PROJCECT REPORT

ON
Recruiting financial Advisors
&
Promoting the concept of insurance as Business
opportunity under V.L.I.P
ICICI PRUDENTIAL
LIFE INSURANCE
We cover you. At every step in life
JAIPUR
In partial fulfillment in the award of B.B.A. degree

SUBMITTED BY
RAJESH SANWARIYA
DEEPSHIKHA COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION
MANSAROVAR JAIPUR -302020
 ROLL NO.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project was conducted in ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE

INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED. The study was related to
understanding the customers mind for the products and services
provided by the company.

TITLE OF THE PROJECT

ANALYSING THE MARKET POTENTIALITY OF ICICI

PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY.

Location: Jaipur

ICICI Prudential has one of the largest distribution networks amongst

private life insurers in India, having commenced operations in 74 cities
and towns in India.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No. PARTICULARS
I. Introduction
II. Company Profile
III. Vision And Value Of Company
IV. Products of ICICI Insurance Ltd.
V. SWOT Analysis
VI. Research Methodology
VII. Recommendation
VIII. Limitations
IX. Conclusions
I. Bibliography
 ABSTRACT

The basic project is promoting the concept of Insurance from ICICI

Prudential as a business opportunity. Business opportunity is in the form
of being an advisor with the company. As the company wants to grow in
Rajasthan, this can be achieved through quality advisors who can bring
more and more business for the company. So the search of prospective
advisors is done.

The various methods used to determine the prospective advisors are:

• Personal contacts
• Tele-calling
• Leads from the UM/Co.
For this, questionnaire is used which is filled by the prospective
advisors. A sample size of 60 is taken out of data about 30 sample is
being collected and analyzed.

The prospective advisors are told about the company and the business
opportunity and are convinced that this the best business opportunity
wherein one can earn lost of money with flexible working hours.

Another sub project is to determine the various improvements that can

be done in ICICI Prudential products and satisfaction level of the
advisors so as to improve the market share of the company. For this,
questionnaire is used which is filled by existing advisors. For existing
advisors, a sample size of 50 advisors is taken, out of which data about
25 samples is collected analyzed.

The effect of the budget 2006-07 on the insurance industry as a whole is

also dealt with.
 INTRODUCTION

Life insurance is the only tool to secure out life in future. It also
provides a safe guard to the uncertainty of our life. Life insurance is the
cheapest investment tool in which we can earn more in a short period of
time.

In the words of D S Hansell “Insurance may be defined as a social

device providing financial compensation for the effects of misfortune,
the payment being made from the accumulated contributions of all the
parties participating in the scheme”.
The function of insurance is to protect you against losses you can’t
afford. Insurance reduces anxiety over a possible loss and absorbs the
financial brunt of its consequences.

India has traditionally been a high savings oriented country being on par
with the thrifty Japan. Insurance sector in the United States of America
is as big in size as the banking industry there. This gives us an ideal of
how important the sector is. Insurance sector changeless the savings of
the people to long- term investments. In India where infrastructure is
said to be of critical importance, this sector will bring the nations own
money for the nation.

• The global life insurance market stands at $ 1,521.2 billion

while the non-life insurance market is placed at $922.4 billion.

• India takes the 23rd position with US $ 9.933 billion annual

premium collections and a meager 0.41% share.

Out of the billion people is India; only 35 million people are covered by
insurance.

• Indian insurance market is set to touch $25 billion by 2010, on

the assumption of a 7 per cent real annual growth in GDP.

In 3 years time we would expect the 10% of the population to be under

some sort of an insurance cover. This assuming a premium of Rs. 5000
on an average, amounts to 100 million x Rs. 5000= Rs. 500 bn.
This has made the sector the hottest one in India after IT. With social
security and security to the people at large being the agenda for opening
the sector, the role of the regulator becomes all the more serious and one
that would be carefully watched at every step.

OVERVIEW

India's Number One private life insurer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank-one of India's foremost
financial services companies-and prudential plc- a leading international
financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. Total
capital infusion stands at Rs. 20.60 billion, with ICICI Bank holding a
stake of 74% and Prudential plc holding 26%. We began our operations
in December 2000 after receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority (IRDA). Today, our nation-wide team
comprises of over 580 offices, over 234,000 advisors; and 22 bank
assurance partners.

ICICI Prudential was the first life insurer in India to receive a National
Insurer Financial Strength rating of AAA (Ind) from Fitch ratings. For
three years in a row, ICICI Prudential has been voted as India's Most
Trusted Private Life Insurer, by The Economic Times - AC Nielsen
ORG Marg survey of 'Most Trusted Brands'. As we grow our
distribution, product range and customer base, we continue to tirelessly
uphold our commitment to deliver world-class financial solutions to
customers all over India.

1. Promise a fixed income after you retire or Health insurance that

arms you with the funds you might need to recover from a
dreaded disease.
2. Ensure that our customers can access them easily and quickly. To
this end, ICICI Prudential has an advisor base across the length
and breadth of the country, and also partners with leading banks,
corporate agents and brokers to distribute our products.
3. Robust risk management and underwriting practices form the core
of our business. With clear guidelines in place, we ensure
equitable costing of risks, and thereby ensure a smooth and
hassle-free claims process.
4. Entrusted with helping our customers meet their long-term goals,
we adopt an investment philosophy that aims to achieve risk
adjusted returns over the long-term.

