The Influence of Relationship Marketing on Customer Perception of Insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The public perception of insurance all over the world is central to the patronage and consumption of insurance services. Notwithstanding the huge population of over 190 million people in Nigeria, the insurance premium penetration rate of 0.7% of GDP is very low in comparison with other markets around the world. While customer perception of insurance is an expression of attitude, extant studies has shown that relationship marketing is a strategic tool that can be used to influence consumer behavior. Hence, this study examine the influence of relationship marketing on customer perception of insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria. The objective is to provide possible solutions to the problem of low patronage of insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of study consisted of 375,000 estimated consumers of insurance service in Lagos State, Nigeria. A sample size of 1,650 consumers were drawn from selected Local Government Areas of Lagos State through non-probability sampling technique. A questionnaire titled influence of relationship marketing and customer perception of insurance was adapted and validated. 1,650 copies of the questionnaire were administered, with a response rate of 80%. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for the constructs ranged between 0.76 and 0.90. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (multiple linear regression analysis) statistics. The finding shows that relationship marketing has significant effect on customer perception of insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria (Adj. R2 = 0.301; F5/1306 = 113.510, p<0.05). The value of Adjusted R2 of 0.301 suggests that 30.1% of the variations in customer perception of insurance are accounted for by relationship marketing leaving 69.9% to be predicted by other factors. The study concluded that relationship marketing is a predictor of customer perception of insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study recommended that Insurance companies should adopt relationship marketing as a tool to influence customer perception of insurance, through the application of customer awareness, customer trust, customer service quality, product innovation and customization, and customer satisfaction.