Measuring satisfaction of crop insurance a modified American customer satisfaction model approach applied to Iranian Farmers

Crop insurance is a main tool for coping with different adversities in farming which is an innovation in rural areas. This study proposes an index for measuring farmer's satisfaction levels with crop insurance. The index is based on the American Customer Satisfaction index (ACSI), having been adapted to the specific needs of this research, Its validity was tested via a multistage, stratified random sample of farmers in Fars province in Iran. The measurement model indicates that the theoretical constructs have adequate reliability and validity while the structural equation model shows a good model fit. Furthermore, the model was found to be valid for two sub-groups of the sample, the formerly insured and the currently insured farmers. Perceived quality, perceived value and farmers attitude toward crop insurance was found to have strongest effects on farmers satisfaction levels. The study further confirms that customer satisfaction is the leading factor that determines farmers loyalty. The results suggest that the proposed model can also be used on past insured clients and can give insights on which dimensions to focus most, eventually bringing them back into insurance arrangements. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.