SCHOOL OF FUTURE STUDIES AND

PLANNING, D.A.V.V.

PROJECT TITTLE:
HDFC SL IN COMPARISON TO OTHER
INSURANCE COMPANY

SUBMITTED TO :- Mrs. Ashima Joshi

SUBMITTED BY :- Nitish Kumar
Neha Gupta
Swati Gupta
Deobrat
Pankaj Kumar
 ACKNOWLEGEMENT
A good Dissertation requires sound knowledge of the subject concerned and to
make proper use of knowledge one has to be assisted under proper guidance.

We are really indebted to my mentor Mrs. ASHIMA JOSHI who imparted the right
frame of mine and helped whenever in need.

A large number of individuals have contributed to this project. We are thankful to

all for them for their help and encouragement. It was an unforgettable experience,
which provided us an opportunity to gain various management skills under this
period.

Exchange of ideas generates a new object to working a better way. Apart from the
ability labour and time devotion, guidance and cooperation are the two pillars for
the success of the project. Whenever a person is helped or cooperated by others his
heart is bound to pay gratitude to them.

We are extremely grateful and obliged to the organization, HDFC Standard Life
Insurance Co. Ltd for providing information, there by making and completion of
the project.
 TO WHOM SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify
that…………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………….of School Of
Future Studies And Planning has successfully completed the project titled “HDFC
SL in Comparison to Other Insurance Companies”, under the guidance of Mrs.
Ashima Joshi.

From: …………………

To: ……………………
 SYNOPSIS

DISSERTATION TOPIC

“Comparative analysis of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. with LIC & ICICI
Pro.Life.”

OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

The objective of the research is divided is divided into two folds:

1) To analyze the changing scenario of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co.and

do the comparative analysis with ICICI Prudential and LIC of India.

2) To devise the marketing strategies of HDFC so as to further increase its

market share.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology that is being adopted is basically a descriptive research as it is

based on the secondary data.

DATA COLLECTION

Secondary data is being collected from magazines, newspaper, book and internet.
 TABLE OF CONTENT
• CHAPTER-1

• INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

• CHAPTER-2

• INTRODUCTION OF INSURANCE AND CHANGING SCENARIO OF LIFE INSURANCE

• CHAPTER-3

• OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

• CHAPTER-4

• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• CHAPTER-5

• DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING

• CHAPTER-6

• LIMITATIONS

• CHAPTER-7

• SUGGESTIONS

• CHAPTER-8

• INTERPRETATION

• CHAPTER-9

• MARKETING STRATEGY OF HDFC STANDARD LIFE

• CHAPTER-10

• CONCLUSION

• CHAPTER-11

• QUESTIONNAIRE AND ANNEXURE

• CHAPTER-12

• BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY

HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

HDFC and Standard Life first came together for a possible joint venture, to enter
the Life Insurance market, in January 1995. It was clear from the outset that both
companies shared similar values and beliefs and a strong relationship quickly
formed. In October 1995 the companies signed a 3 year joint venture agreement.

Around this time Standard life purchased a 5% stake in HDFC, further

strengthening the relationship.

The next three years were filled with uncertainty, due to changes in
government and ongoing delays in getting IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and
Development authority) Act passed in parliament. Despite this both companies
remained firmly committed to venture.

In October 1988, the joint venture agreement was renewed and additional
resource made available. Around this time standard Life purchased 2% of
Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IRDA). Standard life also
started to use the services of the HDFC Treasury department to advice them upon
their investments in India.

Towards the end of 1999, the opening of the market looked very promising
and both companies agreed the time was right to move the operation to the next
level. Therefore, in January 2000 an expert team from the UK joined a hand picked
team from HDFC to form the core project team, based in Mumbai.

Around this time Standard Life purchased a further 5% stake in HDFC and a 5%
stake in HDFC bank.

In a further development Standard Life agreed to participate in the Asset

Management Company promoted by HDFC to enter the mutual fund market. The
Mutual Fund was launched on 20th July 2000.
Incorporation of HDFC Standard life Insurance Company
Limited:
The company was incorporated on 14th August 2000 under the name of HDFC
Standard Life Insurance Company Limited.

Its ambition from as far back as October 1995 was to be the first private company
to re-enter the life insurance market in India. On the 23rd of October 2000,this
ambition was realized when HDFC Standard Life was the only life company to be
granted a certificate of registration.

HDFC are the main shareholders in HDFC Standard Life, with 81.9%, while
Standard life owns 18.1%. Given Standard Life existing investment in the HDFC
group, this is the maximum investment allowed under current regulations.

HDFC and Standard Life have a long and close relationship built upon shared
values and trust. The ambition of HDFC Standard Life is to mirror the success of
the parent companies and to be the yardstick by which all other insurance
company’s in India are measured.

Vision:

The most successful & admired Life Insurance company, which means that we are
the most trustful company, the easiest to deal with, offer the best value for money
& set the standards in the industry.

Values:

Integrity, innovation, customer centric, people’s are “one for all & all for one”,
team work, joy & simplicity.

Key strengths

Financial expertise

As a joint venture of leading financial services groups, HDFC Standard Life has
the financial expertise required to manage yours long-term investments safely and
efficiently.

Range of solutions
We have a range of individuals and group solutions, which can be easily
customized to specific needs. Our group solutions have been designed to offer you
complete flexibility combined with a low charging structure.

Track record so far

Our gross premium income, for the year ending March 31, 2009 stood at Rs
5564.69 crores. The company has covered over 27 lakh policies.
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of
HDFC Standard Life.

Before joining HDFC Standard Life in January 2010, he was the Managing
Director and CEO of Infosys BPO and was also heading an Independent Validation
Services unit in Infosys Technologies. Mr. Chaudhry started his career with Bank
of America delivering diverse roles ranging from Head of Technology Investment
Banking for Asia, Regional Finance Head for Wholesale Banking and Global
Markets and Chief Finance Officer of Bank of America (India). He moved to
Credit Lyonnais Securities in 2001 in Singapore where he headed their investment
banking franchise for South East Asia and structured finance practice for Asia
before joining Infosys BPO in 2005.

Mr. Chaudhry completed his Engineering in 1985 from Birla Institute of

Technology and Science, Pilani and MBA in 1987 from IIM, Ahmedabad.

Mr. Paresh Parasnis

Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Paresh Parasnis is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of
HDFC Standard Life.

A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he has been associated

with the HDFC Group since 1984. During his 16-year tenure at HDFC Limited, he
was responsible, for driving and spearheading several key initiatives. As one of the
founding members of HDFC Standard life, Mr. Parasnis has been responsible for
setting up branches, driving sales and servicing strategy, leading recruitment,
contributing to product launches and performance management system, overseeing
new business and claims settlement, customer interactions etc.

Ms. Vibha Padalkar

Chief Financial Officer
 Ms.Vibha Padalkar is the Chief Financial Officer of HDFC Standard Life.

Ms. Padalkar joined HDFC Standard Life in August 2008 after a seven year stint as
Executive Vice President-Finance at WNS Global Services, a NYSE listed leading
global business process outsourcing company. Vibha’s key achievement during her
tenure at WNS was to lead a team that successfully completed the Group’s IPO on
the New York Stock Exchange in a short span of six months. Prior to WNS, Vibha
was with Colgate Palmolive India for 7 years, including a short posting to the
Group's New York headquarters.

Ms.Padalkar became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in

England and Wales in 1992, after having completed the last part of her schooling
as well as college education in London.