5. Last but definitely not the least, our 16,000 plus strong team is
given the opportunity to learn and grow, every day in a multitude of
ways.

FUNCTION

ICICI Prudential offers exciting career opportunities for people from a

variety of streams. Find out more about how each of the functions
contribution growing business.
SALES DISTRIBUTION

Tied Agency is the largest distribution channel of ICICI Prudential,

comprising a large advisor force that targets various customer segments.
The strength of tied agency lies in an aggressive strategy of expanding
and procuring quality business. With focus on sales & people
development, tied agency has emerged as a robust, predictable and
sustainable business model.

BANK ASSURANCE AND ALLIANCES

ICICI Prudential was a pioneer in offering life insurance solutions

through banks and alliances. Within a short span of two years, and with
nearly a large number of partners, B & A has emerged as a vital
component of the company's sales and distribution strategy, contributing
to approximately one third of company's total business.

The business philosophy at B&A is to leverage distribution synergies

with our partners and add value to its customers as well as the partners.
Flexibility, adaptation and experimenting with new ideas are the
hallmarks of this channel.

GROUP
The Group Business of ICICI Prudential has been in existence for over 2
years. Today, we are the Number 1 player among private life insurance
companies in Group Business excluding Mortgage Reducing Term
Assurance (MRTA) with a market share of 26 %( FY 2004-2005). We
offer the entire gamut of products including Gratuity, Superannuation
Term Insurance, Leave Encashment, Employee Deposit Linked
Insurance (EDLI), Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) &
Informal Group Term covers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & OPERATIONS

The Operations department oils the work processes between the

customer and the company to ensure consistent and quality service to
the customer. To streamline the operations, the Operations department
interfaces between the clients and the agents, the branches and the
underwriters, and manages work processes.

The Vision at Customer Service is to deliver 'World Class Service' at

every opportunity. Units such as the 9 to 9 contact centre, Outbound
Call Centre, Customer Care and Query Resolution Unit are all
committed to providing effective solutions to over lakhes of customers
across the country.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Information Technology function at ICICI Prudential is committed

to enable business through the use of technology. It is segmented into 4
groups to enable highest levels of delivery to the customers: Life Asia
Solutions Group that provides flexibility in designing better product
offerings to end-users, the Solutions Group- Web that provides real-time
information to customers and is responsible for customer relationship
management, IT Architecture & Corporate Solutions Group is in charge
of developing and maintaining a blueprint for the IT architecture for the
enterprise as a whole. This team works as an in house R&D Solution
Group, exploring new technological initiatives and also caters to
information needs of corporate functions in the organization. IT
Infrastructure group is responsible for providing hardware, software,
network services to the whole organization. This group runs the 'Digital
Nervous System' of the Enterprise at the highest levels of efficiency and
provide robust, scalable and highly available platform for deployment of
business application.

MARKETING

The Marketing function at ICICI Prudential covers an array of activities

- brand and media management, channel support, direct marketing and
corporate communications. The Brand and Communications team is in
charge of advertising, consumer research, media planning & buying and
Public Relations; that helps develop and nurture ICICI Prudential's
corporate identity while effectively communicating its varied product
offerings to the customer. Channel marketing provides support to the
sales force by streamlining the design and development of collaterals
and sales tools across distribution channels. The Direct marketing team
was set up to generate high quality leads for profitable business. The
team achieves this through target database acquisition and
communicating customized product information through e-mailers,
telemarketing and innovative direct mailers.

FINANCE

Finance function in ICICI Prudential is committed to create an

infrastructure that is aligned to shareholder expectations. Finance
basically comprises of four functions. . Corporate Planning and MIS
provide feedback on business strategies. This includes driving the
budgeting process, providing strategic inputs for decision-making and
management reporting and analysis. The Accounts function includes
preparation and maintenance of financial records, funds management,
and expense processing and treasury operations. Compliance ensures
that every action is within the regulatory framework. This includes
reviewing compliance requirements and supporting the ethical
framework of ICICI Prudential life. Internal audit provides assurance to
the management over the organizations' control framework and includes
process risk management, information security assessment and business
continuity assessment.

HUMANRE SOURCE

The people strategy of ICICI Prudential is "To build a committed team

with a culture of innovation, learning and growth. The Human Resource
Function at ICICI Prudential drives the people strategy of the business.
With its initial focus on operational excellence to deliver benefits and
services to staff members, HR is now committed to building capability
through state of the art processes. A robust performance management
system, compensation system and a segmented training architecture
enable it to deliver value to the organization.

BUSINESS

Excellence the Business Excellence function is committed to building a

quality mindset across the organization. ICICI Prudential is the first
organization in the Insurance Industry that has adopted the Six Sigma
Methodology for process efficiency and measurement. The team is also
driving the Malcolm Baldrige framework across the organization, an
intervention that examines management of key inputs for Business
Excellence.

