Treesa Main Work

A Report of
“Customer Awareness And Acceptance Levels With Respect

To The Travel Insurance Services Offered By Thomas
Cook India Ltd. Bangalore.”
for
THOMAS COOK INDIA LIMITED
in partial fulfilment of the

Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Under the Guidance of
Mrs. Joby Joy
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SCMS)
by
TREESA GEORGE
BATCH: 25 FK-3042
SCMS COCHIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
SCMS CAMPUS, PRATHAP NAGAR, MUTTOM, ALUVA, COCHIN-683106.
September 2017
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this project report entitled

“Customer Awareness And Acceptance Levels With Respect To The
Travel Insurance Services Offered By Thomas Cook India Ltd.
Bangalore.” has been written and submitted under the guidance of Mrs.
Joby Joy and is my original work.
I understand that detection of any copying is liable to be punished in any

way the school deems fit.
Date: Treesa George

CERTIFICATE FROM THE COMPANY
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project work entitled “Customer

Awareness And Acceptance Levels With Respect To The
Bangalore.” has been carried out under my guidance by TREESA
GEORGE in partial fulfilment of her Post Graduate Diploma in
Management during the academic year 2016 - 2018.
Date: MRS. JOBY JOY

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project work entitled “Customer

Awareness And Acceptance Levels With Respect To The
Bangalore.” has been carried out by TREESA GEORGE in
partial fulfilment of her Post Graduate Diploma in Management.
Date: Dr. Filomina P. George

DIRECTOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of this work owes to the inspiration and the constant
support of so many people. I am highly indebted to SCMS COCHIN SCHOOL
OF BUSINESS for providing me a wonderful opportunity to gain practical
knowledge by doing this project as a part of PGDM curriculum.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research guide Mr Pramod
Prakash (Senior Manager – Travel Insurance), for encouraging me, helping me to
grow as an intern and for all the wonderful support he extended to complete my
project.
I would also like express my sincere gratitude to the entire management and staff
of Thomas Cook India Ltd. for their wonderful support throughout.
I would like to express my gratefulness to our Director, Dr. Filomina P. George

and our Dean Prof. K.J. Paulose, SCMS School of Business for giving me the
opportunity to do this project.
I am very grateful to my faculty guide, Mrs. Joby Joy. (Assistant Professor)

SCMS Cochin, for her wonderful guidance and for having been so kind in helping
me throughout the project.
I would also like to express my thankfulness to all who have directly and
indirectly helped me, encouraged me and guided me to complete my project work.
I am also thankful to all my friends who have been a source of inspiration
throughout the project.
TREESA GEORGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... xiii
Chapter I: INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE

STUDY ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Theoretical Background Of The Study ......................................................................... 5
1.3 Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 8
Chapter II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 12

Research Methodology ..................................................................................................... 13
2.1 Topic Of The Study .................................................................................................... 13
2.2 Research Problem ....................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Objectives Of The Research ....................................................................................... 13
2.4 Sampling Procedures .................................................................................................. 14
2.5 Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................ 14
2.6 Data Capture Instruments ........................................................................................... 15
2.7 Data Analysis Procedure ............................................................................................. 15
2.8 Limitations Of The Study ........................................................................................... 15
Chapter III: PROFILES ................................................................................................ 16

3.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE ............................................................................................... 17
3.11 Overview ............................................................................................................... 17
3.12 Global Travel And Tourism Industry ................................................................... 17
3.13 Indian Travel And Tourism Industry .................................................................... 19
3.14 India Government Initiatives ................................................................................ 20
3.15 Insurance ............................................................................................................... 20
3.16 Insurance Sector In India ...................................................................................... 21
3.17 Legal Structure ...................................................................................................... 22
3.2 COMPANY PROFILE ............................................................................................... 23
3.21 Competitors ........................................................................................................... 24
3.22 Vision .................................................................................................................... 25
3.3 PRODUCT PROFILE ................................................................................................. 25
3.31 Products And Services .......................................................................................... 25
3.32 Overseas Travel Insurance .................................................................................... 27
Chapter IV :ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA .................................... 29
Data analysis ..................................................................................................................... 30
frequency analysis ............................................................................................................. 30
4.1. Age of the respondents............................................................................................... 30
4.2. Occupation of respondents ......................................................................................... 31
4.3. Employment sector .................................................................................................... 32
4.4. Total annual income ................................................................................................... 32
4.5. Frequency of overseas travel ..................................................................................... 33
4.6. Duration of stay abroad .............................................................................................. 34
4.7. Reasons for overseas travel ........................................................................................ 34
4.8. Common destinations of overseas travel ................................................................... 35
4.9.types of overseas travel insurance plans availed so far............................................... 36
4.10. Factors considered while choosing overseas travel insurance ................................. 37
4.11. Insurance plans sold through Thomas Cook ............................................................ 38
4.12. Awareness on travel insurance plans sold through Thomas Cook ........................................ 39
4.13. Source from where the respondents got information on travel insurance sold
through Thomas Cook....................................................................................................... 40
4.14. Percentage of respondents who have availed overseas travel insurance through
Thomas Cook .................................................................................................................... 41
4.15. Types of plans availed ............................................................................................. 41
4.16. No. Of years with Thomas Cook for travel insurance ............................................. 43
4.17. Frequency of purchase of travel insurance from Thomas Cook ............................ 43

4.18. Willingness to avail overseas travel insurance through Thomas Cook in future ..... 44
4.19. Overseas travel and willingness to avail insurance through Thomas Cook............. 45
4.20. Reasons for overseas travel and willingness to avail insurance through Thomas
Cook .................................................................................................................................. 47
4.21. Employment sector and willingness to avail insurance through Thomas Cook ...... 47
4.22. Annual income and willingness to avail insurance through Thomas Cook ............. 48
4.23 plans preferred .......................................................................................................... 49
4.24 frequency of overseas travel and plans preferred .................................................... 50
4.25 reasons for overseas travel and plans preferred ........................................................ 51
4.26 common destinations of overseas travel and plans preferred .................................. 52
4.27 employment sector and plans preferred .................................................................... 55
4.28 methods preferred ..................................................................................................... 57
4.29 reasons for preferring travel insurance from Thomas Cook ..................................... 57
4.30 reasons for not preferring the travel insurance from Thomas Cook ......................... 61
Chapter V: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS........................................................... 63

5.1 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 64
1. Factors influencing the purchase of Travel Insurance .............................................. 64
2. Awareness level of respondents with regard to the travel insurance plans offered by
Thomas Cook ................................................................................................................ 64
3. The various travel insurance plans offered by Thomas Cook................................... 65
4. Category of customers interested in the travel insurance plans offered by Thomas
Cook .............................................................................................................................. 66
5.2 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................... 67
Chapter VI: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 68