Mr. Sharad Gangal

General Manager, Human Resources and Administration

Mr. Sharad Gangal is the General Manager HR and heads the vertical in
HDFC Standard Life.

Mr. Gangal joined HDFC Standard Life in July 2007 with rich
experience of more than 25 years in spearheading various departments of
Human Resources arena in the FMCG and pharmaceutical industry.
Before HDFC Standard Life, he was associated with Cadbury India for
11 years followed by a stint at Cadbury Australia, Asian Paints for 5
years and Boehringer Mannhein for seven years.

Mr. Gangal is a Post Graduate in Human Resources. Employee

engagement and Change Management are his areas of specialization.

Mr. Vikram Mehta

General Manager, Sales and Marketing

Mr.Vikram Mehta heads the Sales and Marketing function for HDFC
Standard Life.

Mr. Mehta joined HDFC Standard Life in February 2009. Before joining
HDFC Standard Life, he was associated with Citibank for 16 years
serving various responsibilities including the Head for Direct Sales -
Citibank Credit Cards division in Germany, Regional Director East -
Citibank NA, India, and Acquisitions Head – Credit Cards, Central and
 Eastern Europe cluster. Mr. Mehta started his career with Reckitt and
Colman (now Reckitt Benckiser) in 1988, and was associated with the
company for 4 years. He has been a part of FMCG and banking industry
for over 20 years.

Mr. Mehta has completed Chemical Engineering from the Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and holds a PGDM from IIM
Calcutta.

Mr. Prasun Gajri

Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Prasun Gajri is the Chief Investment Officer of HDFC Standard Life.

Mr. Gajri joined HDFC Standard Life in April 2009 with a rich
experience of 14 years in investments and banking industry. He started
his career in 1995 with Citibank and was associated with it for over 6
years delivering various roles. He joined Tata AIG Life Insurance
Company in October 2001 to start the investment function and stayed
there until April 2009, the last role being that of the Chief Investment
Officer.

He holds a PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad and is also a CFA

Charterholder.

Associate Companies

HDFC Limited
HDFC Bank

HDFC Mutual Fund

HDFC Sales

HDFC ERGO General Insurance

Other Companies
• HDFC Trustee Company Ltd.
• GRUH Finance Ltd.
• HDFC Developers Ltd.
• HDFC Property Ventures Ltd.
• HDFC Ventures Trustee Company Ltd.
• HDFC Investments Ltd.
• HDFC Holdings Ltd.
• Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd
• HDFC Securities

BANK ASSURANCE PARTNERS

Some of the important milestones in the life insurance
business in India are:

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to
regulate the life insurance business.

1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to
collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.

1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with
the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956: The market contained 154 Indian and 16 foreign life insurance companies.
MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN
INDIA
• Life insurance Corporation of India (LIC)

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was established on September 1956

to spread the message of life insurance in the country and mobilize people’s
savings for nation-building activities. LIC with its central office in Mumbai and
seven zonal offices at Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur
and Bhopal, operates through 100 divisional offices in important cities and
2,048 branch offices. LIC has 5.59 lakh active agents spread over the country
and 220 million lines are part of LIC.

The Corporation also transacts business abroad and has offices in Fiji,
Mauritius and United Kingdom. LIC is associated with joint ventures abroad in
the field of insurance, namely, Kin-India Assurance Company Limited, Nairobi;
United Oriented assurance Company Limited, Kuala Lumpur; and Life
Insurance Corporation (International), E.C. Bahrain. It has also entered into an
agreement with the Sun Life (UK) for marketing unit linked life insurance and
pension policies in U.K.

LIC has even provided insurance cover to five million people living below the
poverty line, with 50per cent subsidy in the premium rates. LIC’s claims
settlement ratio at 95 per cent and GIC’s at 74 per cent are higher than that of
global average of 40 per cent. Compounded annual growth rate for Life
insurance business has been 19.22 per cent per annum. Though LIC still holds
the 75% of the insurance sector but the upcoming natures of these private
players are enough to give more competition to LIC in the near future. LIC
market share has decreased from 95% (2002-03) to 82% (2004-05).

1. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. is one of India’s leading private
life insurance companies, which offers a range of individual and group
insurance solutions. It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance
Corporation Limited (HDFC Ltd.), India’s leading housing finance institution
and The Standard Life Assurance Company, a leading provider of financial
services from the United Kingdom. Their cumulative premium income,
including the first year premiums and renewal premiums is Rs. 672.3 for the
financial year, Apr-Nov 2005. They have managed to cover over 11,00,000
individuals out of which over 3,40,000 lives have been covered through our
group business tie-ups.

2. Max New York Life Insurance CO. Ltd.

Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture that brings
together two large forces – Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate,
together with New York Life International, a global expert in life insurance.
With their various Products and Riders, there are more than 400 product
combinations to choose from. They have a national presence with a network of
57 offices in 37 cities across India.

3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI
Bank, a premier financial powerhouse and prudential plc, a leading international
financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. ICICI Prudential
was amongst the first private sector insurance companies to begin operations in
December 2000 after receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority (IRDA). The company has a network of about 56,000
advisors; as well as 7 bank assurance and 150 corporate agent tie-ups.

4. Om Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. is a joint venture between
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (KMBL), and Old Mutual plc.

5. Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Aditya Birla
Group and Sun Life financial services of Canada.

 Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Ltd.

 SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd.

 ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Private Ltd.

 Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company Ltd.

 Metlife India Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.

 AMP SANMAR Assurance Company Ltd.

  Dabur CGU Life Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.

Marketing Mix Policies

Different companies can choose to position themselves differently and hence the
marketing Mix is different. However, there are certain common characteristics that
one can cull out from the possible strategies that companies adopt.

Product:

The development of flexible products to suit individual requirements is what sill

differentiates the winners from the also-rans. The key to success is in providing
insurance solutions, not standardized insurance products. The concept of
riders/optional benefits has already been a huge innovation brought about by the
new players, which has led to customization of products for individual needs.
However, companies may differentiate themselves on the basis of product
segments that they choose to focus on and excel in.

Place:

Different companies may however choose different channels and different

geographies to focus on. The channel options are – tied agency force, corporate
agents and brokers and this is an area where different companies will make
different choices. Many companies like HDFC Standard Life are focusing on all
channels whereas companies whereas companies tike Max New York Life are
focusing on the tied agency force only. Customer interface will be a key challenge
for life insurance companies and includes every that interaction that the customer
has with the company, such as sales, new business underwriting, policy servicing,
premium payments, claim processing and so on. Technology can play a crucial role
in delivering the highest standards of services set by the company and it will be
imperative for any serious player to excel in all of these.

Price:

Price is a relevant differentiator only in two segments – pure term insurance and in
pure annuities. Here too, service delivery and financial strength will need to be
present at a minimum acceptable level for price to be a relevant differentiator. In
case of savings oriented products, long-term returns generated are more relevant
than just the price of the product. A focus on generating good investment
performance and keeping a tight control on costs help in generating good ling-term
maturity value for customers. Norms have been laid down on all of these by irda
and adhering to these while delivering good returns will be a challenge.

Promotion and Advertising:

The level of demand is latent and will have to be activated considerably. The
market needs to be developed. Greater awareness of insurance and the need to have
it as a protection tool rather than as a tax planning measure needs to be appreciated
by the Indian People. Various communication tools including advertising, direct
marketing and road shows contribute to all this and different companies take
different approaches on these.

