ICICI PRUDENTIAL ICICI Prudential is a still competitor of HDFC SLIC.

The company is a merger between ICICI Bank which is the biggest private bank in India and Prudential Plc which is a global life insurance company. The company has an investment plan which is market relatedInvest Shield Life. In this plan even if the market falls, the premium will be returned to investors. It is a guaranteed plan which ensures the company carefully invests your money. the stock market performance of ICICI Prudential is much better than HDFC SLIC. The returns on the growth fund were 46.28% compared to the 42-70% offered by HDFC SLIC. Customers are attracted by higher returns and this is a plus point for Prudential. The company is very well advertised. The advertisements are showcased in movies television. Newspapers, magazines, bill board's radio etc. The company has an excellent brand ambassadorMr. Amitabh Bacchan. His promotion of the company builds trust and faith in the minds of our people. However the charges are very high in the plans offered by ICICI Prudential. It is 35% during the first year 15% in the next year and 3% from the third year onwards. Also a higher minimum premium of Rs. 8000 is charged. Hence the policies are not accessible to the lower stage of the society. BIRLA SUN LIFE Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group one of the largest business houses in India and Sun Life Financial Inc, a leading international financial services organization. The local knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of Sun Life Financial Inc, offers a formidable protection for your future. (Source: www.birlasunlife.com). The Aditya Birla Group has a turnover close to Rs. 33000 crores with a market capitalization of Rs. 53400 crores (as on 31st March 2007). It has over 72000 employees across all its units worldwide.

It is led by its Chairman- Mr. Kumar Mangalam are Hindalco and Grasim. Sun Life Financial Inc and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, The United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. It had assets under management of over US$343 billion, as on 31st March 2007. The company is a leading player in the life insurance market in Canada. Being a customer centric company BSLI has invested heavily in technology to build world class processing capabilities. BSLI has covered more than a million lives since inception and its customer base is spread across more than 1000 towns and cities in India. All this has assisted the company in cementing its place amongst the leaders in the industry in terms of new business premium income. The Company has a capital base of 520 crores as on 31st July, 2007. Its Flexi Life Line Plan offers life long insurance cover till the policy holder is 100 years of age. There are guaranteed returns of 3% p.a. net of policy charges after every 5 years from the eleventh policy year onwards. However the charges are very high. The initial charges for the first year are 65%. Hence the fund value is greatly reduced. BAJAJ ALLIANZ Bajaj Allianz is a joint venture between Allianz AG with over 110 years of experience in over 70 countries and Bajaj Auto, a trusted automobile manufacture for over 55 years in the Indian market. Together they are committed to offering you financial solutions that provide all the security you need for your family and yourself. Bajaj Allianz is the number one private life insurer for the year 2005-2006. It is leading by 78 crores. it has experienced a whopping growth of 216% in the last financial year. The Company has sold 1800000 policies and is backed by 550 offices across loan. It offers travel insurance, motor insurance, home insurance, health and corporate insurance. The mortality

charges are lower than HDFC SLIC. The entry age could be zero be insured. (Source:www.bajajallianz.com) TATA AIG Tata Aig is a joint venture between the Tata group and American international group inc. in one of the plans the company offers hospital cash benefit where in it will pay Rs. 2500 per day in case of hospitalization and Rs. 12.5 lakhs in case the person surfers from any critical illness. Annual premium is much less (about Rs. 6712) to avail such a good benefit. Charges are relatively low compared to HDFC SLIC for some policies. The company offers high coverage plans at low cost. There is a plan even for a policy term of 1 year. Your family can continue to enjoy their current lifestyle even in the case of something happening to you. There term over very flexible and HDFC SLIC could adept this idea of insuring individuals for short periods of time. For examine. There is a family of four. The only earning member is the father. He has just taken a loan from a bank of 20 lakhs to purchase a new home. He is able to repay the loan with his current salary in 15 years. The problem arises if something were to happen to him within these fifteen years. Not only will the family face the emotional and financial loss of their father but they will also have to repay the home loan or risk being homeless (Source:www.tataaig.com)