6.1 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................... 69
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 71
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 72
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 75
QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................................................................... 75
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Age of respondents ........................................................................................... 30
Table 2: Employment Status .......................................................................................... 31
Table 3: Nature of Sector ............................................................................................... 32
Table 4: Total Annual Income ....................................................................................... 33
Table 5:How Often You Travel ..................................................................................... 33
Table 6: Duration Of Stay Abroad ................................................................................ 34
Table 7 :Purpose Of Travel ............................................................................................ 34
Table 8: Common Destinations Of Overseas Travel .................................................. 35
Table 9: Overseas Travel Insurance Plan ..................................................................... 36
Table 10: Factors Considered While Choosing Overseas Travel Insurance ............. 37
Table 11: Factors Considered While Choosing Overseas Travel Insurance ...... Error!
Bookmark not defined.37
Table 12 :Heard Of Travel Insurance By TCIL .......................................................... 38
Table 13 Awareness On Travel Insurance Plans ........................................................ 39
Table 14: Source Of Information .................................................................................. 40
Table 15 : Respondents Who Availed Travel Inusrance ............................................. 41
Table 16:Types Of Plans Availed .................................................................................. 41
Table 17: How Long You Been Customers................................................................... 43
Table 18 How Many Times You Purchased ................................................................. 43
Table 19 Those Who Are Interested To Avail Insurance In Future .......................... 44
Table 20 How Often You Travel * Interested Crosstabulation .................................. 45
Table 21: Purpose Of Travel * Interested Crosstabulation ........................................ 47
Table 22: Nature Of Sector * Interested Crosstabulation .......................................... 47
Table 23:Total Annual Income * Interested Crosstabulation .................................... 48
Table 25: Cross tabulation On Frequency Of Overseas Travel And Plans Preferred
........................................................................................................................................... 50
Table 26: Cross Tabulation On Overseas Travel And Plans Preferred .................... 51
Table 27: Cross Tabulation On Common Destinations And Preferred Plans .......... 52
Table 29 The Methods Preferred................................................................................... 57
Table 32: Frequency Analysis On Reasons For Not Preferring Thomas Cook Travel
Insurance ......................................................................................................................... 61
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Purpose Of Travel............................................................................................... 35

Figure 2 Common Destinations Of Overseas Travel ........................................................ 36
Figure 3 Heard Of Travel Insurance By TCIL.................................................................. 39
Figure 4 Types Of Plans Availed ...................................................................................... 42
Figure 5 Those Who Are Interested To Avail Insurance In Future .................................. 44
Figure 6 Preferred Plans.................................................................................................... 49
Figure 7 Reasons For Not Preferring Thomas Cook ........................................................ 62
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This research titled “Customer awareness and acceptance levels with respect to the
Travel insurance services offered by Thomas Cook India Ltd” was done to identify the
factors influencing the purchase of travel insurance. The study emphasised understanding
the awareness level about various travel insurance plans and acceptance level regarding the
same with special reference to Thomas Cook India Ltd. The study included reasons for
preference and non-preference of travel insurance sold through Thomas Cook.
The survey was conducted among 200 respondents which include customers and non
customers of Thomas Cook in the city of Bangalore.A well structured questionnaire was
adiministered to respondents to collect primary data. Secondary data was gathered from the
company brochures,websites and other books.The data was analysed by using software
packages like Microsoft Excel and SPSS for further conclusions.
Major findings of the study showed that 74.5% are aware about the travel insurance services
sold through Thomas Cook. 25.5% are unaware about the travel insurance services and their
plans. Certain tests are performed to check out the factors that are highlighted the most by
the customers. It could be identified that the major factors that influence the preference
towards the travel insurance plans sold through Thomas Cook are Name and reputation of
the company, Affordability of premium and Comprehensive coverage. Tests were done to
check whether there exists any significant association between the frequency of overseas
travel and willingness to avail insurance through Thomas Cook, and showed that there exists
significant association between them. It was found from the study that Thomas Cook travel
insurance has got more opportunities in the market as their complimentary services include
Travel,Forex and Visas.
It is seen that the main factor i.e. delay in claim settlement badly affects the purchase
decision of the respondents. So, Company can take measures such as faster claim settlement
processes and act accordingly in positive attitude to satisfy customers. Policyholders should
be advised to follow the conditions of the policy to facilitate easy claim settlement.
xiii
Chapter I: INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Traveling to a new destination is often an experience filled with excitement and fun.
However, traveling also brings in certain uncertainties like medical emergencies, thefts
or losses. Traveling to an unfamiliar place needed a support system that provides an
umbrella cover from unexpected emergencies. Hence a need arise for travel insurance.
Motives to travel include pleasure, relaxation, discovery and exploration, getting to

know other cultures and taking personal time for building interpersonal relationships.
Travel may be local, regional, national (domestic) or international. As travel involves
risks, it is good to be covered by travel insurance.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
India is a developing country. IT sector is increasing, Tourism and Hospitality is

booming. Right from the common man to elite people have an urge of to travel to reduce
their stress in life.
Although the insurance sector had its origin in 1914, the prime importance was given
only to life insurance. Non-Life insurance does not have much popularity in general.
Although a few literatures are available related to travel insurance, they all are centered
on foreign countries. At this juncture, it becomes essential to study Travel Insurance in
India. By studying the Travel Insurance, traveller would come to know the significance
of Travel Insurance, coverage of Travel Risks, amount of premium paid and so on.
2
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Travel Insurance is an insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, trip

cancellation, loss of baggage, flight accident and other losses incurred in traveling,
either internationally or within one's own country. Travel Insurance can usually be
arranged at the time of the booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip, or
a multi-trip policy can cover an unlimited number of trips within a set time frame.
The need for a Travel Insurance policy is that whatever may be the mode of transport
one uses it involves risk such as sudden illness while travel, accidents, loss of baggage
and so on. In case of insufficient travel insurance, it is experienced that people have to
sell, mortgage or do anything to meet these kinds of experienced risks. Although the
travelers in Western Countries are aware of Travel Insurance and its significance, in the
developing countries like India, travelers do not have much awareness in this regard.
The main purpose of this research work is to check their awareness and acceptance
levels amongst the travelers as in these days the life style has been changing
tremendously and travel has become a part of life of the people.
DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT INSURANCE TERMS
1. Premium
This is the actual cost of the insurance plan. Normally the higher premium has higher
coverage and the lesser premium has lesser coverage.
2. Deductible
The Deductible is the amount that the insured has to pay before the insurance company
will begin paying towards any covered expenses. The deductible affects how much
money the insured will pay to the doctor or hospital, and is typically paid at the time of
treatment.
3
3. Co-Pay
This is the amount of money the insured must pay before the insurance company begins
to pay for their eligible expenses. Typically this is required instead of a deductible or
coinsurance, and requires the policy holder to pay a set fee for a specific visit.
4. Coinsurance
Coinsurance is a percentage of what the insurance company will pay to cover the
insured’s health care cost after any deductibles or co-pays have been met.
5. Pre-existing Conditions
Pre-existing conditions include any injury or illness that the insured may have prior to
getting the insurance plan. The definition can vary by plan, so it’s important to check
with their plan to see the exact definition.
6. Repatriation of Remains
On most insurance plans, repatriation of remains covers the cost of returning the
insured’s body back to their home country in case of death.
7. Emergency Medical Evacuation
Emergency Medical Evacuation provides medically necessary transportation to the