Process:

Cashless settlement: One of the most defining and customer-friendly changes that
we’ve seen in recent years relates to the way claims settlements are made. The
advent of the third-party administrator (TPA) regime has facilitated the transition
to the hugely convenient era of cashless settlement of health and auto insurance
claims. TPAs are entities who process claims on behalf of insurances: the IRDA
licenses them after it is satisfied that they have the financial strength, the trained
manpower, the infrastructure and the skills to undertake this activity. Likewise ,
with auto insurance, the TPA ties up with garages and authorized service centers
for cashless settlement of auto insurance claims.

Lower premiums: The spirit of competition and the broadening of the risk
experience of insurance companies have contributed to a fall in premiums over the
years. That’s because, other things being equal, an insurer who covers the lives just
of 10 people bears a higher risk than an insurer who covers the lives of, say, 100
people. Further, a broader base will provide greater efficiencies on costs such as
distribution, management and claims. A broad basing of the mortality experience,
therefore, gives insurers the elbowroom to compete by lowering premiums, and
that trend is expected to continue.

Premium payment flexibility: Insurers have imparted certain flexibility to

premium payment options in order to address this concern. For instance, one now
have the option to pay your premiums upfront, which is then carried forward for
the tenure of the policy. The yearly premiums are drawn from the initial corpus.
Insurers have also introduced the concept of ‘automatic cover maintenance’ to
protect your policy from lapsing owing to your omission to pay your premium on
time. Under this, in the event of your not paying the premium, the insurer dips into
your investment account to the extent of the premium. Of course, this comes with
an in-built drawback: your investment portion diminishes year on year to the extent
of the amount paid to cover your risk.

Physical Evidence:

This can play a significant role for marketing in the Indian scenario. Since Internet
users are comparatively lesser than countries such as US, the offline mode will be
preferred in India. Although the distribution model is largely agent-based,
wherever the customer is in contact with the company, this factor can play a
significant role in luring the customer.

People:

The most important factor that materializes sales and maintains customer
relationships on a long-term basis is this factor. No matter what distribution
strategy a company adopts, customer relationship has to be taken care of in order to
maintain the customer base on a long-term basis.
 PRODUCT PROFILE

PRODUCTS
We at HDFC Standard Life realize that not everyone has the same kind of needs.
Keeping this in mind, we have a varied range of Product that you can choose from
to suit all your needs. These will help secure your future as well as the future of
your family.

At HDFC Standard Life, we offer a bouquet of insurance solution to meet every

need. We cater to both, individuals as well as to companies looking to provide
benefits to their employees. This section gives you details of all our products. We
have incorporated various downloadable forms and product details so that you can
make an informed choice about buying a policy.

For Individuals, we have a range of protection, investment, pension and saving

plans that assist and nature dreams a part from providing protection. You can
choose from a range of product to suit your life- stage and needs.

For Organization we have a host of customized solutions that range from Group
Term Insurance, Grauity, Leave Encasement and Superannuation Product. These
affordable plans apart from providing long term values to the employees help in
enhancing goodwill of the company.

Individual Products
Protection Plans

You can protect your family against the loss of your income or the burden of a loan
in the event of your unfortunate demise, disability. These plans offer valuable
peace of mind at a small price,

Our Protection range includes our

• Term Assurance Plan &

• Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan.

HDFC LOAN COVER TERM ASSURANCE PLAN

Secure your Family Financial independence and self-respect.

You have always ensured that your loved once keep living a respectable life
with their heads held high. But life with their heads held high. But life can be
uncertain. As a prudent family man, you need to secure your family future and
protect your pride and your family’s self respect. You need to have a plan to
take care of your family if something unfortunate were to happen to you.

With our protection plan, you can protect your family from uncertainty in life
such as unfortunate death or critical illness. And ensure that your family lives a
life of self- respect and dignity even in your absence.

Our Protection Plan gives you:

 • An ideal way to secure the financial future of your loved ones.
• High cover at a very nominal cost plus an option of adding optional
benefits to cover for other eventualities.
A choice of two plans depending on your requirement:

HDFC Term Assurance Plan: A pure risk cover plan, which gives you
protection against the uncertainties of life.

HDFC Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan: An ideal way to cover your
home loan or other loan liabilities.

HDFC Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan:

This plan provides a lump sum on the unfortunate death of the life assured within
policy term. If you are taking a loan to buy a house for your family, this plan can
help you ensure that life’s uncertainties don’t affect their shelter. It is an affordable
plan that has been designed to help your family repay the outstanding loan in case
of your unfortunate death. The lump sum will be a decreasing percentage of the
initial sum assured as the outstanding loan decreases as per the policy schedule.

HDFC Single Premium Whole of Life Insurance Plan is a

Tailor-made plan well suited meets your long –term investment needs. This
participating plan offers you the following benefits:

Whole of life plan aimed at providing long term real growth of your money.

Pension Plans
Our Pension Plans help you financial independence even after retirement.

Our Pension range include: Personal Pension Plan, Unit Linked Pension, Unit
Linked Pension Plus.
HDFC PERSONAL PENSION PLAN
Hold you’re high. Even after retirement.

It’s an insurance policy, which can benefit you in the following ways:

• Provide a post retirement income in your golden years.

• Gives you the flexibility to plan your retirement date.
• Give you tax benefits on your premiums.

HDFC UNIT LINKED PENSION

Lead a life of respect and dignity. Even after Retirement.

The Hdfc Unit Linked Pension IS an Insurance policy that is designed to provide a
Retirements income for life with freedom to maximize your investment return.
Stride in to your golden year of retirement with dignity and pride. It gives you:

• A post retirement income for life.

• Flexibility to plan your retirement date.
• Freedom to invest premium as per your performance.

HDFC UNIT LINKED PENSION PLUS

Lead a life of respect and dignity. Even after retirement.

It is designed to provide a retirements income for life with freedom to maximize

your investment return. Stride in to your golden year of retirement with dignity and
pride.

The HDFC Unit Linked Pension Plus Gives You:

• An Outstanding investment opportunity by providing a choice of thoroughly

researched and selected investment.
• Regular Loyalty Unit to boost your fund value every year.
 • A post retirement income for life.
• Flexibility to plan your retirements date.
• Freedom to invest premiums as per your preference

HDFC UNIT LINKED ENDOWMENT

Invest in financial security and self- respect for you and your family.

It gives you:

• An outstanding investment opportunity by providing a choice of

thoroughly researched and selected investments.
• Valuable protection to your family in case you are not around.
• Flexible benefits combination and payment option.
• Flexible addition benefit options such as critical illness cover.
• Access to your accumulated fund before maturity.

HDFC Money Back Plan

Secure your financial independence. Live life on your own terms

You have always believed in living life on your own terms. So why let the
changing realities of everyday life overwhelm you and make your aspirations take
a back seat?

You can plan now to ensure that you have the necessary funds to meet your future
financial need.

LONG-TERM GOALS SHORT TERM GOALS

Saving for future Saving for your marriage

Critical illness Buying a car

Saving for big- Vacation abroad

Ticket assets like your

House

MATURITY VALUE

On Maturity you receive survival benefit due at that point of time along with
attaching bonuses for the full Sum Assured calculated for the full term.

HDFC CHILDREN’S PLAN

Give your child perfect start in life

As a parent, your priority is your child's future and being able to meet your child's
dreams and aspirations. Today, providing a good education, establishing a
professional career or even a modest wedding is expensive. Costs are increasing
fast. Just imagine how much you'll need when your child takes these important
steps in life!

