Determinants of Property Insurance Demand in Slovak Republic: Challenges and Obstacles

In the Slovak Republic, non-life insurance consumption is significantlylower compared to Western European countries. The paper tests various personal, demographic and economic factors and their impact on the individual property insurance demand in the Slovak Republic. Using survey data, we identified the following as statistically significant determinants of property insurance demand: gender, age, marital status, propensity to save, level of income, being a head of household. Our results can help insurers to better understand their potential consumers and to improve their acquisition and segmentation techniques. Our findings are important, especially, in times after launching a new tax on non-life insurance premiums, as individuals in Slovakia are very sensitive to the premium and often fail to buy adequate coverage in property insurance

The Sonic Resonance Method and the Impulse Excitation Technique: A Comparison Study

In this study, resonant frequencies of flexurally vibrating samples were measured using the sonic resonant method (SRM) and the impulse excitation technique (IET) to assess the equivalency of these two methods. Samples were made from different materials and with two shapes (prism with rectangular cross-section and cylinder with circular cross-section). The mean values and standard deviations of the resonant frequencies were compared using the t-test and the F-test. The tests showed an equivalency of both methods in measuring resonant frequency. The differences between the values measured using SRM and IET were not significant. Graphically, the relationship between the resonant frequencies is a line with a slope of 0.9993 ≈ 1

Thermophysical Properties of Kaolin–Zeolite Blends up to 1100 °C

In this study, the thermophysical properties such as the thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity and conductivity, and specific heat capacity of ceramic samples made from kaolin and natural zeolite are investigated up to 1100 °C. The samples were prepared from Sedlec kaolin (Czech Republic) and natural zeolite (Nižný Hrabovec, Slovakia). Kaolin was partially replaced with a natural zeolite in the amounts of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mass%. The measurements were performed on cylindrical samples using thermogravimetric analysis, a horizontal pushrod dilatometer, and laser flash apparatus. The results show that zeolite in the samples decreases the values of all studied properties (except thermal expansion), which is positive for bulk density, porosity, thermal diffusivity, and conductivity. It has a negative effect for thermal expansion because shrinkage increases with the zeolite content. Therefore, the optimal amount of zeolite in the sample (according to the studied properties) is 30 mass%