From Service Quality to Loyalty: Evidence from the Italian Life Insurance Market

This study explores the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the Italian life insurance market.Using data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 544 policyholders across both public and private insurance providers, the research examines how different service quality dimensions influence satisfaction and, in turn, foster loyalty.Exploratory factor analysis identified four critical dimensions-Assurance, Empathetic Agent Services, Personalized Financial Planning, and Flexibility-that significantly affect customer satisfaction.Multiple regression analysis confirmed that satisfaction strongly predicts loyalty, explaining nearly three-quarters of its variance.The results highlight Assurance as the most influential driver, followed by Empathetic Agent Services and Personalized Financial Planning.These findings provide valuable insights for insurers operating in Italy, where market competition and regulatory changes increasingly require customer-centric approaches.The study contributes to the literature by contextualizing customer satisfaction and loyalty within a Southern European insurance market, a setting less frequently investigated compared to Anglo-Saxon or Asian contexts.Practically, it suggests that Italian insurers can strengthen long-term relationships by enhancing agent professionalism, offering personalized financial advice, and adopting flexible service solutions.