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Cues of credibility and price performance of life insurance comparison Web sites
Author(s) -
Mayer Robert N.,
Huh Jisu,
Cude Brenda J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2005.00004.x
Subject(s) - credibility , business , task (project management) , web site , currency , life insurance , key (lock) , marketing , internet privacy , actuarial science , computer science , world wide web , economics , the internet , political science , computer security , monetary economics , management , law
An array of Web sites is available to help consumers find the best deals on products and services. While these sites have the potential to save time and money by directly comparing alternatives, consumers still have the task of assessing the credibility of these comparison sites. Experts recommend that consumers look for certain key disclosures or “cues” to assess a site's credibility (e.g., a site's identity, the currency and authoritativeness of its information, its sponsors and business relationships, and its privacy practices). Focusing on 32 life insurance comparison Web sites, this research found that these recommended cues are often not present on Web sites and, when they are, do not seem to predict a site's ability to deliver the lowest‐priced quotes for term life insurance policies.