Frame Changin’: How Presence of a Child Impacts Provider Selection and Satisfaction in The Insurance Industry

File(s)
Date
2010Author
Morrill, Joshua
Gnewuch, Toni
Publisher
Center for Financial Security
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Social scientists have long demonstrated that our perceptions of the world are shaped by
schemas, a set of beliefs about people, events or situations that we use as guides in our
interactions (i.e., Cohen, 1981; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). Schemas allow us to process
information quickly in order to decide whether to accept information and integrate it into our
cognitive framework or to reject the information. This process ultimately affect the choices and
evaluations people make (Tversky & Kahnehman, 1981; Misra & Beatty, 1990; Schmidt and
Hitchon, 1999). As people move through various life stages, key events can modify the lens we
use to judge relationships and create new schemas that we use to process incoming
information. The following paper will examine a specific subgroup within insurance: people who
have children. The majority of this group consists of couples with kids, a segment comprising
over 40% of US households (US Census, 2007). Using primary research data we will show
how the transition from having no children to having children constitutes a potential shift in how
this group reacts to and interprets insurance information. Understanding this new frame will
ultimately have strong implications for how and what to market to this potentially lucrative
insurance group.
Subject
Insurance Industry
Provider Selection and Satisfaction
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/90760Type
Working Paper
Description
This research confirmed that when it comes to insurance, people with children have different attitudes, preferences, and evaluations compared to people without children.
Citation
Morrill, J., & Gnewuch, T. (2010). Frame Changin’: How Presence of a Child Impacts Provider Selection and Satisfaction in The Insurance Industry. Center for Financial Security .