DOI: 10.4324/9781003157571-16
12 Emotions and under-insurance
Exploring reflexivity and relations
with the insurance industry
Nick Osbaldiston
Introduction
In the social sciences, specifically sociology, the question of how we understand, perceive, and act on knowledge is well theorised especially through
the concept of reflexivity. As societies move away from the traditional
modes of knowledge, living, and structure (e.g. religion and mythology), we
are opened to a world flooded with scientific knowledge and understandings of risk (Beck 1992). Expertise, in this type of society, is paramount to
interpreting what is risky now, and how to go about facilitating adaptation or avoidance of the dangers of modern life. Furthermore, because our
life-choices are now far more open than prior, we are consistently bound
to a life-project where specifically identities are played with, adopted, and
reconfigured daily (Giddens 1990).
Theories of risk and reflexivity have in recent times included emotions in
their schemas and frameworks (Burkitt 2012; Holmes 2010, 2015; Lowenstein
et al. 2001; Sjoberg 2007; Slovic et al. 2005). Acknowledged amongst this growing scholarship is the way emotions inform and accompany decision-making
and risk-perception in both large-scale events and in everyday lives (Hogarth
et al. 2011). The rational system that is used to process and analyse does
not necessarily triumph over the more affective system, but rather, can be
coloured by it. The emotional dimensions of memories, images, stories, and
cultural codes influence the processing and analysis of information and what
this information means to us personally (Slovic et al. 2005).
In this chapter, I seek to revisit these conceptualisations to understand how
people process, interpret, and understand their relationship with insurance
and risk. Using empirical examples from a study conducted in cyclone-prone
Far North Queensland, Australia, I aim to show that reflexivity is not simply
a matter of cognition. Rather, people come to understand insurers and the
dangers of losing their property through schemas of logic and emotions.
This research adds to a growing emphasis on emotions/affect in decisionmaking especially within financial practices (Rick & Lowenstein 2008).
Specifically, the ways emotions play a role in the lead-up to purchasing consumer items and how the expected emotions can confirm or challenge initial
12 Emotions and under-insurance
Exploring reflexivity and relations
with the insurance industry
Nick Osbaldiston
Introduction
In the social sciences, specifically sociology, the question of how we understand, perceive, and act on knowledge is well theorised especially through
the concept of reflexivity. As societies move away from the traditional
modes of knowledge, living, and structure (e.g. religion and mythology), we
are opened to a world flooded with scientific knowledge and understandings of risk (Beck 1992). Expertise, in this type of society, is paramount to
interpreting what is risky now, and how to go about facilitating adaptation or avoidance of the dangers of modern life. Furthermore, because our
life-choices are now far more open than prior, we are consistently bound
to a life-project where specifically identities are played with, adopted, and
reconfigured daily (Giddens 1990).
Theories of risk and reflexivity have in recent times included emotions in
their schemas and frameworks (Burkitt 2012; Holmes 2010, 2015; Lowenstein
et al. 2001; Sjoberg 2007; Slovic et al. 2005). Acknowledged amongst this growing scholarship is the way emotions inform and accompany decision-making
and risk-perception in both large-scale events and in everyday lives (Hogarth
et al. 2011). The rational system that is used to process and analyse does
not necessarily triumph over the more affective system, but rather, can be
coloured by it. The emotional dimensions of memories, images, stories, and
cultural codes influence the processing and analysis of information and what
this information means to us personally (Slovic et al. 2005).
In this chapter, I seek to revisit these conceptualisations to understand how
people process, interpret, and understand their relationship with insurance
and risk. Using empirical examples from a study conducted in cyclone-prone
Far North Queensland, Australia, I aim to show that reflexivity is not simply
a matter of cognition. Rather, people come to understand insurers and the
dangers of losing their property through schemas of logic and emotions.
This research adds to a growing emphasis on emotions/affect in decisionmaking especially within financial practices (Rick & Lowenstein 2008).
Specifically, the ways emotions play a role in the lead-up to purchasing consumer items and how the expected emotions can confirm or challenge initial