WHAT IS INSURANCE?

Insurance is a legal Contract that protects people from the financial

costs those results from loss of life, loss of health, lawsuits, or property
damage. Insurance provides a means for individuals & society to cope
up with some of the risks faced in every day life by every body. People
purchase contracts of insurance, called a Policy, from various insurance
companies.

Insurance can be divided into three categories:

1) Life Insurance
2) General Insurance
3) Health Insurance

Life insurance is a contract for payment of a sum of money to the person

assured on the happening of the event insured against. Usually the
contract provides for the payment of an amount on the date of maturity
or at specified intervals or at unfortunate death. The contract also
provides for payment of premium periodically to the corporation by the
assured.

General insurance includes many areas of insurance like marine, motor,

engineering, health, fire, etc. The contract provides for the payment of
an amount on the happening of some contingency. These types of
contracts are annual in nature.

ABOUT LIFE INSURANCE:

The life insurance corporation was established on 01.09.1956 and has

been the sole corporation to write the life insurance business in India.

The Indian insurance industry saw a new sun when the Insurance
regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) invited the applications
for registration as insurers in August, 2000. With the liberalization and
opening up of the sector to private players, the industry has presented
promising prospects for the coming future. The transition has also
resulted into introduction complete opportunities for the professionals.
FEATURES OF INDIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY:

• Low market penetration.

• Ever-growing middle-class component in population.
• Growth of consumer movement with an increasing demand for
better insurance products.
• Inadequate application of information technology for business.
• Adequate fillip from the Govt. in the form of tax incentives to the
insured.

59% of the advisors are satisfied by the commission provided by the co.
Those who are not satisfied said that the commission provided is very
low as compared other players in the industry. Most of the advisors are
satisfied by the working conditions.

This need has become even more important due to steady disintegration
of the prevalent joint family system, and emergence of nuclear families.
The need to protect your family’s ever growing needs is why you need
Life Insurance.

Following are the reasons:

 Lifestyle Maintenance.
 Costs of Education.
 Mortgage and Debt protection.
 Hardships Protection.
 Replacement of Income.
  Retirement Expenses.

ADVANTAGES OF LIFE INSURANCE

1. It is superior to an ordinary saving plan: Unlike other saving

plans, it affords full protection against risk of death. In case of
death, the full sum assured is made available under a life
assurance policy; whereas under saving scheme the total
accumulated saving alone will be available. The later will be
considerably less than the sum assured, if death occurs during
early years.
 Easy settlement & protection against creditors: The life assured
can name person(s) called Nominee to whom policy
money would be payable in the event of his death. The proceeds of a
life policy can be protected against the claim of the creditors of the
life assured by effecting a valid assignment of the policy.

2. Ready marketability & suitability for quick borrowing: After an

initial period. If the policyholder finds him unable to continue
payment of premiums, he can surrender the policy for a cash sum.
Alternatively, he can tide over a temporary difficulty be taking
loan on the sole security of the policy without delay. Further, a
life insurance policy is sometimes acceptable as security for a
commercial loan.
3. Tax Relief: The Indian Income-Tax Act allows deduction of
certain portion of the taxable income, which is diverted to
payment of life insurance premiums from the total income tax
liability. When this tax relief is taken into account, it will be
found that the assured is in effect paying a lower premium for his
insurance.

MAJOR PLAYERS IN INSURANCE SECTOR

LIFE INSURANCE NON-LIFE INSURANCE

 BUSINESS

BUSINESS
Life Insurance Corporation General Insurance Corporation

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance National Insurance Company

HDFC Standard Life Insurance The New India Assurance Company

Max New York Life Insurance The Oriental Insurance Company

Birla Sun Life Insurance United India Insurance Company

OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Reliance General Insurance

Reliance Life Insurance TATA-AIG Insurance

Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Royal Sundaram Alliance General

Ins.
Dabur CGU Life Insurance
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
ING Vyasa Life Insurance
ICICI Lombard Insurance
SBI Life Insurance

PNB Life Insurance

BOB Life Insurance

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY

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).

ICICI Prudential equity base stands at Rs. 925 crores with ICICI Bank
and Prudential policy holding 74% and 26% stake respectively. In the
period April- December 2004, the company garnered Rs 860 crores of
new business premiums for a total sum assured of over Rs 7,360 crores
and wrote nearly 345,000 policies. Today the company is the No. 1
private life insurer in the country.
DISTRIBUTION

ICICI Prudential has one of the largest distribution networks amongst

private life insurers in India, having commenced operations in 69 cities
and towns in India. These are: Agra, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Allahabad,
Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhatinda, Bhopal,
Bhubhaneshwar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun,
Durgapur, Faridabad, Goa, Guntur, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Gwalior,
Hyderabad, Hubli, Indore, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jamnagar, Jamshedpur,
Jodhpur, Kanpur, Karnal, Kochi, /kolkata, Kolhapur, Kota, Kottayam,
Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mudurai, Mangalore, Meerut, Mysore, Nagpur,
Nasik, Noida, New Delhi, Patiala, Pune, Raipur, Rajkot, Ranchi,
Rourkela, Salem, Siliguri, Surat, Thane, Thrissur, Trichy, Trivandrum,
Udaipur, Vadodara, Vapl, Varanasi, Vashi, Vijaywada and Vizag.

