itself, but only after that perception evolves into a tangible concern for daily health management. Health consciousness thus emerges as a critical psychological mediator. Framed within a modified Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), it functions as the "protection motivation" driving the purchase decision. Therefore, insurance companies could more effectively engage Millennials by implementing marketing strategies that stimulate this health consciousness.