The Price of Delegating Decisions: Effects on Consumer Responsibility and Future Decisions
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2017-02
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
Decision delegation to professionals is supposed to lead to better decisions for consumers. But sometimes the delegation of insurance decisions is a choice without awareness for the ones who delegate. This paper analyses consumers` awareness of their individual responsibility when delegating financial decisions to a surrogate. Surrogates often have to deal with conflicts of interests, in particular with conflicts related to their remuneration. It is questionable whether consumers who delegate insurance decisions to such surrogates consider themselves responsible for these decisions. None of the current policy proposals in the EU or Switzerland consider it necessary to raise consumers` awareness of who is responsible for a delegated insurance decision. Our results indicate that delegating financial decisions impairs consumers` perception of individual responsibility and thus may trigger less learning effects for future decisions. The findings suggest that minimizing conflicts of interest through disclosure of price differences across distribution channels (online versus insurance advisors) can provoke a shift in channel usage as an unintended policy consequence. This research provides insights for further elaboration of the EU Insurance Distribution Directive proposal and similar regulations.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SoM - Business Innovation
Event Title
2017 Winter AMA Conference
Event Location
Orlando, FL, USA
Event Date
17-19.02.2017
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
250500