Influence of fear on purchase of health insurance

At the start of the year 2020, World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern about "The COVID-19 pandemic". During this pandemic, when the entire world was facing lockdown, and all industries were getting a setback, there was a spurt observed in the insurance industry. With the rise in COVID-19 cases in India, it became a wake-up call for people towards health insurance. Health Insurance is one of the critical elements for sustainable and inclusive development. A paradigm shift has been noticed among individuals towards health insurance during this pandemic time, especially to protect their families from unforeseen medical expenses. This paper identifies the impact of COVID-19 as a fear that leads to a change in behaviour towards health insurance products. This study is based on the primary data collected from Ahmedabad city showing behaviour towards purchasing an insurance product during the pandemic situation. A sample of 200 individuals from Ahmedabad city of Gujarat State in India has been surveyed. The Binary logistic model is used to analyse the significant factors for the purchase of health insurance and also to check whether fear has a significant impact on a purchase decision.