Plan today to ensure a bright future for your child. Start saving today with HDFC
CHILDREN'S PLAN, so that your child is able to lead a life of respect and
dignity with a secured financial future.

It gives you:

• Invaluable financial support to your child.

• A choice to customize an ideal plan for your child.
• Multiple option for multiple benefits.
 HDFC UNIT LINKED YOUNG STAR PLUS
Plan today to ensure a bright future for your child. Start saving today with HDFC
UNIT LINKED YOUNG STAR PLUS II, so that your child is able to lead a full
life with a secured financial future.

Use HDFC Standard Life's excellent investment options to maximize your savings
and maximize your child's achievements. We will provide security for your child
and make those savings on your behalf, in your absence.

It gives you
• An outstanding investment opportunity by providing a choice of
thoroughly researched and selected investments.
• Regular Loyalty Units to boost your fund value every year.
• Low fund management charge designed to give you great maturity
values.
• Beneficiary concept, where beneficiary is the sole person to receive the
benefit under the policy.
• Flexible benefit combinations and payment options.
• Flexible additional benefit options such as critical illness cover.
• Access to your accumulated fund before maturity
 MEANING OF INSURANCE

The meaning of insurance: Insurance is a policy from a large financial

institution that offers a person, company, or other entity reimbursement
or financial protection against possible future losses or damages.

Insurance is bought in order to hedge the possible risks of the future which may or
may not take place. This is a mode of financially insuring that if such a incident
happens then the loss does not affect the present well-being of the person or the
property insured. Thus, through insurance, a person buys security and protection.

A simple example will make the meaning of insurance easy to understand. A biker
is always subjected to the risk of head injury. But it is not certain that the accident
causing him the head injury would definitely occur. Still, people riding bikes cover
their heads with helmets. This helmet in such cases acts as insurance by protecting
him/her from any possible danger. The price paid was the possible inconvenience
or act of wearing the helmet; this i.e. equivalent to the insurance premiums paid.

Though loss of life or injuries incurred cannot be measured in financial terms,

insurance attempts to quantify such losses financially. Insurance can be defined as
the process of reimbursing or protecting a person from contingent risk of losses
through financial means, in return for relatively small, regular payments to the
insuring body or insurance company.

Insurance can range from life to medical to general (residential, commercial

property, natural incidents, burglary, etc).

• Life Insurance
It insures the life of the person buying the Life Insurance Certificate. Once a Life
Insurance is sold by a company then the company remains legally entitled to
make payment to the beneficiary after the death of the policy holder.

• Medical Insurance
This is also known as mediclaim. Here, the policy holder is entitled to receive
the amount spent for his health purposes from the insurance company.

• General Insurance
This insurance type involves insuring the risks associated with the general life
 such as automobiles, business related, natural incidents, commercial and
residential properties, etc.

NEED FOR LIFE INSURANCE

Today, there is no shortage of investment options for a person to choose from.

Modern day investments include gold, property, fixed income instruments, mutual
funds and of course, life insurance. Given the plethora of choices, it becomes
imperative to make the right choice when investing your hard-earned money. Life
insurance is a unique investment that helps you to meet your dual needs - saving
for life's important goals, and protecting your assets.

Let us look at these unique benefits of life insurance in detail.

Asset Protection

From an investor's point of view, an investment can play two roles - asset
appreciation or asset protection. While most financial instruments have the
underlying benefit of asset appreciation, life insurance is unique in that it gives the
customer the reassurance of asset protection, along with a strong element of asset
appreciation.

The core benefit of life insurance is that the financial interests of one’s family
remain protected from circumstances such as loss of income due to critical illness
or death of the policyholder. Simultaneously, insurance products also have a strong
inbuilt wealth creation proposition. The customer therefore benefits on two counts
and life insurance occupies a unique space in the landscape of investment options
available to a customer.

Goal based savings

Each of us has some goals in life for which we need to save. For a young, newly
married couple, it could be buying a house. Once, they decide to start a family, the
goal changes to planning for the education or marriage of their children. As one
grows older, planning for one's retirement will begin to take precedence.
Clearly, as your life stage and therefore your financial goals change, the instrument
in which you invest should offer corresponding benefits pertinent to the new life
stage.

Life insurance is the only investment option that offers specific products
tailormade for different life stages. It thus ensures that the benefits offered to the
customer reflect the needs of the customer at that particular life stage, and hence
ensures that the financial goals of that life stage are met.

WHY IS INSURANCE SUPERIOR TO OTHER FORM OF

SAVING?

• FINANCIAL PROTECTION:

Small & big savings through life insurance guarantees full protection against
the risk of death of the person saving. In case of death, in Life insurance, the full
sum assured is payable (with bonuses wherever applicable), whereas in other
savings schemes, only the amount saved (with interest) is payable.

• LIQUDITY:
Loans can be raised on the sole security of a policy which has acquired
loan value. Also, a life insurance policy can be accepted as security for even a
commercial loan.

• TAX RELIEF:

Tax relief in Income Tax and Wealth Tax is available for those amounts
that are paid by way of premium for life insurance (as per Income Tax rates that
are in force). Thus, in effect, in such cases the assured is paying a lower premium
for his insurance than he would have to pay otherwise.

• MONEY WHEN YOU NEED IT:

A suitable single insurance plan or a combination of different plans can be

taken out to meet the specific needs that are likely to arise in future.

• COMPULSORY SAVING:
It is a tendency of people, to save only for tax saving purpose, or for a
shorter duration a lump sum amount. LIC policies are generally taken for a
longer duration, which makes a compulsory habit for saving, every year, a
sufficient amount, which otherwise is generally spent on non-investment
activities.

• FOR CERTAIN FUTURE NEEDS:

Policy returns can be arranged & planned in such a way, to be

made available at the time of specific needs - such as for Children's marriage, their
Education, Higher Education, New-start-up, purchase of a house, car, provision for
old age, improved standard of living, or for other investments.

• RETIREMEWNT PLANNING:

Every life has a limited time frame and age till which he can work and
earn. Life insurance policies can be planned in such a way, so as to give returns
periodically, every year, sufficiently, to cover all expenditures, and maintain the
standard of living.(Lets you be independent and self-sufficient, whether you are
working and earning or not.)

• PROTECTION FROM CREDITORS:

The most worried thing that many do not take care of is protection from
creditors, in case of any eventualities. In case of sudden death of the bread earner,
if any loans against House, vehicle, business, education, etc have been taken - the
life insurance policy amount (Sum assured and bonuses wherever applicable) helps
the wife & children pay the creditors, if sufficient risk cover is taken (Insurance
policy should be taken so much as to cover the worth, so that the family can live
on.)

There are many more reasons for any person to realize that Life Insurance Policy is
a superior form of investment, because nothing is more important to any person
than his life. And as we all believe, "Life Insurance is not for the People who DIE,
but it is for the People who LIVE". You Save, You Invest, and You reap
benefits.

LIFE INSURANCE NEEDS AT VARIOUS LIFE STAGE

The need for insurance changes as one’s life changes. When one is young, one
typically has no need for life insurance, but this change as one take on more
responsibility and as ones family grows. Then as responsibility once again begin to
diminish, one need for life insurance drops off. Let’s look at how life insurance
needs change throughout one lifetime.

School Days:
Providing life insurance money to a surviving spouse and children can give your
family the needed security in order to live with the loss of a father or mother. In
order to determine life insurance needs a variety of factors should be considered.
The rule of thumb for needed life insurance is 5 to 8 times the annual salary of the
person needing insurance. This rule of thumb does not always apply in all
situations, particularly if the parent is a stay at home mom or dad. This article will
help you to calculate the amount of life insurance you need by more accurately
looking at specific expenses.
For growing family:
When one has young children, the life insurance needs reach a climax. In most
situations, life insurance for both parents is approximate.