The company has seven ban assurance tie-ups, having agreements with
ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Bank of India, Lord
Krishna Bank and some co-operative banks, as well as over 160
corporate agents and brokers. It has also tied up with Specialized like
Dhan for distribution of Salaam Zindagi, a policy for the socially and
economically underprivileged sections of society.

ICICI Prudential has recruited and trained about 50,000 insurance

advisors to interface with and advise customers. Further, it leverages its
state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to provide superior quality of service to
customers.
ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India):

The World Bank; the Government of India and the Indian Industry, to
promote industrial development of India by providing project and
corporate finance to Indian industry, established ICICI Ltd. In 1955.

ICICI has thus far financed all the major sectors of the economy,
covering 6,848 companies and 16,851 projects As of March 31st, 2000.
ICICI had disbursed a total of Rs. 1, 13,070 crores, since inception.
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ICICI

ICICI Securities

ICICI Lombard

General Insurance ICICI Bank Limited

Company

ICICI Venture

ICICI Prudential

Life Insurance

Company
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between

ICICI Bank, and Prudential Policy, a leading international financial
services group which has its headquarters in U.K.ICICI Prudential was
amongst the first private sector companies to begin operation in
December 2000 after receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority (IRDA). ICICI Prudential total equity is 6.75
Bn with ICICI Bank & Prudential Policy In the end of year 2003-04,
ICICI Prudential had issued over 7.8 lackhs policies, for a total sum
assured of over 16000 crores and premium collection is over 951 crores.

The company has a network of about 33000 advisors: as well as 12 banc

assurance tie-ups. Today the company stands first in private life
insurance in India with a market share of nearly 40%.
 VISION

The company’s vision is “to make ICICI Prudential the dominant Life
and Pensions player built on trust by world-class people and service.”

They hope to achieve this by:

 Understanding the needs of customers and offering them superior

products and service.
 Leveraging technology to device customers quickly, efficiently
and conveniently.
 Developing and implementing superior risk management and
investment strategies to offer sustainable and stable returns to
their policyholders.
 Providing an enabling environment to foster growth and learning
for their employees.
 And above all, building transparency in all their dealings

The success of the company is due to its unflinching commitment to 5

core values-

• Integrity,
• Customer First,
• Ownership,
• Passion,
• Boundary less.

PRODUCTS OF THE COMPANY

Insurance Solutions for Individuals

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance offers a range of innovative, customer-

centric products that meet the needs of customers at every life stage. Its
20 products can be enhanced with up to 6 riders, to create a customized
solution for each policyholder.

Savings Solutions

• Secure Plus is a transparent and feature-packed savings plan

that offers 3 levels of protection.
• Cash Plus is a transparent, facture-packed savings plan that
offers 3 levels of protection as well as liquidity options.
• Save n Protect is a traditional endowment savings plan that
offers life protection along with adequate returns.
• Cash Bank is an anticipated endowment policy ideal for
meeting milestone expenses like a child’s marriage, expenses for a
child’s higher education or purchase of an asset.
• Life Time & Life Time II offer customers the flexibility and
control to customize the policy to meet the changing needs at different
life stages. Each offer 4 fund options? Preserver, Protector, Balancer
and Maxi miser.
• Life link II is a single premium Market Linked Insurance Plan
which combines life insurance cover with the opportunity to stay
invested in the stock market.
• Premier Life is a limited premium paying plan that offers
customers life insurance cover till the age of 75.
• Invest Shield Life is a Market Linked plan that provides
capital guarantee on the invested premiums and declared bonus interest.
• Invest Shield Cash’s a Market Linked plan that provides
capital guarantee on the invested premiums and declared bonus interest
along with flexible liquidity option.
• Invest Shield Gold is Market Linked plan that provides capital
guarantee on the invested premiums and declared bonus interest along
with limited premium payment terms.

Protection Solutions:

Life Guard is a protection plan, which offers life covers at very low
cost. It is available in 3 options?

Child Plans:
Smart Kid education plans provide guaranteed educational benefits to a
child along with life insurance cover for the parents who purchase the
policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones
in the child’s life. Smart Kid plans are also available in unit-linked
from?

Retirement Solutions:

• Forever Life is a retirement product targeted at individuals in

their thirties.

• Secured plus Pension is a flexible pension plan that allows one to

select between 3 of cover.

Market-linked retirement products:

• Life Time Pension II is a regular premium market-linked pension

plan.
• Life Link Pension II is a single premium market-linked pension
plan.
• Invest Shield Pension is a regular premium pension plan with a
capital guarantee on invest able premium and declared bonuses.

ICICI Prudential also launched? Salaam Zindagi. A social sector group

insurance policy targeted at the economically underprivileged sections
of the society.
Group Insurance Solutions:

ICICI Prudential also offers Group Insurance Solutions for companies

seeking to enhance benefits to their employees.