nearest qualified medical facility, not necessarily insured’s home country.
8. Beneficiary
This is the person who would receive any insurance benefits in case the insured was to
pass away while on the insurance plan.
4
1.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
TYPES OF TRAVEL INSURANCE
1. Single Trip
This type of insurance is typically custom made for an occasional traveller. The
maximum period of this plan generally does not exceed 6 months. It is best suited for
businessmen or individuals who travel overseas on occasions. These plans generally
cover accidental death, emergency evacuation, medical expenses, disablement benefits
and delayed departure and loss of baggage. This policy covers, as the name suggests, a
single trip. It can be used to cover an individual, a couple or a family by purchasing a
policy before each trip. It can sometimes be a more expensive way to get insurance for
the holiday, depending on how often the traveller go away and how many of them
travelling along with the traveller.
2. Annual Multi Trip
This plan is designed for people who frequently travel to overseas locations. These plans
are usually valid for one year and may slightly vary depending on the insurance
provider. In this plan, a customer can choose from 30, 45, 60 and 90 days as the duration
of their trip. In other words, this is one plan that saves money for the frequent traveller.
It is also convenient as the traveller has to pay premium just once and is secured for an
entire year for their travel. There is no limit to the number of trips the traveller can make
during this period. The purchase of annual or multi trip travel insurance will be covered
for going away a multitude of times under the policy, so this cover can often work out
cheaper if the traveller plan to travel two or more times per year.
The total number of trips will be covered for depends on the policy terms and
conditions, but many insurers impose no limit on an annual policy. The policy usually
5
last for a period of 12 months, but there may be a limit on how long the traveller can
spend abroad in one go. This is usually a maximum of 90 days.
3. Worldwide Travel Insurance
It is possible to get travel cover just for one country if the traveller wish and this can be
cheaper than a worldwide travel insurance policy. But if the traveller goes further afield,
such as more than one country, the traveller needs to get worldwide cover. The
difference in the two policy types stems from how expensive it is to get medical
treatment in various countries, as there are some agreements in place within the country
that keep costs down for travelers if they need medical treatment. Worldwide cover may
also suitable for a gap year or backpacking trip if it is taken as an annual policy.
4. Group Travel Insurance
The traveller travelling in a party with his friends, such as on a stag or hen weekend,
rather than opting for separate cover, it may be cheaper to opt for a group travel policy.
This covers several of his to travel under one policy as long as he is travelling from the
same country of origin and may also include extra cover for typical activities that he
might take part in when travelling with a group.
5. Senior Citizen Travel Insurance
Some travel insurers may refuse the traveller cover when he has reached age 65, and it is
common for the average premium to go up as the traveller gets older. Due to this, it is
possible to get dedicated cover for those over the age of 65 from specialist insurers.
The reason for this change of heart is largely down to the fact that, as the traveller gets
older, he is more likely to suffer ill-health and being taken ill abroad is expensive for the
company providing his travel insurance policy. The traveller finds that his premiums
naturally rise to some extent as he get older, and to get over 65 travel insurance he has
6
probably find that he has to pay over the odds. This is why it is essential to compare the
policies available to get the best deal he can.
SIGNIFICANCE OF TRAVEL INSURANCE
In India, many people do not have awareness about insurance policies due to lack of
their knowledge. Even if people know about insurance, they do not want to take one
because they are generally afraid of heavy premiums. However, nowadays insurance
policies are available at low cost due to competition. Travel insurance is the cover for
the risk the traveller might face in their trip, overseas or domestic; typically, it covers
death, personal accidents, medical expenses, repatriation, and loss or delay of checked
baggage, passport loss and third party liability.
Generally people travel for purposes like enjoying vacation, medical, sports, education,
job and so on. Therefore, they do not want anything to ruin their hard earned holiday or
their crucial business meeting. However, there can be some unexpected occurrences no
matter how perfect the planning is. Unfortunate events such as baggage loss, passport
loss, a medical emergency or accidents affect their trip badly. Having travel insurance
protects traveller from all such problems. It gives them satisfaction and ensures that in
the unknown foreign land they are not alone in any kind of emergency.
The standard travel policy covers death, personal accidents, medical expenses and any
kind of loss. The cost of travel insurance depends on a number of factors such as the age
of the person, the duration of the trip, the place to visit and the benefits included in the
plan. The premiums generally charged on the slab basis. There are pre-defined slabs
from which the travelers can select as per convenience.
A good travel insurance policy is one that gives value for money, which means that the
policy provides the required amount of cover at a reasonable premium, readily available,
emergency assistance and an efficient, fair claims process. While purchasing a travel
insurance policy, it is the responsibility of the policy taker to look into all the policy
associated facts like premium, risk cover, claim process etc.
7
REASONS FOR TAKING TRAVEL INSURANCE
Some of the anticipated risks in travel are:
1. Flight Cancellation
2. Loss of Baggage
3. Loss or theft of Passport and Wallet
4. Accident
5. Cancellation due to sudden illness
6. Bankruptcy of tour operator, airline, cruise line
7. Medical emergency in foreign country
8. Cancellation of trip due to terrorist threat and
9. Evacuation of the resort, hotel, or cruise ship due to natural disasters
1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature reviews discussed below helped me to identify the research gap in the
study. The awareness level, importance of life insurance, customer acceptance and
economic security were studied.
Piontek & Stephen (1995) in their study mentioned that the Industry must act as
educator role in terms of creating awareness, need for insurance, and economic security
in the future. Insurance industry efforts toward informed public, in addition to that If the
industry has to stay in the market for long period , it cannot stay by increasing the sales
only, but it has to play a role of educator creating importance of the product.
Peter A. Leggat, Judith Carne and Ureporn Kedjarune (1999), in their research work had
explained that the travel insurance and health insurance. They had explained the need for
travel insurance, the possible ways to obtain travel insurance, levels of travel insurance,
cost of travel insurance, travel insurance policy covers, travel insurance card and the
travel insurance claim.
8
Peter A. Leggat1, F. W. Leggat and U. Kedjarune (2001) had investigated in their study
that the travel insurance claims made by travelers from Australia for dental conditions.
They had examined demographic factors, type of travel insurance coverage, nature and
duration of travel, when dental treatment was sought during travel, use of emergency
assistance, type of treatment, and claim outcome, including cost. The study had
concluded that travelers should be advised to have a dental check-up before departure
overseas and to take care with pre-existing dental conditions, which might not be able to
be claimed on travel insurance.
Peter A. Leggat, and Frances W. Leggat (2002), in their study Travel Insurance Claims
Made by Travelers from Australia had pointed out that the travel insurance claims made
by travelers returning from abroad. The study had investigated travel insurance claims
made by travelers from Australia. It had examined the demographic factors, type of
travel insurance coverage, nature and duration of travel, when treatment was sought
during travel or when the problem arose, use of emergency assistance, nature of claim,
and claim outcome, including cost
Rea A. Somer Kniestedt and Robert Steffen (2003) had explained the travel health risks
and reviewed the claim files those were reviewed from 1997 to 1998 from one of the
largest Swiss travel insurance companies.
Woehr & Maria (2006) quotes that the Insurance industry has understood the value of
providing information to consumers about their healthcare and its costs as well as tools
that can help them manage those costs.
Nylund & Lisa Nido (2007) proclaimed that the Insurance industry is extremely
dynamic and is always changing which requires awareness of what is happening in the
industry. They added that the customer service is vital for their success.
Servaas & Plessis (2008), South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB) board
9
chairman, made a point that zero tolerance for crime can be achieved through creating
public awareness that insurance fraud is a crime.
Wyne (2009), vice president of marketing strategy and product development at CIGNA
quotes, 'The insurance company is utilizing technology to give full transparency and
awareness to members, provides them information that will allow them to make
informed choices and help strengthen the relationship between company and customer'.
Stephen (2009) mentioned that the customers purchase insurance because of the tax
benefits only, and the education of their children and return are the least preference
while choosing the insurance policies.
Jacobs, Deborah L (2013), in his article had discussed the usefulness of having travel
insurance, and included information types of situations in which a person had problems
while traveling. It provided information about which specific medical expenses were
commonly covered by these plans including emergency room, surgical, and ambulance
fees. It addressed the cost of evacuating an area for a medical emergency, and what
activities were often excluded from coverage. It also explained coverage.
Nadine Gatzert and Alexander Maegebier (2015), in their research work had explained
the challenges and opportunities for insurers. The first introduction of critical illness
insurance in 1983 in South Africa, the product had successfully spread to some
insurance markets, especially in Asian and Anglophone countries, but market
penetration remained low in other countries. For this reason and because of the
increasing relevance of dread diseases, the aim of this article was to provide a first
comprehensive overview of challenges and opportunities associated with critical illness
products for insurers.
10
It is indicated that the success of insurance industry depends on the factors like
awareness among the customers, service, and economic security. However, the earlier
researches are not considering the various influencing factor in selection of insurance
plans and preferred plans in the insurance scheme. Life insurance companies should not
aim to sell the product; rather it should sell the need of the product to stay in the market.
This will create awareness about the product and its features among the customers. This
study deals with above factors and discusses its consequences.
11
Chapter II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
12
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is the theoretical and systematic analysis of the methods applied
to a field of study. It is a way to systematically solve a research problem. It is a science
of studying how research is done scientifically. It is the procedure by which the
researchers go about their work of describing, evaluating and predicting phenomenon. It
aims to give the work plan of research.
2.1 TOPIC OF THE STUDY
“Customer awareness and acceptance levels with respect to the Travel insurance
services offered by Thomas Cook India Ltd”.
2.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM
The study was to identify the factors influencing the purchase of travel insurance. The
study was beneficial in understanding the awareness levels about various travel
insurance plans and acceptance levels regarding the same.
The study is descriptive in nature as the problem was well defined. Descriptive research
is used to describe the characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied.
Descriptive research may be characterized as simply the attempt to determine, describe
or identify what is the problem.
Here the focus of the study was to analyse the acceptance and awareness level of the
respondents and frame conclusions as per the results.
2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
 To identify the factors influencing the purchase of Travel Insurance

