Uppsala universitet

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working paper 1998/4
Mikael Gidhagen
Insurance marketing -
services and relationships
FÖRETAGSEKONOMISKA INSTITUTIONEN
UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Department of Business Studies
Uppsala 
1998 

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1. Introduction
There is little research concerning insurance companies and their relationships with corporate
customers. Most of the previous studies have been from the insurance companies’ point of
view and have focused on other, although related, subjects (cf. Jaensson, 1997). Thus there is a
clear need for further research in this field of financial marketing with a relationship
perspective.
Conceptual development is needed in insurance marketing, as the financial markets are
part of a dynamic business environment. One major area to be exposed is the importance of
relationship management in the insurance business, particularly in terms of the relationships
between insurance companies and corporate customers.
The aim of this report is firstly, to develop a conceptual framework from a relationship
perspective for the study of insurance services’ marketing, and secondly, to draw some
conclusions concerning this field.
1.1 Research Background
Deregulation and internationalisation of the Swedish, as well as the international financial
markets, has created a new, increasingly competitive business climate. The financial markets
are in a state of flux, where mergers between insurance companies and banks and cross selling
of financial services are becoming increasingly common. This affects all financial players who
have been accustomed to a regulated and stable market. In order to retain and strengthen
relationships insurance firms are working to bind their existing customers more closely to
them.
An insurance business research project has recently been initiated in the Department of
Business Administration at the University of Uppsala, forming a subgroup of the main research
project entitled Financial Markets in Transition. The focus of the insurance project is on the
relationships between insurance companies and their corporate customers. Interesting aspects
include how highly the customers value the relationship in comparison with the price level of
the services offered; the perceived quality of the exchange relationship; the level of
interdependency, mutual trust, and commitment; how the relationships are developing in an
increasingly competitive market; as well as the consequent implications for marketing
management in insurance companies.

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