INSURANCE

Insurance

Introduction
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against
the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of
a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the
insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or entity buying the insurance policy. The
insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of
insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and
controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.

The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small loss in
the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate
(indemnify) the insured in the case of a large, possibly devastating loss. The insured receives a
contract called the insurance policy which details the conditions and circumstances under which
the insured will be compensated

Principles

Insurance involves pooling funds from many insured entities (known as exposures) in order to
pay for relatively uncommon but severely devastating losses which can occur to these entities.
The insured entities are therefore protected from risk for a fee, with the fee being dependent
upon the frequency and severity of the event occurring. In order to be insurable, the risk insured
against must meet certain characteristics in order to be an insurable risk. Insurance is a
commercial enterprise and a major part of the financial services industry, but individual entities
can also self-insure through saving money for possible future losses.

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Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance

Ltd

1.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd is a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ltd., its affiliates and Old Mutual. A company that combines its international strengths and
local advantages to offer its customers a wide range of innovative life insurance products,
helping them in taking important financial decisions at every stage in life and stay financially
independent. The company is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in India and has
shown remarkable growth since its inception in 2001. Kotak Life Insurance employs around
5,565 people in its various businesses and has 197 branches across 141 cities.

Mission:
To focus on the needs of customers and create confidence, trust and loyalty by offering a wide
range of innovative insurance solutions.
Strengthened by commitment to professional management, they ensure the continued growth
and advancement of their employees.

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Vision:

Kotak Life Insurance has a deep rooted commitment to improve the quality of life of its customers,
employees and stakeholders. They aim at improving the long term value in their relationship by
continuous innovation and improvements. They do this by their three-prong effort which strives to
make Kotak Life Insurance a corporate with values.1. Increase Customer Value:
Kotak Life Insurance has gone to the heart of its customer’s requirements and developed products
which are unique and serve the customer needs perfectly. We built a relationship of mutual trust
and benefit to serve the Indian customer. At Kotak Life Insurance the customer always comes first.

2. Cohesive Work Environment:

We form long-term partnership with our employees by offering them an invigorating work
experience. We not only demand loyalty, sincerity and values but also give it back in equal
measures. Kotak Life Insurance will like to offer its employees space to grow, innovate and
build a long-term career.

3.Work wit h Honour:

Kotak Life Insurance delivers everyday services in the marketplace with the high sense of duty
and commitment. Our employees strive to build the long-term value for all those come in contact
with Kotak Life Insurance. Our consumers, distributors, employees, shareholders and the nation
have our commitment that we will uphold the values of trust, integrity and a Sense of Honour in
every thought, act and deed in order to positively contribute to individual, society and nation

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growth.

7 P’s of Marketing of Kotak Life Insurance:

1. Products and Services:

Individual Plans:

• Ø Protection Plans:

Kotak Loan protection Plan

Kotak Term / Preferred Term Plan

Kotak Eternal Life Plans

• Savings and Investment Plans:

Kotak Super Advantage

Kotak Platinum Edge

Kotak Endowment Plan

Kotak Money Back Plan

• Ø Child Plans:

Kotak Headstart Child Plans

Kotak Child Advantage Plan

• Ø Retirement Plans:

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Kotak Long Life Wealth Plus

Kotak Long Life Secure Plus

Kotak Retirement Income Plan

Kotak Second Innings Plan

Group Plans:

Kotak Group Shield

Kotak Group Assure

Kotak Gratuity Group Plan

Kotak Superannuation Group Plan

Kotak Term Group Plan

Rural:

Kotak Gramin Bima Yojana

2. Price:

Pricing is an important element in the service sector. So Kotak Life Insurance has maintained a
good pricing mix for child plan:

The disposable income in the hands of the prospects is found low or almost nil so Kotak has
adopted his strategy that is beneficial to the end user and also paves the ways for increasing the
insurance business.

The price mix decisions basically depend upon the premium that they are going to charge from
the endusers. As in this case the premium charged will be low in the initial stages and will
increase with the increasing age of the child. But in case if the child is physically disabled the

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premium charged will be high. The customers can even avail for loan facility if they opt for
higher premium plan.Kotak life gives more importance to pricing strategy because they feel that
it is the only means for attracting the customers in true sense.

3. Place:

Kotak Life has adopted the place strategy in such a way that a gap between the services promised
and services offered is bridged over. Kotak agents, brokers, branch office, retail finance service
distributors alliances with banks etc. play an important role in delivering their services to policy
holders at the right time and at right place. This product is promoted in places like school,
colleges and other child zone areas. This product is highly flexible as it is present for children in
urban well as rural areas and thereby it facilitates mobility.

4. Promotion:

Advertisements

This product has been advertised through telecast media broadcast media and print media. Since
this product is for children up to 17 years of age the focus of advertisement is on television
which is more appealing. Kotak has recognized the need for this plan and therefore has adopted
suitable marketing strategy which involves advertisements in popular kids channel like pogo,
hungama, star plus etc.

Publicity

The PROs of Kotak Mahindra life insurance has publicized this product taking into consideration
the eligibility and features and has thereby come with an appealing strategy emphasizing not

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only on children who are main benefit holders of this product but also the family who will
actually pay the premium for this product. the PROS of Kotak life have developed a good
rapport with hungama to publish it can be seen from the banner of this plan that the happiness
is shown on parents face as soon as they secure their child’s future which is the prime motive of
this plan. This plan gives your child the “azaadi” to realize his dreams even before he is an adult.

Sales promotion

The promotion activities are carried out by the agents, development officers and branch
officers. Kotak life has promoted this plan by giving calenders dairies bags which they thought
should be given as a token of gift along with the plan. Kotak life also conducts, seminars quiz,
other contest, games in various malls and play schools. All such activities have increased the
volume of saled and has also created a medium of awareness for the children.