 To understand the awareness level of respondents with regard to the travel
insurance plans offered by Thomas Cook
 To understand which category of customers would be interested in the travel
insurance plans offered by Thomas Cook
 To understand various travel insurance plans offered by Thomas Cook
13
2.4 SAMPLING PROCEDURES
The process involved purposely-handpicking individuals from the population based on

the authority's or the researcher's knowledge and judgment.
Two sets of respondents were selected for the study.

The first set is the existing customers of Thomas Cook. The next set includes the
potential customers, i.e. frequent overseas travelers but who have not yet bought the
travel insurance products through Thomas Cook.
1. From the existing customers who have availed travel insurance through Thomas
Cook, the factors influencing the purchase was identified and studied. This data was
collected from the sample representing the existing customers using simple random
sampling and the sample size for this was 100.
2. From the potential customers i.e. from those who have purchased travel insurance
from other companies but not through Thomas Cook, to know their awareness and
preference levels towards the travel insurance products offered through Thomas Cook.
The sampling was done by way of judgemental sampling and the sample size for this
was 100.
2.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS
The study requires both primary data as well as secondary data.
Primary Data
Primary data was gathered using a well-structured Questionnaire. The total sample size
for the study was 200. i.e., 100 existing customers and 100 potential customers.
14
Secondary Data
Secondary data was gathered from the company using brochures, websites and journals
of the company.
2.6 DATA CAPTURE INSTRUMENTS
Questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the various respondents.
The Questionnaire consists of 2 parts.ie one for the existing customers of Thomas Cook
and other part for non-customers of Thomas Cook.
2.7 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE
Data analysis and interpretation of results were done through suitable statistical tests
with the help of SPSS and Excel. Charts, tables and graphs was also used for
interpretations.
2.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 Time will be a major limitation, as the project requires longer period of study for
better results.
 The study includes collection of data from Bangalore branches only and thus it is
difficult to frame a conclusion.
15
Chapter III: PROFILES 
16
3.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE
3.11 overview
The Travel and Tourism industry is one of the largest growing industries in the world, in
terms of growth in economy as well as employment. It is one of the important industries
for any country in the world as it significantly contributes to a country’s growth in GDP.
The main objective of this industry is to develop and promote tourism, maintain
competitiveness of the country as tourist destination and also improve and expand
existing tourism products to ensure employment generation as well as economic growth.
Besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the country tourism is
potentially a large employment generator. Tourism provides foreign reserves to
destinations, and contributes to job creation in tourism as well as in related economic
sectors.
The Tourism and Travel Insurance is one of the fastest growing sectors across the world.
The changing lifestyles of the travelers and tourists have become an evolving concern
for present insurance companies. It has become a staggering task to find a place in the
tourists mind. This is more challenging, as there has been a new coverage of Tourism
and Travel insurance, which is found on the shelves along with the tourists. Government
is also popularizing the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, improving transportation,
providing concession in travel involvement of private sector in Tourism and Insurance
and so on. Hence, it is apt to have a study of travel insurance in order to popularize the
travelers about the significance of travel insurance and its’ various coverage
3.12 Global Travel and Tourism Industry
The travel and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries with a global
economic contribution of over 7.6 trillion U.S. dollars in 2016. The direct economic
impact of the industry, including accommodation, transportation, entertainment and
17
attractions, was approximately 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars that year. A number of countries,
such as France and the United States are consistently considered as popular tourism
destinations, but other, less well-known countries are quickly emerging in order to
capture the economic benefits of the industry.
Worldwide, the tourism industry has experienced steady growth almost every year.
International tourist arrivals increased from 528 million in 2005 to 1.19 billion in 2015.
Figures were forecasted to exceed 1.8 billion by 2030. Each year, Europe receives the
most international tourist arrivals.
The leading city in international visitor spending was Dubai, where tourists spent more
than 31.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
Cox & Kings, the first known travel agency, was founded in 1758 when Richard Cox
became official travel agent of the British Royal Armed Forces (Cox & Kings,
2014). Almost 100 years later, in June 1841, Thomas Cook opened the first leisure
travel agency, designed to help Britons improve their lives by seeing the world and
participating in the temperance movement. In 1845, he ran his first commercial
packaged tour, complete with cost-effective railway tickets and a printed guide (Thomas
Cook, 2014).
The continued popularity of rail travel and the emergence of the automobile presented
additional milestones in the development of tourism. In fact, a long journey taken by
Karl Benz’s wife in 1886 served to kick off interest in auto travel and helped to
publicize his budding car company, which would one day become Mercedes Benz
(Auer, 2006).
Fast forward to 1952 with the first commercial air flights from London, England, to
Johannesburg, South Africa, and Colombo, Sri Lanka (Flight global, 2002) and the dawn
of the jet age, which many herald as the start of the modern tourism industry. The 1950s
also saw the creation of Club Mediterranean (Gyr, 2010) and similar club holiday
destinations, the precursor of today’s all-inclusive resorts. The decade that followed is
considered to have been a significant period in tourism development, as more travel
18
companies came onto the scene, increasing competition for customers and moving
towards mass tourism, introducing new destinations and modes of holidaying.
Industry growth has been interrupted at several key points in history, including World
War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. At the start of this century, global
events thrust international travel into decline including the September 11, 2001, attack
on the World Trade Center in New York City (known as 9/11), the war in Iraq,
perceived threat of future terrorist attacks, and health scares including SARS, BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy), and West Nile virus (Government of Canada,
2006).
At the same time, the industry began a massive technological shift as increased internet
use revolutionized travel services. Through the 2000s, online travel bookings grew
exponentially, and by 2014 global leader Expedia had expanded to include brands such
as Hotels.com, the Hotwire Group, trivago, and Expedia Cruise Ship Centres,
earning revenues of over $4.7 million.
3.13 Indian Travel and Tourism Industry
The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has originated as one of the key drivers of
growth among the services sector in India. Tourism in India has significant potential
considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and
places of natural beauty spread across the country. Tourism in India contributes to 7.5
per cent of the GDP and is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country.
Tourism is also a potentially large employment generator besides being an important
source of foreign exchange for the country. The industry is expected to generate 13.45
million jobs! across sub-segments such as Restaurants (10.49 million jobs), Hotels (2.3
million jobs) and Travel Agents/Tour Operators (0.66 million). The Ministry of Tourism
plans to help the industry meet the increasing demand of skilled and trained manpower
by providing hospitality education to students as well as certifying and upgrading skills
of existing service providers. India has moved up 13 positions to 52nd rank from 65th in
Tourism & Travel competitive index.
19
India has won three prestigious awards. World’s Leading Destination - India, World's
Leading Tourist Board - Incredible India and World's Leading Tourist Attraction (Taj
Mahal) from World Travel Awards (WTA). The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals
(FTAs) in India reached the level of 6.29 million, registering a growth of 8.9% over the
FTAs of 5.78 million in 2010. The growth rate of 8.9% in tourist arrivals in India was
almost double the growth of 4.4% in tourist arrivals worldwide.
India is expected to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five-business travel
market globally by 2030, as business travel spending in the country is expected to treble
until 2030 from US$ 30 billion in 2015. International hotel chains will likely increase
their expansion and investment plans in India, and is expected to account for 50 per cent
share in the Indian hospitality industry by 2022, from the current 44 per cent.
India’s travel and tourism industry has huge growth potential. The tourism industry is
also looking forward to the expansion of E-visa scheme, which is expected to double the
tourist inflow to India. India is projected to be the fastest growing nation in the wellness
tourism sector in the next five years, clocking over 20 per cent gains annually through
2017, according to a study conducted by SRI International.
3.14 India Government Initiatives
The Indian government has taken in account the countries potential in the tourism
industry and has adopted several steps to make India a global tourism hub.
In the Union Budget 2017-18, the Government of India announced some initiatives to
give a boost to the tourism and hospitality sector such as setting up of five special
tourism zones, special pilgrimage or tourism trains and worldwide launch of Incredible
India campaign among others.
3.15 Insurance
Insurance is the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in
exchange for money. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the
20
risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. An insurer, or insurance carrier, is selling the
insurance; the insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the insurance
policy. The amount of money to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage
is called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk,
has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.
The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small
loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to
compensate (indemnity) the insured in the case of a financial (personal) loss. The
insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and
circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated.
3.16 Insurance Sector In India
The insurance industry of India consists of 55 insurance companies of which 24 are in

