Australian Muslim Consumers and Takaful Products: an Empirical Study Investigating Awareness, Perceptions and Purchase Intentions

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this research is to empirically investigate the relationship between levels of awareness, perceptions and purchase intentions towards Islamic insurance (Takaful) products amongst Australian Muslim consumers. We delineate between general and life insurance products and seek to examine possible relationships between three components of the consumer attitude as expounded by Rosenberg and Hovland (1960) in their tripartite attitudinal model and levels of religiosity. Design/methodology: We utilize responses gained from a convenience sample of 150 Australian Muslim consumers located across metropolitan Sydney. The study was administered online via Facebook invitations. Findings: Perception plays no significant role in mediating the relationship between religiosity and purchase intentions. There was found to be a significant positive relationship awareness and perceptions of both Islamic general and life insurance and a significant negative relationship between religiosity and purchase intentions towards Islamic general insurance. Low to moderate levels of awareness were reported across general and life insurance. Limitations: The convenience sample was drawn from a homogenous sample located within the same city. This may have affected the results and impacted generalisability of results. Implications & value: The study highlights the importance of raising awareness of such products amongst Australian Muslim’s and is a pioneering study within the context of a secular non-Muslim country.