Abstract:

The main purpose of the government’s release of crisis information is to encourage the public to actively respond to risks. As insurance constitutes a crucial risk management tool， it is worth exploring whether crisis information from government social media can stimulate insurance awareness. Based on the sudden public health crisis of COVID-19， the city-level daily panel data are used and the fixed effect model is applied to explore the impact of crisis information from government social media on public insurance attention. The results show that crisis information from government social media significantly reduces insurance attention， which is caused by the fact that crisis information from government social media increases public prevention attention. The introduction of specific medical insurance policy is also one of the reasons why crisis information from government social media further reduces public insurance attention， which forms the “charity hazard”. In addition， crisis information from government social media has a greater negative impact on public insurance attention in regions with higher development levels of internet and insurance （including internet insurance） ， while it can have a positive impact on public insurance attention in regions with lower development levels of internet and insurance. To effectively respond to such crises， it is recommended to further promote the protective functions of insurance， clarify the management scopes of the government， and make up for the development shortcomings of insurance.

Key words: government social media, crisis information, insurance attention, risk management, perceived control