Health Insurance Literacy: Bridging the gap between Financial Knowledge
and Purchase Intention
Abstract
It is a matter of serious concern that in spite of having the financial
capacity, a significant portion (30%) of India’s population referred to
as the ‘Missing Middle’- lacks health insurance due to limited awareness
[1](#ref-0001). The present research tries to understand how health
insurance literacy influences purchase intentions and how financial
knowledge contributes to this relationship. This study aimed to explore
and understand the mediating role of health insurance literacy in the
relationship between an individual’s financial knowledge and their
intention to purchase health insurance. Data was collected through a
cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire and analysed
using the PLS-SEM technique with SmartPLS software. The results are in
the expected direction and the findings confirm that an individual’s
subjective financial knowledge does affect their purchase intention
which is mediated by health insurance literacy. These insights have
implications for stakeholders in the health insurance industry as well
as policy makers, suggesting the need for targeted educational efforts
aimed at different and distinct population segments.