Single income families are completely dependent on the income of the

breadwinner. If he or she dies without life insurance, the consequences could be
disastrous. The death of the stay-at –home spouse would necessitate costly daycare
expenses. Both spouses should carry enough life insurance to cover the expenses
that would result from their death.

Moving up the ladder:

For many people, career advancement means starting a new job with a new
company. At some point, you might even decide to be your own boss and start
your own business. It's important to review your life insurance coverage any time
you leave an employer.
Keep in mind that when you leave your job, your employer-sponsored group life
insurance coverage will usually end, so find out if you will be eligible for group
coverage through your new employer, or look into purchasing life insurance
coverage on your own. You may also have the option of converting your group
coverage to an individual policy. This may cost significantly more, but may be
wise if you have a pre-existing medical condition that may prevent you from
buying life insurance coverage elsewhere.
Make sure that the amount of your coverage is up-to-date, as well. The policy you
purchased right after you got married might not be adequate anymore, especially if
you have kids, a mortgage, and college expenses to consider. Business owners may
also have business debt to consider. If your business is not incorporated, your
family could be responsible for those bills if you die.

Single again
If you and your spouse divorce, you'll have to decide what to do about your life
insurance.
Divorce raises both beneficiary issues and coverage issues. And if you have
children, these issues become even more complex.
If you and your spouse have no children, it may be as simple as changing the
beneficiary on your policy and adjusting your coverage to reflect your newly single
status. However, if you have kids, you'll want to make sure that they, and not your
former spouse, are provided for in the event of your death. This may involve
purchasing a new policy if your spouse owns the existing policy, or simply
changing the beneficiary from your spouse to your children. The custodial and no
custodial parent will need to work out the details of this complicated situation. If
you can't come to terms, the court will make the decisions for you.
The golden years:
Just like all other age groups, seniors have their own unique life insurance and
financial planning needs. Below are some of the reasons it's important for seniors
to carry adequate life insurance.

Settlement Costs:

Unfortunately, the grief of a loved one's passing is not all a survivor has to deal
with. There are also funeral costs and arrangements and other costs associated with
death. You may have incurred hefty healthcare costs before you passed away, and
the burden of paying for these may have passed to your survivors. Life insurance
proceeds normally are not subject to probate, so survivors will have cash quickly to
pay their bills and the costs of your passing.

Estate Taxes:

Not only will your survivors have to pay for the funeral and other costs, they also
may have to pay substantial estate taxes. Larger estates usually face fairly heavy
estate taxes, and this may be a cost your survivors hadn't planned for. As discussed
above, life insurance proceeds will be a quick and painless way to pay for these
costs, so the survivors don't have to struggle financially.

Leaving Your Survivors Comfortable:

If you have a surviving spouse, will he or she be able to live comfortably on one
retirement income and/or pension or social security payment? Likewise, as
discussed above, other survivors, such as children, may not have enough cash on
hand to settle your estate and pay death costs. Life insurance can pay that quickly,
and help your loved ones get through the loss of you with a little more ease. Often
many survivors lose days of work or suffer emotionally or physically from your
passing. A quick life insurance pay-off will help reimburse them for any costs
incurred.

Other Things to Think About in Your Golden Years:

Besides life insurance, it is important to be prepared for any eventuality. For

example, do you have an up-to-date and official will? Writing a will is a simple,
thoughtful thing you can do for your loved ones. Although different states have
different requirements, here are some general tips to make a will legally binding:

• It must be typewritten or computer generated. Some states allow handwritten

wills, but they're hard to validate, which can complicate things.
 • The document must clearly state that it's your will.

• It must be dated and signed. It must be signed by at least two independent

witnesses.

They must watch you sign the will, though they don't need to read it. Your
witnesses should preferably be individuals who won't inherit anything in the will.

As always, be sure to consult with an attorney and/or tax professional before

drafting or executing any estate planning document such as a will or trust.

Another thing to keep in mind is to be careful with your retirement savings. You
need to factor in inflation; while living on a certain annual salary may have been
comfortable for you back in your working days, the costs of living are always
going up, and you may need more to live comfortably in your later years. Be sure
to live on what you can afford, and not spend too much of your savings in the
beginning of your retirement, but instead plan ahead to disperse the money evenly
throughout a long life. You never know how long you and your spouse may live,
and it's important to plan for a long (and healthy) life.

Distribution Scenario in the Indian market

In today's Indian insurance market, the challenge to insurers and intermediaries is

Two-pronged:

Building faith about the company in the mind of the client

Intermediaries being able to build personal credibility with the clients

Traditionally tied agents have been the primary channels for insurance distribution
in the Indian market; the public sector insurance companies have their branches in
almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their
agent.
The agents are from various segments in society and collectively cover the entire
spectrum of society.

A person who has lived in the locality for many years sells the products of the
insurance company with a local branch nearby.

This ensures the last mile touch point being closer to the customer. Of course, the
profile of the people who acted as agents suggests they may not have been
sufficiently knowledgeable about the different products offered, and may not have
sold the best possible product to the client. Nonetheless, the customer trusted the
agent and company. This arrangement worked adequately in the absence of
competition.

In today's scenario agents continue as the prime channel for insurance distribution
in India, as is the case in most markets, supported by call centers to a small extent.

Almost all the new players follow this model primarily because the regulations for
other channels are yet to be put in place.

However there is great excitement in the industry over the impending broker
regulations and companies are planning possible channels in their enthusiasm to
increase volumes. The belief that all these channels will grow and seamlessly
integrate to bring in business seems a fallacy.

What have emerged are a much more difficult and evolving market scene with
existing players, more new players coming in, and global marketing practices and
ideas being tested. But none of this has changed the fundamental character of the
market, which we believe will take more time than expected.

What should the companies look at?

Basically companies have to take a look at the intermediaries they are using,
whether it is optimal to use them, and what are the alternatives?

The new companies have attempted appealing only to the middle, upper middle
and elite classes in the major cities. Contrasted with Public sector insurance
companies, with their offices across the country, the new companies have miles to
go before they reach anywhere. They must overcome the mindset of the customer
that life insurance is Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and general
insurance is General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) if they hope to grow in
the market. Meanwhile, the public sector companies are going to great lengths to
revamp their image to look and feel more contemporary.

Both the public and new private sector companies are fighting their own battles
from the perspective of customer perception management:

Public sector companies Private sector companies

Identity is well established, but the Have to build their identity in a

perception of “poor service
providers” is a stigma.
Products are not attractive and
flexible enough but expensive.
To retain their creamy layer clientele
who are the most likely to be wooed
by the new companies.
Retain and attract good
intermediaries.
Match the aura created by the new
companies in the urban market.
market where the public does not
distinguish them.
Remove the perception that anything
that looks good is expensive.
Work against the people mind set
that they are not here for the long
term.
Attract intermediaries especially
agents with the requisite
qualifications and attributes who can
market the company and the product.
Run the risk of tapping an already
insured market for repeat insurance
instead of tapping new virgin pockets
in the market.