CHAPTER VII MARKETING PROBLEMS

MARKETING PROBLEMS The old and out dated technique of tele marketing is used to prospect customers. More modern techniques must be adopted. The company must sponsor shows and give presentations in corporate houses. The financial health check must be performed for every prospect to assess his/her true financial position and needs. Some of the advisors skip this vital step and the prospect ends up with a plan they do not appreciate and soon surrender or discontinue. Some of the main problems in marketing the policies are: o Large amount of competition (18 players in the market) o Other brands are well advertised and have higher recall value o LIC is considered a safer option o Face competition from banks and mutual funds o High premium policies are difficult to market o Incorrect perception about insurance o Interested prospects might have a lack of time and postpone investments o Customers get defensive if you cold call o Short term plans are available only at large premium o Customers do not have risk appetite to invest in shares o Some prospects have already invested and are not interested in further investments o Consumers don't want to undertake medical examinations o Large amount of documentation. o Customers do not like their money locked up for many years o Lack of awareness about the unit linked funds in the market o No money back plan present in the product portfolio. SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVEMENT o Advertise about the company and its product- it motivates individuals to purchase insurance o Create a positive perception about insurance

o Speak about the good features a plan offers like high returns, life cover, tax benefit, indexation, accident cover while prospecting customers o Try to sell the product/plan which the consumer requires and not the plan where the advisors benefit is higher o Improve the efficiency in operations o Bring out policies with small premiums payable for short periods of time- Rs. 5000- Rs 10000 per annum for 10 years o Attract the youth of India with higher returns on investment as returns are the motivating factor which influence purchase of insurance o Promote insurance in colleges and corporate houses o Promote HDFC SLIC as an Indian company to build trust o HDFC SLIC could have a brand ambassador or a mascot to promote its services. o Should have partial withdrawals from the first year onwards o Tap the rural market where there is large potential o Diversify product portfolio o Make products more straight forward- reduce complexities.

CHAPTER VIII ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION " A SURVEY ON THE LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA" AGE GROUP OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS TABLE 1: Age group 18-25 years 26-35 years 36-45 years 46-55 years More Than 60 years CHART 1: No. of Respondents 127 67 46 24 6

Analysis: From the chart above we find that 47% of the respondents fall in the age group of 18-25 years, 25% fall in the age group of 26-35 years and 17% fall in the age group of 36-49 years. Therefore most of the respondents are relatively young (below 26 years of age). These individuals could be induced to purchase insurance plans on the basis of its tax saving nature and as an investment opportunity with high returns. Individuals at this age are trying to buy a house or a car insurance could help them with this and this fact has to be conveyed to the consumer. As of now many consumers have a false perception that insurance is only meant for people above the age of 50. Contrary to popular belief the younger you are the more insurance you need as your loss will mean a great financial loss to your family, spouse and children ( in case the individual is married) who are financially dependent on you. GENDER CLASSIFICATION OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS TABLE 2: Particulars Male Female CHART 2: No. of Respondents 193 77

CUSTOMER PROFILE OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS TABLE 3: Customer Profile Students Housewife Working Professional Business Self Employed Government service employee CHART 3: No. of Respondents 62 5 116 49 24 14

Analysis: From the chart above it can clearly be seen that 43% of the respondents are working professionals, 23% are students and 18% are into business. Therefore the target market would be working individuals in the age group of 18-25 years having surplus income, interested in good returns on their investment and saving income tax. NO. OF RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE LIFE INSURANCE POLICY IN THEIR NAME TABLE 4: Person who have life insurance policy YES 103 NO 167 CHART 4:

ANALYSIS: This graph shows that out of total 270 respondents only 103 or 38% respondents have life insurance policies in their name. Rest all doesn't have a single policy in their name. So there is a very big scope for life insurance companies to cover these people. So in future business of life insurance will grow further. MARKET SHARE OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES TABLE 5: LIFE INSURER HDFC STANDARD LIFE BIRLA SUN LIFE AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIC TATA AIG ICICI PRUDENTIAL ING VYSYA BHARTI AXA OTHERS NUMBER OF POLICIES 4 3 6 7 55 6 12 6 2 2

CHART 5:

Analysis: In India, the largest life insurance company is Life Insurance Corporation of India. It has been in existence in India since 1956 and is completely owned by the Government of India. Today the organization has grown to 2048 offices serving 18 crore policies and has a corpus of over 340000 crore INR. ANNUAL PREMIUM PAID BY INDIVIDUALS FOR LIFE INSURANCE TABLE 6:
Premium paid(p.a.) Rs. 5000- Rs 10000 Rs. 10001- Rs. 15000 Rs. 15001- Rs 24900 Rs. 25000-Rs 50000 Rs. 50001- Rs 60000 Rs. 60001- Rs. 80000 Rs. 80001- Rs. 100000 Analysis: No. of respondents 40 26 18 10 4 2 3

From the chart above we find that. 39% of the respondents surveyed pay an annual premium less than Rs. 10001 towards life insurance 25% of the respondents pay an annual premium less than Rs.25000. Hence we can safely say that HDFC SLIC would be able to capture the market better if it introduced products/plans where the minimum premium starts at Rs. 5000 per annum. Only

19% of the respondents pay more than Rs. 25000 as premium and most products sold by HDFC SLIC have Rs. 12000 as the minimum annual premium amount. They should introduce more products like Easy Life Plus and Safe Guard where the minimum premium is Rs. 6000 p.a. and Rs. 12000 p.a./respectively. The would definitely increase their market share as more individuals would be able to afford the policies/plans offered. POPULAR LIFE INSURANCE PLANS
TABLE 7: Type of plan Term Insurance Plans Endowment Plans Pension Plans Child Plans Tax Saving Plans No. of Respondents 105 122 16 8 19

Analysis: From the chart given above we can clearly see that 45% of the respondents hold endowment plans and 39% of the respondents hold term insurance plans Endowment plans are very popular and serve two purposes- life cover and savings. If the policy holder dies during the policy term the nominee gets the death benefit that is, sum assured and accumulated bonus. On survival the policy holder receives the survival benefit with a bonus. A term plan is a pure risk cover plan wherein the insured pays a lower premium for a higher sum assured. Term insurance is the cheapest form of insurance and helps the policy holder insure himself for a relatively low premium. For the returns sensitive investor term plans do not find favor as they do not offer a return in case the individual not die during the policy term. AWARENESS OF UNIT LINKED INSURANCE PLANS
TABLE: 8 Awareness of unit Linked Plans Yes No No. of Respondents 154 116

Analysis: From the chart given above we find that 57% of the respondents are aware of unit linked life insurance plans and 43% are not aware of such plans. These plans should be promoted through advertising. The company can advertise through television, radio, newspapers, bill boards and pamphlets. This would increase awareness and arouse curiosity in the minds of the consumer which would enable the company to market its products more effectively. Unit- linked plans are those where the benefits are expressed in terms of number of units and unit price. They can be viewed as a combination of insurance and mutual funds. The number of units a customer would depend on the unit price when they pay the premium. When the policy matures the individual gets his fund value. The value of his fund is calculated by multiplying the net asset value and number of units held by them on that day. CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO SPEND ON LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUM
TABLE 9:
WILLINGNESS TO SPEND ON PREMIUM Less than Rs. 6000 Rs 6001- Rs. 10000 Rs.10001- Rs 25000 Rs. 25001-Rs 50000 Rs. 50001- Rs. 100000 NO. OF RESPONDENTS 41 73 110 41 5 PERCENTAGE 15% 27% 41% 15% 2%

Alalysis: From the graph above, we can clearly see that 41% of the respondents would be willing to spend between Rs. 10001- Rs. 25000 for life insurance 27% would be willing to spend between Rs. 6001-Rs.10000 per annum. Only 15% would be willing to spend more that Rs. 25000 per annum as life insurance premium.

