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Life insurance remains an essential part of financial and social security. The insurance penetration rate is high in the developed countries but very low in developing countries such as Malaysia, with only 4.8% penetration and extremely low underwritings. Therefore, this study aims to scrutinize the underlying determinants of a household purchase behaviour of life insurance.

The data generated from the administration of survey questionnaires to 325 households were analysed, using structural equation modelling to obtain the research purposes.

The analysis reveals that the knowledge of life insurance, attitudes towards life insurance, subjective norms (SN), trust and risk perception, affect the tendency of a household to purchase life insurance. The results of this study also highlight that households’ purchase-propensity influences the purchase behaviour of life insurance. Concurrently, the intention to purchase has mediating effects on explanatory variables and purchase behaviour.

This paper established awareness, SN, perceived behavioural control, trust and risk perception as the key determinants promoting positive attitudes towards purchasing life insurance. The findings of this study can be successfully applied to different stakeholders in a similar context. This study suggests that the managers of life insurance companies should adjust their policy guidelines in accordance with the positive relationship between the constructs and consumers’ intention to purchase life insurance.