An empirical study of commerce students (undergraduate and postgraduate) for insurance industry in India

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to find out the awareness, attitude and career preference of commerce students (undergraduate (UG) and post-graduate (PG)) for the insurance industry in India. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 800 commerce students (400 male students and 400 female students) through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire had 18 items related to awareness, attitude and career preference for insurance. The reliability of the tool was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. To establish the relationship between variables, cross-tabulation techniques that involved Chi-square tests were used. The conclusion was drawn based on probability values (p-value) taking the critical as 0.05 (Bivariate). The data was analyzed using SPSS. Findings The results revealed that commerce students-UG and PG were aware of the basics of insurance, irrespective of their gender and family income. The students have a positive attitude toward insurance, but lack awareness regarding career options in the insurance industry. Research limitations/implications This study included only UG and PG commerce students of Allahabad University and its constituent colleges, hence its findings cannot be generalized for the entire country. Practical implications This study can be beneficial to insurance companies in framing their policies as India has a huge young population. There is a need to make the students in higher education aware of the benefits of insurance to cover any unforeseen economic loss and also to make them aware of the career options in the insurance industry. Originality/value The present study bridges the gap between existing studies regarding awareness, attitude and career preference of students with gender and family income. To date, no study has been done to find the awareness and attitude of students toward the insurance industry, neither in terms of their becoming prospective customers nor in terms of career preference.