In this process all are targeting the same market --the existing pie is being cut up
further, but no attempt is being made to increase the size of the pie. For example,
while attempts are made to complete the quota of rural insurance in percentage
terms, the rural market potential is yet to be tapped, as the new insurers are not
able to attract the right kind of talent into their distribution force to address this.
Intelligent segmentation of distribution channels to match the market segmentation
is what will help the companies to move in this direction.
Focus on multiple distribution channels
Though a multi-channel strategy is better suited for the Indian market as well, it is
important to keep in mind that this market is really a conglomeration of multiple
markets. Each of the markets within this conglomeration requires a different
approach.

Apart from geographical spread the socio-cultural and economic segmentation of

the market is very wide, exhibiting different traits and needs. Let us look at the
various insurance distribution channels and the challenges faced by them from
these perspectives.

Agents
Today's insurance agent has to know which product will appeal to the customer,
and also know his competitor's products in the same space to be an effective
salesman who can sell his company, the product, and himself to the customer. To
the average customer, every new company is the same.

Perceptions about the public sector companies are also cemented in his mind.

The new companies are looking for educated, aware individuals with marketing
flair, an elite group who can be attracted only with high remuneration and the lure
of a fashionable job, all of which may not be possible in this business with its price
pressures and the complexity of selling insurance. Unable to attract this segment,
they have started easing recruitment conditions as against the stringent norms they
had earlier, thereby diluting the process.

While the public sector companies are able to attract agents, they continue to suffer
from high attrition rates due to indiscriminate agent appointment. The most
successful of these companies' tied agents are hardly of the elite variety of
salesman. They are still the neighborhood do goobers -- the postman, the
schoolteacher, and the shopkeeper -- who know the people and are themselves
known in the community. The challenge here is the lack of knowledge of the
competitive market and the inability to do intelligent comparisons with the
competitor's products. Educating and training these agents is a serious challenge
for the insurance company.
The relevance of this kind of agent continues even today as agents are sought or
contacted by families by word of mouth. Insurance companies are advised

not to follow the path of FMCG's/credit card companies, believing that a suited and
booted customer care consultant or financial consultant will necessarily appeal to
the average Indian customer.

Another social feature in the market is the considerable respect for age in Indian
society and a belief that an older person knows better. A very young up-market
agent who is a typical salesman may not appeal to a large segment of the middle
class, which is looking for a solid trustworthy person from whom they can buy
insurance.

In this context it might be a rewarding exercise to recruit some older people (who
have taken VRS2 from banks and other financial institutions) to sell some lines of
products like pension plans, annuities etc.

Gender of agents is another relevant feature in the rural context that makes a
difference, especially for the female population. Women to whom the customers
can relate --e.g., nurses, gram sevikas3 -- can target the female segment of the
population more effectively. What is applicable for the rural women and children
health programs and population control programs is equally applicable for
insurance selling also. Max New York Life has adopted a version of this strategy
by appointing gram sahayaks4 to sell and service the rural customers.

With this kind of segmentation of intermediaries the challenge for the insurance
company lies in training and educating these people to become effective sales
persons. But this in no way diminishes the benefits of intermediary segmentation.

Banks
Banks in India are all pervasive, especially the public sector banks. Can they also
become the foremost channel for distribution of insurance? Perhaps in the future.
The public sector banks, with their vast branch networks, are also plagued by a
rigid unionized workforce and archaic systems, and lack vision of a broader service
spectrum encompassing non-banking products. The newer banks are constrained
by their lack of reach and meager branch strength. For banks to become a
predominant channel for selling insurance will require a paradigm shift.

But the encouraging fact for insurance companies waiting for banc assurance to
take off is that bank branches are here to stay, and customers do want them. A
customer survey by Deloitte Consulting5 in the western developed markets found
that for banking activities, customers place high importance on having convenient
branches in their banking relationships. This is good news for the

Indian banks with their many branches, and also makes a strong case for taking up
banc assurance.

The major lines of business that can be sold through banc assurance successfully
are term insurance, creditor insurance, and non-life products like Property, Motor
and Personal accident, Homeowners comprehensive insurance etc.

An example is SBI Life, which is waiting for the broker regulation to be put in
place in order to move ahead aggressively with the banc assurance model.

One of their major product lines is creditor insurance, and they have launched their
first creditor insurance product, which covers the liabilities of the creditor in case
of death of debtor. SBI Life is planning a similar product for home loan borrowers
of State Bank of India. This model has high relevance in the Indian context with
far-flung villages where the insurance potential is in volume and not in high per
capita premiums. Some advantages and disadvantages are:

Advantages of banc assurance Disadvantages of

High credibility (as trustworthy
caretakers of money) with the
public.
A ready customer base.
banc assurance
Economic viability for the banks to
take up as banc assurance is a
volume business
Training of people and lack of

vision and awareness

Low cost channel for selling Useful for selling only certain

Simple vanilla products. Lines of products.

Extensive reach including the Initial investment in systems

Rural pockets. and processes and people

training
The strategy should be to use multiple banks according to their presence in
different regions. Success would come by using banc assurance where it will be
most effective - i.e., selling simple, cheap products to the masses at a low cost.
This awareness is growing and is evident from the fact that nearly every insurance
company has partnered with one or many bank.

Work site marketing

This area needs to be tapped, as in any country one of the biggest markets is
through the worksite. With changes in human resources management polices and
compensation packages, group products or work site products do have a definite
market that cannot be ignored.

Here the advantages would be:

O Captive customer base

O Potential to sell individual insurance and group insurance

O High trust factor

O High hit ratio for the intermediaries

The challenges would be the cost effectiveness, product customization and

efficient post sales servicing, which would determine continued business.
Technology has a key role to play in worksite marketing to ensure cost benefits.
Banks and financial institutions have been successfully marketing credit cards and
other financial products using this channel. If not an identical model a similar
approach can be used for selling insurance.

Internet
Though India is joining the fast growing breed of net users, using net for
transactions has not yet caught up. Though a few banks provide online banking, the
usage is still a small fragment. The insecurity associated with transactions over the
net is still an inhibiting factor. At present most of the insurance companies have
product information and/or illustrative tools on the web.

We do not see the web evolving into a means for direct selling of insurance in the
current scenario. In the Indian market, where insurance is sold after considerable
persuasion even after face-to-face selling, the selling over the net, which must be
initiated by the client, would take some more time.

While the technology capability is there, improvements in bandwidth and

infrastructure are needed. Also needed are simpler products where auto-
underwriting is feasible. Automobile insurance, one of the segments of insurance
purchased "off the shelf" in India, would be the ideal segment to start with. On the
life side, term assurance for standard lives with simplified underwriting is a
possibility.

These channels by themselves will not be able to overcome the mindset of the
people, but rather can only be enablers for the human channels.

Invisible Insurer
In this model, the insurance company or its representative is not the entity
marketing the products. The insurance cover is sold by an automobile /credit card
company as an add-on product leveraging the brand of the retailer. The risk is
carried by the insurance company, which underwrites it. . Products like creditor
insurance, automobile insurance, and credit card related insurance could be
distributed using this channel. This model can be adopted in all market segments
for the lines of business mentioned. It is already prevalent in some areas like credit
card insurance and crop insurance for agricultural loans.

Price considering, the huge, untapped market in India, many companies use price
as a tool to penetrate the market, moreover, the tough competition them to do so.

The need for the life insurance comes from the need to safeguard our family.
Today insurance has become even more important due to disintegration of the
prevalent joint family system, a system in which a number of generation co-existed
in harmony, a system in which a sense of financial security was always there as
there were more earning members. Times have changed and the nuclear family has
emerged.

Therefore need to save a part of income for future become essential.