ICICI Prudential Group Gratuity Plan: ICICI Prudential? Group gratuity

plan helps employers fund their statutory gratuity obligation in a
scientific manner. The plan can also be customized to structure schemes
that can provide benefits beyond the statutory obligations.

ICICI Prudential Group Super annuity Plan: ICICI Prudential offers a

flexible defined contribution Super annuity scheme to provide a
retirement kitty for each member of the group. Employees have the
option of choosing from various annuity options of opting for a partial
commutation of the annuity at the time of retirement.

ICICI Prudential Group Term Plan: ICICI Prudential flexible group

term solution helps provide affordable cover to members of a group.
The cover could be uniform or based on designation rank or a multiple
of salary. The benefit under the policy is paid to the beneficiary
nominated by the member on his/her death.
Flexible Rider Options:

ICICI Prudential Life offers flexible riders, which can be added to the
basis policy at a marginal cost, depending on the specific needs of the
customer.

• Accident & disability benefit: If death occurs as the result of

an accident during the tern of the policy, the beneficiary
receivers an additional amount equal to the sum assured under
the policy. Accident Benefit. This rider option pays the sum
assured under the rider on death due to accident.
• Critical Illnesses Benefit: protects the insured against financial
loss in the event of 9 specific critical illnesses. Benefits are
payable to the insured for medical expanses prior to death.
• Major Surgical Assistance Benefit: provides financial support
in the event of medical emergencies, ensuring benefits are
payable to the life assured for medical expenses incurred for
surgical procedures. Cover is offered against 43 surgical
procedures.
• Income Benefit: This rider pays the 10% of the sum assured to
the nominee every year till maturity, in the event of the death
of the life assured. It is available on Secure Plus and Cash
Plus.
• Waiver of Premiums: In case of total and permanent disability
due to an accident the premiums are waived till maturity. This
rider is available with Secure Plus and Cash Plus.
FAQS ON TAXATION:

What are the tax rebates available to an individual in respect of

premium paid on life insurance policies?

Life insurance premium paid by an individual qualifies for rebate under

section 88 of income tax act. An individual can claim rebate on
premium paid for a maximum of Rs. 70000 in each financial year.

How is tax rebate under section 88 calculated?

Calculation of tax rebate under section 88 depends on the individual’s

gross total income and contribution made towards life insurance
premium.

Thus if the gross total income is:

• Less than Rs. 150000 rebate is calculated at 20% of the premium

paid towards life insurance.
• Greater than Rs. 150000 but less than Rs. 500000, rebate is
computed at 15% of the premium paid.
• Greater than Rs. 150000 the individual is not eligible to claim any
tax benefit on the Life insurance premium paid.
Are maturity life insurance and pension policies taxable?

The maturity process of life insurance policies is not taxable. However

under pension plans, any amount received on surrender of the plan shall
be deemed to be the assessed income and taxed accordingly.

Can a tax rebate to be calculated of the premium is paid by an individual

on his/her spouses polices.

An individual can make payment on his/her spouse’s policy and the

premium paid will qualify for rebate under section 88.

What are the tax benefits available under plans?

Under section 88CC where an assess has paid/deposited any amount

towards any annuity plan receiving pension fund, he/she will be allowed
deduction up to Rs. 100 from the total income. Where the amount
paid/deposited into consideration for the purpose of claming deduction a
rebate where reference to shall not be allowed under section 88.

If a person discontinues premium on his insurance or a pension policy,

does he get tax benefit
If a person stops paying premium amount on his/her life insurance
policy, it amounts to discontinues of the policy; hence he is not entitled
to claim any tax benefits.

If a tax payer discontinues the life insurance policy before premiums

have been paid of a period of 2 years from the commencement of the
policy, no tax deduction is allowed is respect of any premium paid on
that policy in the year in which the policy s terminated. Further the
amount of tax deduction allowed for the premium paid in the preceding
year is also treated as the tax payable for the year in which the policy is
terminated.

If a person participating in a unit linked insurance plan (ULIP)

terminates his policy, and he claim any rebate on the same?

If a person participates as unit linked plan (ULIP) and terminates his

participation, he will no be entitled to claim ant rebate.

Is the amount received on maturity of UTI ULIP scheme taxable?

No, the maturity proceeds of UTI ULIP scheme are exempt from tax
under section 10(33) subject to the same being received on or after
April, 2002.

What are the deductions is available in respect of medical insurance

premium?
The premium paid under financial insurance premium qualifies for
rebate under section 80D as follows:

• Insurance premium paid or Rs. 10000 whichever is lower.

• The aforesaid limit is Rs. 15000, where the individual or his
spouse of dependent parent’s or any member of the family (for
whom such premium is paid is a senior citizen (i.e. one who is
resident in India and who is at least 65 years of age at any time
during the previous years).

REGULATIONS – THE AGENCY LAWS

The basics of the insurance business in India are governed by the

Agency Law, which is part of the Indian Contracts Act, 1872. Further,
after the industry got opened up the regulatory authority has been the
Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA).

Agent: The Definition

According to the section 182 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, “an agent
is a person employed to do any act for another or to represent another in
dealing with a third person”. In the insurance sector the term “Agent” is
ordinarily applied to a person engaged by the insurer to procure new
business.

