Will marketing strategies affect farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for catastrophe insurance? Evidence from a choice experiment in China

The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of marketing strategies on farmers’ catastrophe insurance preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) in rural areas in China. A choice experiment was conducted with 234 rural households in Jiangsu Province, China. A mixed logit model is used. The results show that marketing strategies significantly affect farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for catastrophe insurance. Farmers prefer village cadres’ marketing, and their willingness to pay is 11.62 yuan/mu higher than that of insurance companies. In addition, the deductible rate has the greatest impact on farmers’ demand for catastrophe insurance and willingness to pay. When the deductible rate is increased, farmers’ willingness to pay is reduced. Farmers’ preferences are heterogeneous. Females, older farmers, families with fewer members, farmers who rarely pay attention to weather forecasts and have less knowledge of catastrophe insurance prefer village cadre marketing. In the promotion of catastrophe insurance, local government should cooperate with insurance companies.