Factors affecting service quality in the insurance industry in Tanzania: a case of selected insurance companies in Dar es Salaam

The aim of study was to assess the factors which affect the service quality of the insurance industry in Tanzania, the case of five selected insurance companies. Both primary and secondary data were used. The obtained data were entered and coded into templates using Statistic Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). In the first stage of the analysis, data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics including frequency distribution tables, pie charts and bar charts, which presented simple statistical results while in the second stage of the analysis, various statistical tools such as Linear Regression, one sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test as well as cross tabulation and Chi-square Test were used. The study found that there were several factors that are related to service reliability attributes, service assurance attributes, service tangibility attributes, service empathy attributes and service responsiveness attributes that affect service quality and customer satisfaction in the insurance industry. From the findings, it is concluded that poor service reliability, unreliable service assurance, poor service tangibles, poor service empathy, and lack of responsiveness affect service quality and therefore leading to customer dissatisfaction. It was from the findings, that a number of recommendations have been provided to improve service reliability, service assurance, service tangibles, and service empathy and service responsiveness so as to improve service quality as well as customer satisfaction.