We could say that the maximum premium payable by most consumers is less than Rs. 25000 p.a. This is further reduced as most customers have already invested with LIC, ICICI prudential, Birla Sun Life, Bajaj Allianz etc. HDFC SLIC is faced with a large amount of competition there are 18 insurance companies in India inclusive of LIC. Hence to capture a larger part of the market the company could introduce more reasonable plans with lesser premium payable per annum. CHART SHOWING IDEAL POLICY TERM
TABLE 10: Ideal policy term 3-5 years 6-9 years 10-15 years 16-20 years 21-25 years 26-30 years More than 30 years Whole life Policy No. of respondents 51 41 95 38 24 5 3 13

FACTORS THAT MOTIVATE RESPONDENTS TO PURCHASE INSURANCE

TABLE:11 Parameter Advertisements High returns Advice from friends Family responsibilities Others No. of Respondents 35 84 46 89 16

Analysis: From the chart above it can be seen that 33% of the respondents purchase life insurance to secure their families 33% take life insurance to get high returns. 17% purchase insurance on the advice of their friends and 13% purchase insurance because of the influence of advertisements. The main purpose of insurance is to cover the financial or economic loss that occurs to the family in

case of the uncertain death of the policy holder, but now days this trend is changing Along with protection (life cover), a saving element is being added to insurance. With the introduction of the new unit linked plans in the market policy holders get the option to choose where their money will be invested. They can invest their money in the equity market, debt market, money market or a combination of these. The debt and money markets usually have low risk attached whereas the equity market is a high risk investment option. PREFERRED COMPANY TYPE OF THE RESPONDENTS
TABLE 12 Type of Company Government Owned Company Public Limited Company Private Company Foreign Company No. of Respondents 127 62 49 32 22 14 22 Percentage 47% 23% 18% 12%

CHART 12:
31%-40% 41%-50% More than 50%

CHART 13: Analysis: From the chart above it can clearly been seen that 18% of the respondents would like 16-20% returns, 17% would like returns between 21-25% and 17% would like returns of 11-15% on their investments. Therefore the average return on investment should be at least 16-20% Most consumers are willing to adapt to some amount of risk but still want some guaranteed returns. Therefore the bulk of investment should be made in the balanced fund with 50% debt and 50% equity. The returns on the Secure Fund are guaranteed as

these involve investment is government securities and the debt market. But the returns on these instruments are low (8-10%) if the company invests in shares returns are higher (39%) but correspondingly risk borne by the policy holder is also higher. Therefore a good combination of the two instruments is often a wise choice.

CHAPTER IX FUTURE LIND OF RESEARCH

FUTURE LINE OF RESEARCH The future topics for research in the organization could be setting up of an appropriate ad campaign. It is very vital to the companies success that the people of India Know about HDFC SLIC, its products and their special features and how insurance in general can help them in their future. The advertisements have to be emotionally appealing. They might also include a celebrity. The brand name of HDFC could be used to give a push to HDFC SLIC and its products. The general perception of insurance as "inauspicious" should be done away with and individuals and corporations accept insurance on power with other investment opportunities. The other area of research could be in the management of funds HDFC SLIC possesses and how it can maximize returns for its investors. A research project could be undertaken on how to ensure that the money gets invested in the right companies and earns a medium- high return on investment. Another area of research could be an analysis of the sales and marketing techniques used by HDFC SLIC. A large number of changes could be introduced and

this would help in saving operating costs and improving the efficiency of the firm.

CHAPTER X CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION HDFC standard life insurance is first life insurance Company in India. It has businesses spread out across the globe. It was registered on 23rd December 2000. It currently ranks number 4 amongst the insurers in India (Source annual premium provided by the company). The company faces a large amount of competition. To sustain itself it must promote its products through advertising and improve its selling techniques. Consumers must be aware of the new plans available at HDFC SLIC. The medium of advertising used could be television since most of its competitors use this tool to promote their products. The company must be promoted as an Indian company since consumers seem to have more trust in investing in Indian firms. The unit linked concept must be specifically promoted. The general perception of life insurance has to change in India before progress is made in this field. People should not be afraid to invest money in insurance and must use it as an effective tool for tax planning and long term savings HDFC SLIC could tap the rural markets with cheaper products and smaller policy terms. There are individuals who are willing to pay small amounts as premium but the plans do not accept premiums below a certain amount it was usually found that a large number of males were insured compared to females. Individuals below the age of 30 (mostly male) were interested in investment plans. This was a general conclusion drawn during prospecting clients.

REFERENCES WWW.hdfeslic.com WWW.tata-aig-life.com WWW.irdaindia.com WWW.lic.com WWW.moneycontrol.com WWW.bajajallianz.com WWW.icici.prulife.com MagazineInsurance World The Outlook Money