Factors Related to Voluntary Car Insurance Decision during the COVID-19 Situation of the Car Users in Surat Thani Province

Abstract

The research aims to examine factors related to make car insurance decision, including voluntary car insurance behavior during the COVID-19 situation among the car users in Surat Thani Province. The data was collected using 222 questionnaires distributed to car drivers who purchased voluntary car insurance. The results revealed that the majority of respondents were female, aged 30 - 39 years, worked as an owner and merchant in a private business, and earned between 15,001 - 30,000 baht per month, purchased same type of car insurance compared to pre-COVID-19 situation, and preferred Type 1 car insurance. During the COVID-19, however, the majority of them did not alter their type of voluntary car insurance purchased because they were not affected by their income and debts. By measuring the relationship between car-related factors (type of car insurance during the COVID-19) and car usage behaviors (frequency of car usage), and decision to purchase voluntary car insurance, the type of car insurance purchased during the COVID-19 and frequency of car usage were found to be related to the decision to purchase voluntary car insurance, with statistical significance at the 0.05 level. The type of car insurance purchased was positively related to it with a relatively low correlation coefficient of 0.311, while frequency of car usage was negatively related to it with a very low correlation coefficient of -0.184.