life insurance business and 31 are non-life insurers. Among the life insurers, Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the sole public sector company. Apart from that, among
the non-life insurers there are six public sector insurers. In addition to these, there is sole
national re-insurer, namely, General Insurance Corporation of India. Other stakeholders
in Indian Insurance market include agents (individual and corporate), brokers, surveyors
and third party administrators servicing health insurance claims.
Out of 31 non-life insurance companies, six private sector insurers are registered to
underwrite policies exclusively in health, personal accident and travel insurance
segments. They are Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd, Apollo Munich
Health Insurance Company Ltd, Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd, Religare
Health Insurance Company Ltd, Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Ltd and Aditya
Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. There are two more specialized insurers belonging
to public sector, namely, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India for Credit
Insurance and Agriculture Insurance Company Ltd for crop insurance.
India's life insurance sector is the biggest in the world with about 36 crore policies
which are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12-15 per
21
cent over the next five years. The insurance industry plans to hike penetration levels to
five per cent by 2020, and could top the US$ 1 trillion mark in the next seven years.
The total market size of India's insurance sector is projected to touch US$ 350-400
billion by 2020 from US$ 66.4 billion in FY13.
3.17 Legal Structure
The insurance sector went through a full circle of phases from being unregulated to
completely regulate and then currently being partly deregulated. It is governed by a
number of acts.
The Insurance Act of 1938[4] was the first legislation governing all forms of insurance
to provide strict state control over insurance business. Life insurance in India was
completely nationalized on 19 January 1956, through the Life Insurance Corporation
Act. All 245 insurance companies operating then in the country were merged into one
entity, the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
The General Insurance Business Act of 1972 was enacted to nationalize about 100
general insurance companies then and subsequently merging them into four companies.
All the companies were amalgamated into National Insurance, New India Assurance,
Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance, which were headquartered in each of the
four metropolitan cities. Until 1999, there were no private insurance companies in India.
The government then introduced the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
Act in 1999, thereby de-regulating the insurance sector and allowing private companies.
Furthermore, foreign investment was also allowed and capped at 26% holding in the
Indian insurance companies.
In 2006, the Actuaries Act was passed by parliament to give the profession statutory
status on par with Chartered Accountants, Notaries, Cost & Works Accountants,
Advocates, Architects and Company Secretaries minimum capital of US$80 million
(Rs.400 Crore) is required by legislation to set up an insurance business.
22
3.2 COMPANY PROFILE
Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL) is the leading travel and travel related financial services
company in the country. The company offers a spectrum of travel services including
Foreign Exchange, International and Domestic Holidays, Visa, Passport, E-business,
Travel Insurance & MICE. The company set up its first office in India in 1881.
TCIL has 158 branches located in 78 cities, 169 PSAs and 124 Gold Circle Partner
outlets to have a wider spread and network across the country. TCIL also has presence in
5 countries outside India through its branches or representative offices in USA (New
York), Spain (Barcelona & Madrid), UK (London), Japan (Tokyo) and Germany
(Frankfurt), apart from its subsidiaries in Mauritius and Sri Lanka. The Company
employs over 2,802 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well
as the National Stock Exchange. Their subsidiaries include Travel Corporation (India)
Ltd, Thomas Cook Insurance Services (India) Ltd, Thomas Cook Tours Ltd, Indian
Horizon Travel & Tours Ltd and Thomas Cook (Mauritius) Holding Company Ltd.
Thomas Cook Insurance Services (I) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thomas Cook
(I) Ltd, is a licensed corporate agent for Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd.
Thomas Cook a leading travel, foreign exchange and travel related service provider, is
the first in the travel industry to enter the Insurance segment and offer a co-branded
product. TCIL‘s Insurance services include Overseas Travel Insurance and Student
Travel Insurance. The company sells the travel insurance of ICICI Lombard.
Travel services provider Thomas Cook India Group has made the acquisition of a
significant part of Switzerland-based Kuoni's global destination management specialists.
The acquisition is seen as a part of its growth strategy with growth in Indians outbound
travel plans. Destination Management Specialists are local experts with offices in the
holiday destinations themselves. With this acquisition, Thomas Cook effectively go
from being an entirely India-focused business with a business in Hong Kong to a leading
23
Asian travel business with footprint across 22 countries i.e. From Australia, South East
Asia, China, south and Eastern Africa, middle east and North American continent.
The financials of the company on a standalone basis identified income from operations
(net) of INR 2,963.93 million compared to INR 2,620.02 million a year ago.
Loss from operations before finance costs and exceptional items was INR 137.30
million compared to INR 211.0 million a year ago. Net loss for the period was INR
164.26 million compared to INR 235.50 million a year ago.
3.21 Competitors
The major Competitors are:

 Cox and King
 FRR Forex
 Centrum
 Weizman
 Tata capital
 The Shamrao
 State Bank of India
 ICICI Bank
 Axis Bank
 Kotak Mahindra Bank
 Yes Bank
 HDFC Bank
 Pheroze framroze (1st Foreign exchange dealer in India)
 IDBI Bank
 Induslnd Bank
 The Bharat Co-operative Bank
 RBL Bank
 Corporations Bank
24
 Bank of Baroda
 Bank of India
 Canara Bank
 Karnataka Bank
3.22 Vision
 Taking Personal Responsibility for Achieving the Mission, Pursuing Excellence
in Everything We Do, Displaying Honesty and Trust in all our Relations with
Customers to deliver outstanding service to them at all times, Recognizing and
Respecting the Needs of Individuals.
3.23 Mission
 Exceptional Service from Exceptional People
3.3 PRODUCT PROFILE
3.31 Products And Services
Forex
The company is the largest Foreign Exchange money dealer in the Indian market and
deals with 26 major currencies from across the globe. Thomas Cook helps to exchange
foreign currency through its online mode also. Thomas Cook India Limited has been
offering Foreign Exchange services to Indian customers for over 100 years. The
Borderless Prepaid Card, Thomas Cook India’s flagship travel card, is a multiple-
currency card that can hold up to 8 currencies at a time; a second variant is a one-
currency card and holds US dollars.
Holidays
Thomas Cook India provides a wide range of international and domestic holiday
packages. The company essentially deals in Group Tours (GIT), Free Individual Tours
25
(FIT), and Land Only (excluding flights) and customized tour packages, including
budget holiday and honeymoon packages, as featured on the Thomas Cook India online
portal.
Visa
Thomas Cook India Limited offers visa application services both online and offline .it
includes filling of application forms, collection of documents, submission of the
application to the respective embassy, and couriering the stamped passport to the
applicant. Thomas Cook India Limited offers visa application services for almost all the
countries around the world and for different categories.
Flights
Thomas Cook India Limited offers flight searching and ticket booking services for
flights on all major domestic and international airlines. Flight data from all domestic
airlines and international airlines is integrated in real-time.
Hotels
The company also offers hotel reservation services in Indian and international cities.
Presently, it offers a range of more than 32,000 hotels in India and more than 1,50,000
hotels outside India to choose from. To provide more accommodation options, Thomas
Cook acquired the holiday lifestyle company, Sterling Holiday Resorts.
Travel Insurance
Thomas Cook India also provides travel insurance plans:
Student Travel Insurance

