An ınvestıgatıon on the relatıonshıp between servıce qualıty and customersatısfactıon ın the ınsurance ındustry; the case of Gaziantep

The purpose of this study is to i) investigate the effect of the dimensions of service quality on the degree of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, ii) whether these dimensions vary according to demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, education level, monthly income and the duration of the agreement with the agency, and iii) to reveal how the dimensions of service quality affects the purchasing online insurance. In this context, a face to face questionnaire was conducted with 450 customers of three insurance agencies in the city of Gaziantep. Convenience sampling method was applied thanks to time and cost constrains. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, t-test and One-way ANOVA tests were used in analyzing the research data. Based on the analysis, it was determined that i) a positive relationship between the perceived service quality and customer satisfaction was retrieved, ii) the dimensions of reliability (güven) and tangibles (fiziki ortam) were statistically differentiated according to the gender, iii) reliability (güven) and responsiveness (heveslilik) were statistically differentiated according to the age group, and iv) responsiveness (heveslilik) were statistically differentiated according to the online purchasing intention. The findings provide significant contributions to practitioners in developing marketing strategies and researchers to be aware of the relationship between the determinants of service quality in insurance firms and the attitudes of customers even though the limited involvement of customers from certain insurance firms within the boundaries of a city. Key Words : Customer Satisfaction,Customer Loyalty,Service Quality,İnsurance İndustry,Gaziantep