NEEDS OF LIFE INSURANCE

a) Temporary needs/ threats

The original of life insurance remains an important element, nearly providing

for replacement of income on death etc.

b) Regular savings/ family protection

Providing family and oneself, as the medium to long term exercise through
series of regular payment of premiums.

c) Investment

Put simply, the building up of savings while safeguarding it from the ravage of
inflation.

d) Old age provision

Provision for later becomes increasingly necessary, especially in a changing

cultural and social environment. One can buy a suitable policy, which will
provide periodical payments in one’s old age.

e) Children benefits

Provision for education, marriage and start in life for children.

f) Special needs provision

Protection against loss arising out of accident, sickness, loan repayment on
death.

WHY IS INSURANCE SUPERIOR TO OTHER SAVINGS?

• An immediate estate is created in favor of the policyholder.

• Protection in the case of death.

• Liquidity in the case of need – easy loans are available.

• Tax relief – income tax, wealth tax etc.

• Policies can be offered as collateral security.

• Policies can be taken under M.W.P. Act 1874, to protect against

creditors.
 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

The objective of the research is divided into two folds:

1) To analyses the changing scenario of HDFC standard life insurance

company and to do the comparative analysis of LIC with the ICICI
prudential.

2) To devise the marketing strategy of HDFC standard life insurance

company so as to further increase its market share.

3) To know the availability of resource of company and their best

implementation for product benefit.

4) To find out appropriate market and time for launching.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
TITLE:

To determine customer-buying behavior with a focus on the market segmentation

for HDFC standard life insurance.

Title justification

The above title is self explanatory. The study deals mainly with studying the
buying patterns in the insurance with a special focus on HDFC standard life
insurance needs, age groups, satisfaction levels etc will also studied.

OBJECTIVE

Objective one

• To determine reason behind opting for an insurance.

• To provide the company with the information of customer’s insurance policy

if they have any and reasons for opting for that particular policies.

• To know the most preferred policy.

Objective two
• To determine customers perception toward private insurance companies
and their expectation form private insurance companies.

• To determine the feedback on the service provided by any other

insurance agent.

• To study the types of benefits provided by insurance services.

• To determine the use of the internet for valuable information and

decision-making process.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

A big boom has been witnessed in insurance industry in recent times. The
study deals with HDFC LIC in focus and various segments that it caters to
study then goes on to evaluate and analyze the findings so as to present a
clear picture of trend in the insurance sector.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Significance to industry
This is a limited study of 60 people. This data can be explorated to take in
the trend across the industry. It is a rapidly changing and evolving sector.
People are only beginning to wake up to its vast possibilities. A study like
thus can attempt to guide the future of the industry based on current trends.

Significance for the researcher

 To facilitate and provide all the useful information of the student, company,
the insurance industry and also provide marketing ways.

RESEARCH DESIGN

• NON-PROBABLITY
• EXPLORATORY & DISCRIPTIVE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

The research is primarily both exploratory as well as descriptive in

nature. The sources of information are both primary& secondary.

A well structured questionnaire has been prepared interviews are

conducted to collect the customer perception and behavior, through this
questionnaire.

DATA COLLECTION

There are many methods of data collection –

Primary data- primary data collected through questionnaire (survey method).

Secondary data – company product literature, news, paper, magazines by

questionnaire.

Sample planning and sample size: - sampling involved any procedure that uses
small numbers of item or that uses parts of population to make a conclusion
regarding the whole population. Samples are chosen on the random method.
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

Sampling technique:

Initially a rough data prepared keeping in mind the objective of the research. A
pilot study was done in order to know the accuracy of the questionnaire. The final
questionnaire was arrived only after certain important changes were done.

Sampling unit:

The respondents who were asked to fill out questionnaires are the sampling units.
These comprise of employees of MNCs, Govt. Employees, and self Employed etc.

Sample size

The sample size was restricted to only 60, which comprised of mainly peoples
from different regions of Indore due to time constraints.

Sampling Area

The area of the research is Indore, India.

 DATA – ANALYSIS & FINDINGS
Each of us leads a unique life and so has unique needs. HDFC Standard life
Insurance offers a range of products and invites you to choose the one that
suits you best.

PLAN BENEFITS
1. SAVING PLAN
Endowment Assurance Plan Life insurance and savings with
choice of investment funds.
Unit linked Endowment Plan Life insurance and saving with
choice of investment funds.
Children’s Plan Financial security for your child.
Unit linked youngster Plan Financial security for your child with
choice of investment funds.
Money Back Plan Life insurance with savings.
2. INVESTMENT PLAN
Single Premium Whole of life Investment with life insurance.
3. PROTECTION PLAN
Term Assurance Plan Life insurance at an affordable price.
Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan Life insurance customize for home
loans.
4. RETIRMENT PLANS
Personal Pension Plan Saving for retirement.
Unit Link Pension Plan Retirement saving with choice of
investment funds.

To which company you are connected?

Insurance Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man
LIC 8 12 8
HDFC 7 4 7
ICICI 3 3 4
Others 2 1 1

After analyzing this data it is found that 47% respondents are in favour of LIC,
30% are in favour of HDFC, 17% are in favour of ICICI & 7% are in favour of
other private companies.

According to you, which have played a major role in the field of life insurance?
Insurance Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man
LIC 10 13 10
HDFC 5 3 5
ICICI 3 3 4
Others 2 1 1

After analyzing this data it is found that 55% respondents are in favour of LIC,
21.5% are in favour of HDFC, 16.5% are in favour of ICICI & 7% are in favour of
other private companies.

Which insurance companies have been successful to make strong public base by
advertisement?

Insurance Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

LIC 9 14 12
HDFC 6 2 4
ICICI 4 3 3
Others 1 1 1

After analyzing this data it is found that 58% respondents are in favour of LIC,
20% are in favour of HDFC, 16.5% are in favour of ICICI & 5% are in favour of
other private companies.

Which insurance company has gained massive public support in the current fiscal
year?

Insurance Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

LIC 12 14 10
HDFC 3 2 5
ICICI 3 2 4
Others 2 2 1

After analyzing this data it is found that 60% respondents are in favour of LIC,
16.5% are in favour of HDFC, 15% are in favour of ICICI & 8% are in favour of
other private companies.

Do you think insurance policy is in the direction of public welfare?

Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

Yes 13 16 12
No 7 4 8

The table shows that from private sector 65%agree & 35% disagree, from
government sector 80% agree but 12% disagree, from business man 60%

Agree but 40% disagree to the above statement.

Is retirement bond or pension policy launched by insurance companies is in the

direction to secure old age?

Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

Yes 15 18 13
No 5 2 7

It is obvious from the table that 75% from private sector, 90% from government
sector, & 65% from business man agree, but 25% from private sector, 10% from
government sector, & 35% from business man don’t agree with the opinion of the
majority.

Do you think that risk coverage factor included in insurance policy attracts general
public towards the policy?

Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

Yes 12 16 11
No 8 4 9

It is obvious from the table that 60% from private sector, 80% from government
sector, & 55% from business man agree, but 40% from private sector, 20% from
government sector, & 45% from business man don’t agree.

Do you think that the arrival of so many private companies in the insurance sector
envisage a lot of choice to policy holder?

Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man

Yes 16 18 16
No 4 2 4

It is obvious from the table that 80% from private sector, 90% from government
sector, & 80% from business man agree, but 20% from private sector, 10% from
government sector, & 20% from business man don’t agree.