The Student Travel Insurance Plan is a customized insurance policy for students
travelling abroad. It covers the trip abroad as well as takes care of health related needs
during their stay abroad. To make the travel risk free, an array of Student Travel
26
Insurance plans are offered that offer protection for travel, as well as coverage for other
essential needs such as medical and hospitalization help for students.
 Coverage of Medical Expenses

 Tuition Fee
 Accident to Sponsor
 Family Visit
 Personal Accident
 24 hrs. Worldwide Emergency Assistance Service
 Emergency Medical Evacuation
 Repatriation of remains
 Lost luggage
 Personal Liability abroad
3.32 Overseas Travel Insurance
Thomas Cook's new travel insurance policy is ready to offer a hassle-free travelling
experience. The international travel insurance policy is set to be a new chapter as far as
travel insurance India is concerned. Be it business or leisure, the plan takes care of all
requirements, courtesy of its travel insurance policy and kit. At Thomas Cook, they aim
at making every customer’s travel experience special by offering a varied range of
services to suit their travel needs .With Thomas Cook, simply apply for a visa online
and travel across different destinations across the globe. Besides, they also provide
packages for India Holidays. The customers also have the privilege of buying and selling
their foreign exchange from the comfort of their homes. Thomas Cook offers travel
insurance for a hassle-free journey so that travelers can enjoy holiday in a carefree
manner. It safeguards you against potential medical emergencies, loss of baggage, flight
cancellation, etc. A trip is no longer a problem with Thomas Cook.
 Medical Expenses(Including medical evacuation and Repatriation)
 Daily allowance in case of hospitalisation
27
 Dental treatment
 Personal accident
 Loss of baggage
 Delay of checked-in baggage
 Passport Loss
 Trip cancellation and interruption
 Trip Delay
 Missed flight connection
Thomas Cook Insurance follows B2B Sales. It is based on Commission basis and the
company has insurance vendors such as are ICICI Lombard, TATA AIG, and Bajaj
Allianz General Insurance. ICICI LOMBARD GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY
LIMITED is a joint venture between ICICI Bank Limited and Fairfax Financial
Holdings Limited, Canada. It is established in 2001. It markets assurance products
including Car Insurance, Health Insurance, International Travel Insurance, Overseas
Student Travel Insurance, Two Wheeler Insurance, and Home Insurance. ICICI
Lombard has 221 branches spread across the nation. TATA AIG GENERAL
INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED is a joint venture company, formed by the Tata
Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). It started its operations in India on
22 January 2001, provides insurance to individuals and corporates. It offers a range of
general insurance products including insurance for automobile, home, personal accident,
travel, energy, marine, property and casualty as well as several specialized financial
lines.
BAJAJ ALLIANZ GENERAL INSURANCE is a private general insurance company in

India. The company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited owned by the Bajaj
Group of India and Allianz SE, a German financial services company.
28
Chapter IV: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
29
DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with
the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting
decision-making.
FREQUENCY ANALYSIS
Frequency analysis is based on the fact that, in any given stretch of written language,
certain letters and combinations of letters occur with varying frequencies. Moreover,
there is a characteristic distribution of letters that is roughly the same for almost all
samples of that language.
4.1. AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS
Table 1: Age of respondents
Frequency Percent
Below 25 19 9.5
26-35 65 32.5
36-45 52 26.0
Valid
46-55 26 13.0
Above 55 38 19.0
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
Out of the 200 respondents surveyed, 65 of them ie.32.5% of the population belong to
the age category of 26-35. 52 of them ie.26% belong to the age category of 36-45. This
data shows that majority of the respondents belong to the category of 26-35(32.5%).
30
4.2. OCCUPATION OF RESPONDENTS
Table 2: Employment Status
Frequency Percent
Govt Employee 18 9.0

Private Employee 94 47.0
Business 40 20.0
Valid Retired 24 12.0
Unemployed 22 11.0
Others 2 1.0
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
Taking 200 respondents, 92 of them ie.47% are private employees.40 of them i.e 20%
are doing business. 24 of the same category i.e.12% has retired status.22 of them are
unemployed which is of 11%.18 of them are government employees ie 9%. This data
shows that majority of the respondents are private employees.
31
4.3. EMPLOYMENT SECTOR
Table 3: Nature of Sector
Frequency Percent
IT 53 26.5
Construction 13 6.5
Real Estate 10 5.0
Automobiles 18 9.0
Financial Services 45 22.5
Valid
Consulting 13 6.5
Ecommerce 14 7.0
Retail 15 7.5
Others 19 9.5
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
The table shows that 26.5% belong to IT sector.22.5% under financial services. Thus it
is clear that the maximum respondents are under IT sector and Financial services sector.
It is because of the reason that there are frequent travelers from IT sector and financial
services sector.
32
4.4. TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME
Table 4: Total Annual Income

Frequency Percent
Less than 5 Lakhs 30 15.0
5-10 Lakhs 50 25.0

Valid 10-15 Lakhs 77 38.5
15-20Lakhs 21 10.5
Above 20 lakhs 22 11.0
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
The above table depicts that 38.5% has a total annual income of 10-15Lakhs.25% has a
total annual income of 5-10 Lakhs. This depicts that major population has an annual
income between 10-15Lakhs.
4.5. FREQUENCY OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL
Table 5:How Often You Travel
Frequency Percent
Once 78 39.0
2-4 times per year 93 46.5
4-6 times per year 23 11.5
Valid
More than 6 times per
6 3.0
year
Total 200 100.0
33
Interpretation:
This shows that 46.5% travels 2-4 times per year. 39% travels at least once in a year.
Only 3% travels more than 6times per year. Hence it is clear that there are frequent
travelers who travel 2-4 times per year.
4.6. DURATION OF STAY ABROAD
Table 6: Duration Of Stay Abroad

Frequency Percent
Less than a week 84 42.0
1-2 weeks 65 32.5
Valid
More than a month 51 25.5
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
The table shows the frequency of duration of stay abroad by the respondents. It shows
that 84 of them ie.42% stays less than a week .The duration of stay is limited to less than
a week may be because of business needs.32.5% prefer to stay 1-2 weeks.25.5% of them
prefers to stay over a month.
4.7. REASONS FOR OVERSEAS TRAVEL
Table 7 :Purpose Of Travel

Frequency Percent
Business needs 79 39.5
Leisure 64 32.0
Valid
Personal needs 57 28.5
Total 200 100.0
34
PURPOSE OF TRAVEL
28.5
39.5
Business needs
Leisure
Personal needs
32
Figure 1 Purpose Of Travel
Interpretation:
The above table clearly depicts the purpose for overseas travel.39.5% of the total
population travels for business needs.32% of the population travels for leisure needs.
Rest 28.5% of population travels for personal needs. Thus it is clear that more people
prefer travelling for business needs.
4.8. COMMON DESTINATIONS OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL
Table 8: Common Destinations Of Overseas Travel
COMMON DESTINATIONS OF TRAVEL