Powers of the Agent

An agent can act only to the extent of authority may be expressed or
implied. An authority is said to be expressed when it is given by words
spoken or written. It is implied when it is to be inferred from the
circumstances of the case.

Life Insurance Agent

The Insurance Act, 1938 defines as agent as “one who is licensed under
the act & is paid consideration of his soliciting or procuring insurance
business including business relating to continuance, renewal or revival
of policies of insurance”.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this section of my project, the requirement is to describe the sources

of collecting primary and secondary data. For collecting primary data,
method adopted was focus group method.

Source of primary data

1. Natural Market
• Relatives
• Friends
• Neighbors
2. Stall Operation
3. Survey
 4. Seminar (Focus Group)

Source of Secondary Data

1. Yellow Pages
2. Database of different companies LI\GI Agents
3. Tele calling leads

Marital Status:

42%

58%

Single Married

The importance of advisors:

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Aspires to provide state of the
art of customer’s service & opportunities & avenues for enterprising
people to grow & prosper. The company wish to grow exponentially
that is backed by the latest technology, hence offering its customers:

 Faster & more accurate service.

 Multi-channel distribution systems.
 Highly trained professional sales people offering quality pre &
post sales service.

It is in the above mentioned areas of personal specialization where the

importance of an advisor clearly stands out the advisor not only
contribute in bring in new business for the company, but also plays an
important part in offering world-class pre & post sales service to the
clients to the clients with the support of the organization. But the
company in its principles clearly states out that an advisor to means
“much more than a salesman or a saleswoman, we at ICICI Prudential
recognize out advisors as the ambassadors of our organization in the
market place & we consider the advisor force would be our biggest
differentiating factor in the coming years”. The advisor is an important
asset not only for the organization from the business point of view but
also to the society on the whole as he/she is someone who provide
valuable service to the community be helping people attain financial
security & build funds for their future needs thereby assisting them in
getting their financial freedom.

If looked from the other side of the business where the company is
operating the competitive Indian market & more so in the business of
life insurance where the customers looks for self-belief & faith then the
advisor certainly holds the vital link in the overall business proposition.
They represent the company’s face & words on which the customers can
trust because the customers know that face. The advisor helps to create a
web for the business to grow & driving the customer to come to the
company with complete trust & faith.

THE PROFILE OF AN ADVISOR

Qualifications

1. Age should be ideally between 18- 60 years.

2. Minimum education qualification:-

• Urban areas 12th Class

• Rural areas 10th Class.

3. Good & convincing communication skills.
4. Capacity to build an impressive network.
5. Engaged in gainful business or corporation.
 6. Willing to undergo extensive training & development programs.
7. Pleasing personality.

Skills & Competencies

As quoted by Mr. Shubro Mitra, Head HR, ICICI Prudential Life

Insurance the company is always on a look out for people who have
the following the skills & competencies that we require in business
are:

 Actuarial skills.
 Investments management skills.
 Core operation skills.
 Core underwriting skills.
 Relationship management skills.
 Project management skills.

Leadership & Team skills

 High energy levels & infectious enthusiasm.

 Open to ideas.
 Strong team players.
 And above all, unyielding integrity.
 A passion for achieving result.
 High caliber & ability.
 Job Profile

As an advisor for the company, the role of the individual is no way

limited to sell the policies of the company. But the role basically
starts from the basics of explaining the life insurance aspects & the
potential benefits to the customers. Further he is required to assist
them in deciding upon the plan that suits them the best in terms of
finance and security provided. Therefore the opportunity provided to
the advisor is unlimited in no way and the typical benefits can be
mentioned as followings:

 There is absolutely no need of a startup capital.

 There is the benefit of flexible working hours.
 The freedom to work from anywhere & being one’s own boss.
 The unlimited earning benefits in form of remuneration &
incentives.
 And the privilege of being a part of a world class sales team.

The role of an advisor is multifaceted in the sense that his work scope is
in no way limited. But in a nut shell the expectations from an advisor
has been laid down by the management in the following manner fewer
than two main headings:

1. Providing continuous financial advise to clients

 Identifying prospective clients.
  Making appointments.
 Conducting reviews with the prospective/existing clients.
 Closing the sales contracts.
 Getting more referrals so as to increase the network.
 Providing pre & post sales services to clients.
2. The advisor is also required to regularly follow the internal sales
& the internal reporting system so as to get the feed back &
further leads for the prospective areas of business &
improvement.

Benefits & Support Provided

The benefits have already been mentioned very often in the previous
section but it’s necessary to look into them as a comprehensive
criterion. The main benefits & supports that an advisor would be
availing of are the distinct ICICI Prudential life advantages.

Rewarding career

The job profile as mentioned earlier is unlimited & an advisor will help
people realize their dreams & provide them the financial &
psychological security & faith. The ultimate rewards will be the
differences made to all these lives & that would be most satisfying in
the real sense.

Successful Team

Being at ICICI gives the opportunity to be a part of India’s best team of

life insurance advisors. The company is numerous unions among the
private players in the industry & has won numerous recognition &
awards that give it the international edge.

