Have you ever wondered why you bother setting up a password on your phone, installing security doors in your home, installing a car tracker, taking vitamins, etc., if asked, your most likely response will be, ‘I want to be safe’ and to be honest this is the answer we expect. What if we told you there’s a theory that explains how you act and respond to threats? This theory also guides brands like us in planning and implementing suitable courses of action to encourage people toward protective behaviour.
In 1975, R.W. Rogers developed the Protection Motivation Theory to better understand fear appeals and how people cope with them. The theory deals with how people cope with and make decisions in times of harmful or stressful events in life. These decisions are a way of protecting oneself from perceived threats. The theory attempts to explain and predict what motivates people to change their behavior.
For example, some people never believed ‘Remote working’ was acceptable or possible till Covid came along and forced organizations to take a course of action aimed at protecting everyone.
Protection motivation theory proposes that people protect themselves based on two factors: Threat appraisal and Coping appraisal.
Car Insurance Application
Let’s apply these two processes with the consequences that can be expected as a result of engaging or not engaging in getting car insurance when you buy your car.
i) Threat Appraisal
It deals with how threatened one feels by a dangerous situation. For example, how threatened a car owner who plies the roads of Lagos daily is by the possibility of getting his brand-new car hit by a ‘Danfo’ driver. In threat appraisal, the mind evaluates the factors that are likely to put one in a position where this happens. In this case, the threat is high because:
- The car owner has to get on the road
- He has no control over other drivers or what will happen on the road
- This is Lagos
How then does he manage this threat? Enter, Coping Appraisal.
ii) Coping Appraisal
Here, one evaluates the various factors that are likely to ensure that one engages in a recommended response that is preventive in nature. In this case, the response to the threat described above, is to get “Auto Insurance”, this is where Tangerine comes in.
At Tangerine, we are able to help people manage perceived threat, protect all they love, give them peace of mind, and save them money.
Our Comprehensive Auto Insurance covers:
- Accidental damage to your car
- Fire to & theft of the car
- Vandalism
- Third party damage and more
Get started today https://general.tangerine.africa/
