Website Disclosure by Indian General Insurers - A Content Analysis

Abstract

World Wide Web has emerged as a new avenue to present insurers' information and is also used as a powerful tool for marketing online insurance products. The insurance industry in India is undergoing dynamic facets in its entire history after the entry of insurance watchdog Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) in 1999. The insurance market has witnessed the entry of a number of new players, introduction of new products, deregulation of policy rates, competitive marketing and thereby attracting a huge customer base. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (WS) recognized the need for the insurers to provide information on the risks faced by them. IRDA also felt the need for setting standards for disclosure of material information by insurers on their websites. Thus, an insurance company's website should be designed to help the stakeholders in general and policyholders in particular to make informed decisions before entering into an insurance contract and to know the performance of their investments. In the light of the above, the study examined the extent of information disclosure by Indian general insurers on their websites. For the purpose of the study, each general insurance company's website was explored to arrive at the list of items of information disclosure. Subsequently, an original General Insurance Website Disclosure Index (GIWDI) was constructed by classifying the items into different attributes which relate to general, financial, insurance associates (agents/brokers/partners), corporate governance and policy holders. The sample for this study included all the Indian general insurers both public (4) and private (15) numbering 19 excluding the standalone health insurers. Using the GIWDI, the extent of website disclosure by general insurers was calculated and analysed using statistical tools such as Chi Square Test, Correlation and ANOV A. It is found that there is no adequate information disclosure on the websites of Indian general insurers and there exists significant company-wise, attribute-wise and ownership-wise differences.