Attractive Remuneration

ICICI offers the most competitive remuneration benefits at person in

the industry. Which proves to be very useful from long-term perspective
of financial security? There is absolutely no limit to one’s earnings &
the added incentives just help as advisor to get more than what he/she
expects.

Independence

At ICICI, the advisor is a boss in himself & in the real sense. There is
the freedom to choose the workplace, the work timings & the amount of
earnings one wants to have. Moreover there is no need of any initial
capital investment, yet one can become an entrepreneur in the most
unexpected manner.

World Class Team

The company leverages on the international linkages that it has to
provide the best training available in the industry at the present. The
company aims to impart the necessary skills & competencies to all even
if there it no previous experience with the individual. The presence of
trained in-house trainers & professionals provide the necessary aspects
of training required. Moreover, the training is being provided with the
help of professional institutions & centers like the RNIS College.

Career Agency System

ICICI’S commitment to Career Agency System imparts support to the

advisors at every stage of the business. The company believes in
encouraging the advisors to the highest level of success all through their
career. One of the distinct factors is the opportunity & the option of a
management career option for the successful performers.

Best Infrastructure

The huge investments that the company has made to develop the state of
art infrastructure throughout the business. The infrastructure provides
the necessary tools, technology & human support that enable to build a
profitable long-term relationship.

Extensive Product Portfolio

The company has got more than four hundred policies for its customers.
This consists of the unique individuals, groups, & rider policies. This
extensive, diversified & comprehensive range-provides the competitive
edge that no other advisor would be having in the market.

Sales & Marketing Support

The company has got unique sales & marketing tools to help & support
the advisors at every stage of the career.

Financial Strength

ICICI Prudential offers the advisors & the customers’ unmatched

financial strength & solidity. The huge amount of paid up capital &
growing revenues are an indicator of the same.

Commission Structure

The production targets shall be split into two stages:

1. Minimum Business Guarantee (MBG)

2. Bonus Target

The procedures of becoming an advisor

ICICI believes in getting who can align with the company’s principle &
beliefs well enough to grow on their own. In the words of the top
management the company believes that one can become an advisor for
the leader only & only if he/she has the following:

 Confidence
 Self-motivation
 Persuasion
 Urge to be financially independent
 Relationship skills

The broad step that best describe the procedure of becoming an advisor
in the company is as following:

 Confirmation of mutual interest as between the company & the

individual.
 Appearing & clearing the selection interview.
 Profiling of the test dates between parties.
 Draft payment favoring ‘ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co.
Ltd.’, payable Mumbai.
 Finalizing of the training dates & the venue.
The company provides for the all-round development of the individual
& any previous experience or inexperience in the related field is not an
obstacle. The professional approach of the company in the training
module helps it to train the incumbents in the best possible manner. The
company has got a professional in-house training staff that is one of the
best in the practice. The company had laid down for a State-of-art
training on:

 Selling skills.
 Product knowledge.
 Relationship skills.

The training is delivering through several convenient options keeping in

view the requirements of the individuals & the target of the company.
The training is done at the timing & venue decided upon by the parties
concerned.

The incumbents have to complete hundred hours of training in any

model that they choose from. The guidelines laid down for the training
are as per the books IRDA. The training concept can be classified
according to very different aspects, which can be the delivery medium,
& the time involved. On the basis of the delivery medium the process
can be of:

 Face of face training.

  Online training.
 Self learning.

On the basis of the time involved the process can be of:

 Full time-involving 15 days.

 Part time-involving 27 days.
 Online training-involving 2 months.

So if we summarize the steps & formalities involved in the whole

process, the formalities for a candidate to become the advisor as per the
IRDA are:

Filling up the insurance advisor form

Document required:

 7 passport size photographs.

 Acceptable age proof.
 Acceptable education proof.
 Acceptable residence proof.

Payment through the demand draft:

Completion of the training:

Reporting of the form with the DOPS

 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited is right now the

market leader in Private Insurer segment.

WEAKNESS

The company right now has lesser number of agents (i.e. financial
advisors) than LIC of India, which affects their sales in comparison to
LIC of India.

OPPURTUNITY
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited can give LIC of
INDIA agents an opportunity to join ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
Company Limited as ICICI Prudential has got more incentive packages
& servicing quality better than LIC of INDIA. Doing this they can
reduce their cost of training and can exploit their experience.

THREAT

Other big brand names like BIRLAS, TATA, HDFC, SBI and AVIVA,
RELIANCE etc.

POLITICAL

Right one ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited, can go for
opening up more & more offices, as the present political environment is
business friendly.

ECONOMIC

Insurance as we have already discussed is very essential for every

person on this face of earth. Being an insurance company, the
responsibility of the company also increases by many multiples, as they
have to keep an eye on each & every happening going around & provide
better & fast service to customers. Along with this, insurance is also
very important for building up the infrastructure of any country. The
money collected from the people is invested in many sectors to develop
the infrastructure & hence ultimately make the life of the citizens better.

SOCIAL

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited enjoys a good brand

name; they can use it for their profit.

TECHNOLOGICAL

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited uses latest

technology for their operations, which give them an edge over the
competition.

