Medical insurance: Factor influencing medical insurance purchase decisions among Malaysians

Abstract

Medical insurance covered the person's medical and hospitalization expenditures. Medical insurance pay for pre- and post hospitalization expenses as treatment in the medical plan. Medical insurance is a very important function to secure a family member as well as to provide security financial for individuals. In Malaysia, there are still lack of knowledge about demand and loyalty of Malaysians consumers about medical insurance purchase decision. This study investigates the factors influencing medical insurance purchase decisions among Malaysians. This study applied the quantitative research and data was collected using a questionnaire that has been distributed to Malaysian citizens as the target respondents. Convenient sampling was employed and the total feedback received is 200 respondents. This research used software SPSS Version 27 in order to analyse and examine the relationships between the dependent and six independent variables. It was found that all the independent variables are positively correlated with the decision of Malaysians to obtain medical insurance. The correlation analysis of this study reveals that government initiatives and incentives have the highest level of association with Malaysians' decisions to purchase medical insurance while perceived vulnerability has the least strong correlation. The results found that Income Level, Government Initiatives and Incentives, Social Influence and Perceived Vulnerability has affected medical insurance purchase decisions among Malaysians, but knowledge on medical insurance and perceived severity did not have significant impacts on medical insurance purchase decisions among Malaysians. This suggests that Malaysians tend to undervalue the consequences of lacking insurance, revealing a potential gap in consumer awareness. It implies that merely enhancing educational efforts about insurance benefits and risks may not be enough to increase insurance uptake. This research enriches the understanding of medical insurance behavior in Malaysia and offers valuable insights for boosting insurance penetration and improving consumer engagement in the sector.