Do you agree that customer focus & transparency is the key for success in this
industry?
 Pvt. employees Govt. employees Business man
Yes 18 20 19
No 2 - 1

It is obvious from the table that 90% from private sector, 100% from government
sector, & 95% from business man agree, but 10% from private sector, 00% from
government sector, & 05% from business man don’t agree.

LIMITATIONS
It is very difficult to get an appointment from a finance manager or from a person
who is working with big or repudiated organization because these are the months
when they are busy. Since audits are going on & moreover it is the financial year
closing therefore it becomes very difficult to get their appointments.

So, below were the limitations that I faced in the field:-

 The premium amount higher that the competitors.

 There is the lack of quarterly mode of payments.
 Customers did not get there bond value on the time.
 Locking period has increased in most of the planes from three years to five
years which created problem to pitch the customer.
 No lead was provided.
 The people are not aware of insurance that these are not only insurance plans
but insurance plus investment plans.
 Unawareness in the rural area people towards HDFC SLIC, they only trust
on LIC.
 Our lack of knowledge about various locations in Indore.
 Less penetration in some areas.
 Sometimes customer responses are too late.
 Sometimes customers do not want to switch to another insurance company.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMEDATIONS

 As the people think that insurance is a tool to protect their family & a tax
saving device. They are aware of the fact that & realize its importance. The
company should try to expand & build up its infrastructure because there is a
large potential for insurance in India.

 Company should come up with its more branches in Indore. With the
objective & goals to meet the demand & expectations of the public.

 Since H.D.F.C standard life insurance is leading with several companies

policies it should be easy for them to penetrate into the market & secure a
good position if they pay greater attention to the service part provided to
their customers & thereby forming long & trusted relationships.

 As seen from the survey that at present 70% of the customers are having
insurance policy out of which 87.5% of the customers are planning for new
investments. The company should try to convince these customers & get
them in its favour.

INTERPRETATION
It is no doubt that LIC is an established & market leader in life insurance industry
in India.

But with the coming up of private life insurance companies as a passage of IRDA,
its share is getting reduced.

Now the private companies have acquired 27% of the market share in just a small
span of 10 years. This is because of the innovative products of the private life
insurance companies.

The basic difference between LIC & private players- ICICI prudential & HDFC
standard life is that LIC mainly focuses on standardized products where private
companies caters to the needs of the customers & focuses on customized products.

The interpretation as a result of comparative analysis is as follows: -

Whole Life: - LIC plans are very simple to understand whereas the private players
provide plans according to the changing needs of customers.

Endowment Policies: - LIC is quite simple & straight forward whereas ICICI pru
& HDFC standard life are more concerned about saving & are categorized for the
different section of people.

Money Back Plans: - LIC has provided various plans under it having different
features. On the other hand, private players combine all the features in just one
single plan.

Single Premium Policies: - The private player’s gives higher assured returns and
various other benefits.
Term Insurance Plan: - The private players provide more flexible & stable return
whereas LIC acts as safer plan taking care of family as a whole. LIC provides
different plans under this category.

Children Policies: - LIC provide different plans for children as compared to private
players, which gives only plans for kids.

Annuity Plans: - LIC is more stable for all age of people but the private players are
focused one aged people.

Thus, the private players are making rapid strides with innovative products and
aggressive marketing.

In a nutshell, it can be said that LIC should formulate its policies according to the
needs & demands of the customer’s i.e. it should come up with innovative
products.
 MARKETING STRATEGY FOR HDFC
Different companies choose to position themselves differently & hence the
marketing mix would be different. However, the possible strategy that HDFC
Standard Life Insurance Co. can follow is as under: -

Products: - The development of flexible products to suit individual requirements is

what will differentiate the winners from others.

The key to success would be in providing insurance solutions, not standardized

insurance products.

Distribution: - Different companies may however choose different channels &

different geographies to focus on. The channel options are – tied agency force,
corporate agents & this is an area where different companies will make different
choices. HDFC Standard Life are focusing on all channels whereas companies like
Max New York Life are focusing on the tied agency force only.

Price: - Price is a relevant differentiator only in two segments – pure term

insurance and in pure annuities. Here too, service delivery & financial strength will
need to be present at a maximum acceptable level for price to be a relevant
differentiator. In case of saving oriented products, long term returns generated will
be more relevant than just the price of product.

Advertising & Promotion: - The level of demand is latent & will have to be
activated considerably. The market needs to be developed. Greater awareness of
insurance & the need to have it as a protection tool rather than as a tax saving plan
needs to be appreciated by the Indian people. Various communication tools
including advertising, direct marketing & road shows will contribute to all this.

Focus on customer products: - Their were times when LIC had a strong record of
selling traditional policies like endowment & money back policies but now
customer wants not only insurance cover but also a great return. So, there is a need
that HDFC Standard Life should formulate its policies according to the needs of
the customers.

Servicing of customers: - Another area where HDFC should look is in the servicing
of customers. It is one of the major areas where HDFC is lagging. So, it is
important to heavily invest on back-office work. The company can reduce this
problem to a great extent by doing centralization of data.
Strategy for urban & rural market: - There is a need for the company to look into
the urban market today where distribution & servicing of policies are quite easy.
Company should must different strategy for urban & rural areas. So, HDFC with
its strong brand name can dominate dominates both rural & urban markets.
 CONCLUSION

The comparative analysis between the plans of these companies shows that they
differ in their projection & outlook while they aim at same targets & provides
similar kind of returns.

The LIC business is more about providing social security & financial safety net for
the dependants. It ensures the life if the people providing life insurance products &
services of high quality & providing resources for economic development.

On the other hand HDFC Standard Life has little different approach towards its
business. They are more customers centric; provide quality circle, having superior
risk management. They go for investment strategy to offer consistent, stable
returns to policy holder. Their aggressive strategy & innovative products have led
to capture a significant portion of the market share. Providing good customer
service & exploring new distribution channels have paid them off.

LIC should also look in providing well servicing to the customers because it is
major areas were it is lagging. Thus, coming up with innovative & aggressive
marketing will help it to dominate both urban & rural areas.
 QUESTIONERY

Name:-……………………………………….

Age:-………………………………………….

Service:

a) Government b) Private c) Business/Self employed

To which company you are related?

a) LIC b) HDFC c) ICICI d) Others

2. According to you, which have played a major role in the field of life insurance?

a) LIC b) HDFC c) ICICI d) Others

3. Which insurance companies have been successful to make strong public base by
advertisement?

a) LIC b) HDFC c) ICICI d) Others

4. Which insurance company has gained massive public support in the current
fiscal years?

a) LIC b) HDFC c) ICICI d) Others

5. Do you think insurance policy is in the direction of public welfare?

a) Yes b) No

6. Do you think that the arrival of so many private companies in insurance sector
provides a lot of choices to policy holder?

a) Yes b) No

7. Do you agree that customer focus & transparency is the key for success in this
evolving industry?

a) Yes b) No

8. Is retirement bond or pension policy launched by insurance companies is in the

direction to secure old age?

a) Yes b) No

9. Do you think that risk coverage factor included in insurance policy attracts
general public towards the policy?
 a) Yes b) No

10. What you want to suggest to company with whom you are attached.

……………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………….
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marketing Management by Philip Kotler, pearson education 2nd Ed.

Consumer Behavior by Leon G.Schiffman, Prentice-Hall India 8th Ed.

IRDA Journal.

Newspapers & Business magazines.

WEBSITES: -

www.google.co.in/indian insurance industry

www.irdaindia.org

www.iciciprulife.com

www.hdfcinsurence.com