Support provided by the Unit Manager

 Fields visits for the incumbents.

 Training on products & selling skills.
 Regular business reviews to monitor the progress.
 The UM acts both as a coach & a mentor.
 The UM recognizes the high performers.
 Helps in becoming financially independent.
But the expectations from the team

 To achieve the sales targets given.

 To participate in all the meetings being placed
 Attending all the training programs being arranged.
 Report for the weekly reviews at the office.
 Regularly following the sales process.
 And the advisors are also required to follow the weekly reporting
process

LIMITATIONS

 As the movement throughout the city is not possible due to certain

constraints so the movement was quite restricted.
 People are not ready to go for training. As the training period is of
17 days and it involves full day, so it becomes difficult for them to
leave their offices or shops for such a long time.
 The compulsion of selling 12 policies in a year also restricts them
from becoming advisors. If they do not fulfill this target, then their
license is cancelled after a year.
 Lack of trust on any company of Private Sector.
 Lack of knowledge about the products of ICICI Prudential and their
total and blind faith on LIC.
 Sometimes, fresh graduates want to become advisors but the
company denies making them an advisor as they are very fickle-
minded and also unreliable.
 There is a problem in targeting Chartered Accountants. ICAI,
which is the governing body of Chartered Accountants, does not
allow them to become advisors. However, now they have permitted
some CA’s to become advisors, but these are only those ones who
are doing jobs somewhere and not allowed the ones who are doing
their practice. So, still this decision is very dicey.
 Sometimes, even those people want to become advisors for the
company who are not a localities but then the major problem that
they face is that they have got no natural market, so they are very
susceptible about their performance and whether they will be able
to generate business for the company or not, so they avoid to take
up this challenge.
 It was a great problem to get appointments form people in the
month of March, as most of them were busy in filing their returns.
 Some people ask about comparative analysis with LIC.
 Some people consider IRDA fees of Rs. 1000 as a constraint.
 Non-availability of part-time training.
 All small towns are not open for doing this business.

 One person cannot take Life Insurance Agency of two different

Companies.
 Time constraint is the biggest constraint in taking up the study.

RECOMMENDETATION

After going through the above table regarding market share of various
companies in the financial year 2003-04, there is no reason why ICICI
prudential should rejoice of being the number one company in the
country. The growth that companies like BIRLA SUNLIFE, SBI LIFE
INSURANCE, TATA-AIG, BAJAJ ALLIANZ, OM KOTAK
MAHINDRA, AVIVA, ING VYASA, METLIFE & AMP SANMAR
have produced that can be quite a big unseen threat for the company in
the coming years. So the company should start thinking of what they
want from the market & where they want to see themselves after a span
of 10 years because if the popularity of these companies continues then
one day they will become good competitors of ICICI Prudential & then
the consequences can be quite disturbing for the company.

CONCLUSION
1. ICICI PRUDENTIAL has interested and profitable planes for
different age group.
2. There are lots of scopes of life insurance in Indian only 2.5 people
are secure with life insurance so the insurance sector is its
booming stage this boom will more increase in 2 or 3 years.
3. Good profile insurance advisor could do the better job. If ICICI
PRUDENTIAL mentions the level of advisor them they may give
great sales to the company.
4. ICICI PRUDENTIAL has tuff competition with LIC as well as
TATA AIG, BAJAJ ALLIAZE, BIRLA SUNLIFE
INSURANCE, SAHARA, ING VYSYA, OM KOTAK
MAHINDRA, HDFC INSURANCE, SBI LIFE AND
RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE, PNB LIFE INSURANCE.
5. ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY has great
goodwill in market in liberalized Indian market there are
approximately 13 big companies in Indian market and ICICI
PRUDENTIAL is the No.1 private insurance company. I found
this fact in my recent survey.
6. If the company starts to concentrate on village segment market.
Then company can get great business.
7. I got the good profile people near by bank and share market.
When I concentrated on the 20-25 year age group people I found
good result.
8. Within 20-25 year age group the sincerity level is high. They are
career oriented and want to earn more.
9. In the age group people made interest to purchase the kids plan
and pension plan and money back plan.
10.In the age group of 30-35 years the people who earning more then
3 lakh p.a. made interest to purchase ULIP.
11.I found that in insurance sector a person should have great
communication and convenience skill.
12.People made interest in the business opportunity of ICICI
PRUDENTIAL because there are lots of chances to increase
earning and make high place in the company.
13. People took interest in pinnacle programme and also life the
professional environment of the company.
14. In my survey I found that low percentage of people is aware with
the life insurance.
15.It was great experience to communicate with different people. I
learnt through cross-question by peoples.
 AWARDS

India's Most Customer Responsive Insurance Company

Avaya Global Connect - Economic Times
Customer Responsiveness Awards

Prudence Customer Centricity Award 2004 & 2005

Prudential Corporation Asia
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Philip Kotler Marketing Management

• Fact sheets of ICICI standard Life Company

Websites

• www.google.com
• www.yahoo.com
• www.wikipedia.com

Newspapers

• Economics times
• Times of India

Magazines

• Business Today
• Business World