Personal selling

As we know that customer is the king , Kotak gives utmost importance to personal selling of this
product. Moreover, Kotak Life conducts special training session for its agents who will finally
approach the end customers so that they can demonstrate effectively which will enable the end
users i.e childrens to buy the product.

5. People:

People are most important component of marketing mix for the insurance industry. Sophisticated
process of technological advances makes the way for the development of personnel in such a
way that an organization succeeds in making possible a productive utilization of technologies
used or likely to be used. Professional qualification requirements change as technology develops
and evolves. The use of computers micro-computers, fax machines, sophisticated telephonic
services, and e-mailing, inter-net and intra-net services have been found throwing a big impact
on the perception of quality of services. This makes it essential that the insurance organizations

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also think in favor of developing personnel in line with the development and use of information
technologies. The front line staffs as well as the branch managers are required to be given the
training facility so that they are in position to make possible and effective use of the
technologies. The insurance organization bear the responsibility of the developing the
credentials of their employees. In this context, it is also significant that they think about the
behavior profile of insurance personnel. It is pertinent that the employees are well aware of the
behavioral management they know and understand the changing level of expectations of users
and make sincere efforts to fulfill the same. In this context, it is also significant that the senior
executive while the recruiting, training and developing the insurance personnel make it sure that
employees serving the organizations have a high behavioral profile in which empathy has been
given due place. The psychological attributes becomes significant with the view point of
influencing the prospect a retaining the users, it is in this context that the insurance companies
need a rational plan for the development of insurance personnel. Kotak Life provides training to
its employees for making them competitive in the insurance market.

6. Process:

In the current scenario, policyholders just log on to website and call insurance advisors to their
home or office. This insurance advisors make customers aware about the new and advantageous
product for them. Alongwith it also helps customers to ask any query related to any insurance
products. So the process of taking life insurance is very convenient . It is due to private players
entering into the market. But still the simplest model of life insurance takes place mostly. It is as
follows:

• The client approaches the insurer through an agent with a proposal containing his
personal details, income details, medical history, products ( the product describes the
features provided by the insurer like maturity bonus, claims allowed etc. These features

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vary from product to product), sum assured (the amount for which the client is covered),
term (number of years for which the client is to be covered) and premium amount
(installment amount to be paid by the client to the insurer). The agent who brings this
proposal is termed as a base/servicing agent for the proposal.
• The proposal will go through various stages of approval and risk evaluation by the
“Central Processing Centre” of the Insurance Company. Upon final approval, a legal
agreement, termed as policy, between the insurer and the client is prepared whereby the
insurer covers the client for the sum assured. The client is also entitled for some
additional benefits, if any, depending on the features of the product taken in the policy.
The base agent gets a commission for the policy.
• The client pays a premium at regular intervals. These subsequent premiums are termed as
renewal premiums. The base agent gets a commission on the renewal premium also.
• The client may come back with some alterations to the policy viz. increase/decrease in
sum assured, increase/decrease of the term of policy etc. The insurer will make the
relevant changes to the policy and will issue endorsements stating the alterations made
and their effect on the policy.
• During the term of the policy, the client can submit claims. The insurer makes payment
against the claim after verification. Depending on the type of claim the policy is either
terminated or is kept in force.
• At the end of the term of the policy, the client gets the sum assured as part of the maturity
benefit under life insurance policies. In addition to this the client will get the maturity
bonus and any other benefits depending on the product feature.

7. Physical Evidence:

Physical evidence includes facility design, equipment signage, employee dress, tangibles, reports
and statements.

Signage

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Signage personifies the insurance company. It gives a identity by which users recognize the
company. A signage depicts the company’s philosophy and policy. Following are some of the
examples

Tangibles

Insurance companies give their customers and agents various tangible items like pen, letter pad,
calendars. Such things try to reduce the intangibility characteristics of this industry.

Statements

The statements are punch line which briefly depicts the vision and attitude of a insurance
company towards its users/potentials. It also indicates their business motive.

Let us now see why should people(investor)invest in KOTAK LIFE INSURANCE?

Why Kotak Life Insurance ?

Kotak Life Insurance (Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.) is one of India’s leading
life insurance companies. It is joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and Old Mutual
Plc, South Africa, one of the biggest Life Insurance companies in the world. Because of the
strong investment lineage of Kotak group Kotak Life Insurance is able to offer a comprehensive
variety of products and services that suit the diverse needs and risk-return profiles of every
investor. We have been growing over the past 9 years and are committed to using our expertise
in securing your future and ensuring that your investments keep giving you lucrative returns.

UPDATES ABOUT KOTAK MAHINDRA OLD MUTUAL LIFE

INSURANCE LTD.

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Updates

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. Launches Two Unit Linked
Insurance Plans
09/4/2010
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. launched two new-unit linked insurance plans -
Kotak Secure Invest Insurance and Kotak Wealth Insurance. Kotak Secure Invest Insurance
offers capital guarantee through the Guarantee Fund which aims at stable capital appreciation
while limiting the downside risk in falling markets, through active management of funds.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. Appoints S Acharya as Executive
VP and Head of Tied Channel
08/5/2010
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. announced the appointment of Subhasish
Acharya as its new Executive Vice-President and Head of Tied channel. Acharya would oversee
all the activities concerned with the channel, including strategy formulation, effective process
and system implementation, service quality, throughout and customer satisfaction. Prior to this
assignment, Acharya worked with Kotak Mahindra Bank. He brings with him over 16-years of
professional experience, spanning diverse functional areas and sectors ranging from consumer
goods and manufacturing to financial services. Acharya started his sojourn in the financial
services sector over seven-years ago and has held positions in ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra
Bank before moving to Kotak Life Insurance.

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