Regional determinants of insurance demand: the Italian case

Abstract

Many authors have questioned and investigated the determinants that influence the demand for insurance from a macroeconomic viewpoint. Others have assessed the role that behavioural aspects play in these dynamics. The historically under-insured Italian panorama places itself as an opportunity to reconcile these approaches. Italian complex context has always aroused interest due to a marked economic heterogeneity, historical, political, and cultural characteristics. It is in this context that this research combined personal and economic factors to capture the peculiarities that influence insurance participation of Italian firms. The aim is to identify which determinants are relevant in choosing an insurance policy and how these are declined and vary in different geographical areas of Italy. The investigation has been directed using OLS methodology, supported by empirical deduction. The results can act as hints to differentiate policies in dissimilar contexts and circumscribe the aspects on which to focus in further and new investigations.