Buying decision in the marketing of Sharia life insurance (evidence from Indonesia)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of satisfaction (SAT) and trust (TRS) on word of mouth (WOM) and buying decision (BD) for Sharia life insurance in the Muslim society of Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The research design was taken from 386 Muslim customers who held Sharia life insurance policies using the approach of purposive sampling in four cities in Indonesia, namely, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and Medan. The hypothesis testing used structural equation modeling. Findings The research results show SAT and TRS have effects on WOM. Moreover, WOM has a significant effect on the BD of the customers of the Sharia life insurance product. Research limitations/implications This study focused only BD of customers who bought Sharia life insurance products, so the results cannot be generalized to other types of Sharia insurance. Therefore, future research could consider other Sharia insurance products, such as Sharia general insurance. Practical implications In relation to the testing of SAT and TRS on WOM, this study examined the influence of the two variables on WOM and BD. This study can serve as reference for Sharia life insurance companies when formulating promotion strategy. Originality/value This study justified the strong association between SAT and TRS for WOM and BD in Sharia life insurance in an integrated way.