Investigating Digital Adoption in Insurance: The Case of CBZ Touch

Abstract

This study investigates the multifaceted factors impeding the full adoption of CBZ Touch, a mobile-based service platform developed by CBZ Life Insurance in Zimbabwe. Despite the insurance sector’s substantial financial commitment to developing digital infrastructure, the uptake of CBZ Touch among life insurance customers has remained disappointingly low. This gap presents a significant challenge to the digital transformation goals of the company and the broader sector. The central objective of this research was to meticulously identify and quantify the core determinants responsible for this low adoption rate. A descriptive case study design was implemented, utilizing a quantitative methodology to gather and analyse empirical data. The study focused on a range of independent variables hypothesized to influence customer adoption behaviour. These included perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, trust (specifically in security and reliability), awareness of the platform's features, and cost perception related to usage. Data was systematically collected using a structured questionnaire distributed to a sample of 300 CBZ Life Insurance customers residing in Harare. The selection process employed systematic random sampling to ensure representative coverage. A total of 190 valid responses were obtained, resulting in a commendable 63.3% response rate, which provides a robust foundation for the study’s inferences. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), employing sophisticated techniques, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression, to establish relationships between the variables. The analysis yielded several critical insights into the dynamics of digital adoption in this context. Key demographic and socio-economic variables, such as digital literacy, the level of formal education, and smartphone access, were found to be significant predictors of adoption. Furthermore, platform characteristics played a crucial role: perceived ease of use and the intuitive platform design were positively and strongly associated with increased user engagement the findings also highlighted major barriers. Most notably, trust in data security and the system's reliability emerged as primary impediments to sustained adoption. Customers expressed significant apprehension regarding the safety of their personal and financial information and the consistency of the mobile platform's performance.