USA CANADA EUROPE ASIA
TOTAL 43 53 97 89
PERCENTAGE 15 19 34 32
35
COMMON DESTINATIONS OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL
USA CANADA EUROPE ASIA
15%
32%
19%
34%
Figure 2 Common Destinations Of Overseas Travel
Interpretation:
The figure represents the common destinations of overseas travel of the respondents.it
shows 97 of the respondents’ ie.34% prefer to travel to Europe. 89 of the respondents
i.e. 32% prefer to travel to Asia. This points out that the respondent’s common travel
destination were Europe and Asia.
4.9.TYPES OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL INSURANCE PLANS AVAILED SO FAR
Table 9: Overseas Travel Insurance Plan
Frequency Percent
SINGLE TRIP TRAVEL
117 58.5
INSURANCE
ANNUAL MULTI TRIP 28 14.0
GROUP TRAVEL
Valid 43 21.5
INSURANCE-MICE
STUDENT TRAVEL
12 6.0
INSURANCE
Total 200 100.0
36
Interpretation:
From the above, it is clear that more than half of the population ie 58% prefer single trip
travel insurance plan. Rest 21.5% prefer group travel insurance.14% prefers to take
annual multi trip plan and only 6% prefers student travel insurance.
4.10. FACTORS CONSIDERED WHILE CHOOSING OVERSEAS TRAVEL

INSURANCE
Table 10: Factors Considered While Choosing Overseas Travel Insurance
Strongly
Agree Neutral Disagree
Agree
NAME AND REPUTATION 136 57 7 0
USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY 79 101 14 6
COURTEOUSNESS OF
EMPLOYEES 66 109 23 2
MIN. DEDUCTIBLE 64 113 21 2
AFFORDABILITY OF PREMIUM 119 71 10 0
WIDE POLICY 59 112 29 0
RELIABILITY OF SERVICES 56 112 30 1
COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE 117 71 12 0
PROMPTNESS IN RESPONSE 80 105 12 1
CLARITY 82 105 12 1
WORD OF MOUTH 35 61 103 0
SIMPLE PROCEDURE 49 106 41 4
PROMPTNESS IN CLAIM
SETTLEMENT 135 53 10 2
PREV.INSTANCES WITH
COMPANY 76 89 30 3
37
Factors Considered While Choosing
Overseas Travel Insurance
1000
F 900
R 800
E 700
600
Q
500
U 400
E 300
N 200
C 100
Y 0
FACTORS
Interpretation:
Weighted average was used for this analysis. From the table it is clear that the most
influencing factors considered while choosing travel insurance are : Name and
reputation of company, Affordability of premium, Comprehensive coverage and
promptness in claim settlement.
4.11. INSURANCE PLANS SOLD THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 11 :Heard Of Travel Insurance By TCIL
Frequency Percent
Valid Yes 149 74.5
38
No 51 25.5
Total 200 100.0
Awareness about Travel Insurance Plans sold

through Thomas Cook
Yes No
26%
74%
Figure 3 Heard Of Travel Insurance By TCIL
Interpretation:
74 % Of the total sample have heard about the travel insurance services offered by
Thomas Cook may be from different sources of from their personal experiences. But,
26% of them have not yet heard about their travel insurance services may be due to lack
of publicity and sources of information and also plenty of competitors in the market.
4.12. AWARENESS ON TRAVEL INSURANCE PLANS SOLD THROUGH

THOMAS COOK
Table 12 Awareness On Travel Insurance Plans
AWARENESS LEVEL ON PLANS

PLAN YES NO
Silver Plus 36 64
Gold 26.5 73.5
Multi trip 23.5 76.5
Senior Citizen 16.5 83.5
Asia 19.5 80.5
39
Interpretation:
Out of the 5 plans offered by Thomas Cook, Majority of the respondents have not heard
about the plans. Even though they may have availed travel insurance, the customers are
unaware about the plans in which they have availed. The table shows that respondents
are unaware about the name of the plans.
4.13. SOURCE FROM WHERE THE RESPONDENTS GOT INFORMATION

ON TRAVEL INSURANCE SOLD THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 13: Source Of Information
Frequency Percent
ADVERTISEMENTS 48 24
FRIENDS AND
36 18
RELATIVES
Valid INTERNET 36 18
COMPANY
30 15
BROCHURES
Total 150 75
Total 200 100
Interpretation:
32% of the respondents got information on travel insurance sold through Thomas Cook
from advertisements.24 % of respondents from friends and relatives as well as
internet.20% from company brochures.
40
4.14. PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE AVAILED OVERSEAS
TRAVEL INSURANCE THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 14 : Respondents Who Availed Travel Insurance
Frequency Percent
Yes 100 50.0

Valid No 100 50.0
Total 200 100.0
Interpretation:
50% of the total sample have availed travel insurance through Thomas Cook and the rest
50% of the sample availed travel insurance from others. The study was made
accordingly in order to meet the objectives.
4.15. TYPES OF PLANS AVAILED
Table 15:Types Of Plans Availed
Frequency Percentage
SilverPlus Plan 35 17.5
Gold Plan 26 13
Multi trip Plan 13 6.5
SeniorCitizen Plan 10 5
Asia Plan 16 8
Total 100 50
Sum Total 200 100
41
Figure 4 Types Of Plans Availed
Interpretation:
Out of those who have availed travel insurance from Thomas Cook, 17.5% have availed
silver plus plan. This shows that this type of plan has more customers compared to other
plans.13% have availed gold plan.8% opt for Asia plan and 6.5% availed multi trip plan.
Only 5% have availed senior citizen plan.
42
4.16. NO. OF YEARS WITH THOMAS COOK FOR TRAVEL INSURANCE
Table 16: How Long You Been Customers

Frequency Percent
Less than 1 yr 39 19.5
3-5 yrs 23 11.5

Valid 1-3 yrs 28 14
More than 5
11 5.5
yrs
Total 101 50.5
Total 200 100
Interpretation:
19.5% of the customers have been the travel insurance customers of Thomas Cook for
less than 1 year.14% of them were the customers for 1-3 years. This shows that Thomas
Cook has permanent customers in travel insurance.
4.17. FREQUENCY OF PURCHASE OF TRAVEL INSURANCE FROM

THOMAS COOK
Table 17 How Many Times You Purchased
Frequency Percent
ONLY
35 17.5
ONCE
TWICE 38 19
Valid
2-4 TIMES 23 11.5
4-6 TIMES 4 2
Total 100 50
Total 200 100
43
Interpretation:
While analysing the frequency of purchase of travel insurance from the company, it is
being noted that 19% of the sample have purchased twice .17.5% have purchased at least
once.11.5% have purchased 2-4 times.
4.18. WILLINGNESS TO AVAIL OVERSEAS TRAVEL INSURANCE

THROUGH THOMAS COOK IN FUTURE
Table 18 Those Who Are Interested To Avail Insurance In Future
Frequency Percent
Yes 110 55.0

Valid No 90 45.0
Total 200 100.0
Figure 5: Those Who Are Interested To Avail Insurance In Future
44
Interpretation
The pie chart represents that 55% are interested i.e. more than half of the sample are
interested to avail travel insurance through Thomas Cook may be because of various
factors.
But, 45 % of them still do not prefer travel insurance through Thomas Cook due to
various factors. The reasons behind the same have been analysed in 4.30 and 4.31.
CROSS TABULATION AND CHI SQUARE TESTS

Cross tabulation is usually performed on categorical data — data that can be divided into
mutually exclusive groups. Cross tabulations are used to examine relationships within
data that may not be readily apparent. Cross tabulation is especially useful for studying
market research or survey responses. Cross tabulation of categorical data can be done
through SPSS, SAS, and Microsoft Excel.
4.19. OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND WILLINGNESS TO AVAIL INSURANCE

THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 19 How Often You Travel * Interested Cross tabulation
INTERESTED Total
Yes No
Once 33 45 78
2-4 times per year 58 35 93
HOW OFTEN YOU
4-6 times per year 15 8 23
TRAVEL
More than 6 times per
4 2 6
year
Total 110 90 200
45
Interpretation:
Out of 93 respondents who travel 2-4 times per year, 58 of them are willing to avail
insurance through Thomas Cook.35 of them are not willing to avail Insurance through
Thomas Cook. Out of 78 respondents who travel once in a year, 45 of them are not
willing to avail Insurance through Thomas Cook. This shows that more than half of the
travelers prefer to avail Travel Insurance through Thomas Cook.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 8.416a 3 .038
Likelihood Ratio 8.442 3 .038
Linear-by-Linear
6.471 1 .011
Association
N of Valid Cases 200
a. 2 cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is 2.70.
Chi-square Test:
Ho : There is no significant association between frequency of overseas travel
And willingness to avail overseas travel insurance through Thomas Cook in future
H1: There is significant association between frequencies of overseas travel
And willingness to avail overseas travel insurance through Thomas Cook in future
Interpretation:
The significant level is less than 0.05 so that null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate
hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, it can be said that there is significant association
between frequency of overseas travel and willingness to avail overseas travel insurance
through Thomas Cook in future.
46
4.20. REASONS FOR OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND WILLINGNESS TO AVAIL
INSURANCE THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 20: Purpose Of Travel * Interested Cross tabulation
INTERESTED Total
Yes No
Business needs 46 33 79
Travel Purpose Leisure 34 30 64
Personal needs 30 27 57
Total 110 90 200
Interpretation:
Out of the 79 Business travelers, 46 of them are interested to avail Insurance through
Thomas Cook. Whereas, 33 of them are not interested to avail insurance through the
same. From the 64 Leisure travelers, 34 of them are willing to avail the insurance
through Thomas Cook. But 30 of them are not interested to avail the same. From the 57
personal need travelers, 30 of them are willing to avail the insurance through Thomas
Cook. But 27of them are not interested to avail the same.
4.21. EMPLOYMENT SECTOR AND WILLINGNESS TO AVAIL INSURANCE

THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 21: Nature Of Sector * Interested Cross tabulation

INTERESTED Total
Yes No
IT 30 23 53
Construction 9 4 13
Nature of Sector
Real Estate 5 5 10
Automobiles 10 8 18
47
Financial Services 24 21 45
Consulting 6 7 13
Ecommerce 7 7 14
Retail 8 7 15
Others 11 8 19
Total 110 90 200
Interpretation:
Out of the 53 IT Sector respondents, 30 of them are interested to avail Insurance through
Thomas Cook. Out of the 45 financial services respondents, 24 of them are interested to
avail Insurance through Thomas Cook. Here, Majority of them prefer to avail insurance
through Thomas Cook.
4.22. ANNUAL INCOME AND WILLINGNESS TO AVAIL INSURANCE

THROUGH THOMAS COOK
Table 22:Total Annual Income * Interested Cross tabulation
Count
INTERESTED Total
Yes No
Less than 5 Lakhs 18 12 30
5-10 Lakhs 36 41 77
Total Annual Income
10-15 Lakhs 27 23 50
15-20Lakhs 14 7 21
Above 20 lakhs 15 7 22
Total 110 90 200
Interpretation:
Out of 30 respondents with income less than 5 lakhs, 18 of them are interested to avail
insurance through Thomas Cook. But, Out of 77 respondents with income between 5-10
48
Lakhs, 41 of them are not interested to avail insurance through Thomas Cook. This table
showed a clear interest towards purchase with Annual income.
4.23 PLANS PREFERRED
Table 24:Plans Preferred
Frequency Percent
SilverPlus Plan 34 17
Gold Plan 26 13
Multi trip Plan 17 8.5
SeniorCitizen Plan 9 4.5
Asia Plan 18 9
No idea about the
9 4.5
plans
Total 113 56.5
Sum Total 200 100
PREFERRED PLANS
18
16
P
14
E
12
R 10
C 8 17
E 6 13
N 4 8.5 9
T 2 4.5 4.5
A 0
G
E
S
PREFERRED PLANS
Figure 6 Preferred Plans
49
Interpretation:
According to the table, 34% of the sample prefers silver plus plan for their travel
insurance plan. 26% of them prefer gold plan. But 9% of them don’t have any idea about
the plans and as a result they are not able to select the preferred plans for their future.
4.24 FREQUENCY OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND PLANS PREFERRED
Table 23: Cross tabulation On Frequency of Overseas Travel and Plans Preferred
Interpretation:
Out of the 34 respondents who travel once in a year prefers Silver plus plan. Out of the
60 respondents who travels 2-4 times per year prefers silver plus plan. Out of the 15
respondents who travel 4-6 times per year prefers Gold plan.
50
4.25 REASONS FOR OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND PLANS PREFERRED
Table 24: Cross Tabulation On Overseas Travel And Plans Preferred
Interpretation:
Out of the 47 Business travelers , 16 % of them preferred Gold Plan.10% of them
preferred Silver plus plan and Multi trip plan. Out of 35 Leisure travelers, 13 of them
preferred Silver plus plan. Out of 31 Personal need travelers, 11 of them preferred silver
plus plan. This shows that despite of the needs customers prefer Silver plus plan in
common.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-
sided)
Linear-by-Linear
.452 1 .501
Association
Interpretation:
Chi-square Test:
Ho: There is no significant association between reasons for overseas travel and plans
preferred
51
H1: There is significant association between reasons for overseas travel and plans
preferred.
Interpretation:
hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, it can be said that there is a significant association
between reasons for overseas travel and plans preferred.
4.26 COMMON DESTINATIONS OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND PLANS

PREFERRED
USA * preferred plans

Table 25: Cross Tabulation On Common Destinations And Preferred Plans
Chi-Square Tests
sided)
Linear-by-Linear
.309 1 .578
Association
52
CANADA * preferred plans
Chi-Square Tests
sided)
Linear-by-Linear
3.652 1 .056
Association
EUROPE * preferred plans
53
Chi-Square Tests
sided)
Linear-by-Linear
2.608 1 .106
Association
ASIA * preferred plans
Chi-Square Tests
sided)
Linear-by-Linear
5.054 1 .025
Association
54
Interpretation:
Chi-square Test:
Ho: There is no significant association between common destinations of overseas travel
and plans preferred
H1: There is significant association between common destinations of overseas travel
and plans preferred
Interpretation :
hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, it can be said that there is a significant association
between common destinations of overseas travel and plans preferred.
4.27 EMPLOYMENT SECTOR AND PLANS PREFERRED
Table 29Cross Tabulation On Employment Sector And Plans Preferred
55
Interpretation:
Out of the total 31 IT respondents, 11 of them preferred silver plus plan. Out of the 24
Financial services respondents, 9 of them preferred silver plus plan. Out of the 9
Construction respondents, 3 of them preferred Asia Plan. Out of the 7 consulting
respondents, 4 of them preferred Asia plan. There is a high preference on Silver plus
plan.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
Linear-by-Linear
.139 1 .709
Association
a. 50 cells (92.6%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is .40.
Interpretation:
Chi-square Test:
Ho: There is no significant association between employment sector and plans preferred
H1: There is significant association between employment sector and plans preferred
Interpretation :
hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, it can be said that there is a significant relationship
between employment sector and plans preferred.
56
4.28 METHODS PREFERRED
Table 26 The Methods Preferred
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent
Percent Percent
In person 36 18 31.9 31.9
Online 74 37 65.5 97.3
Valid Telephone 2 1 1.8 99.1
Others 1 0.5 0.9 100
Total 113 56.5 100
Total 200 100
Interpretation:
37 % of the respondents prefer online method for availing travel insurance from Thomas
Cook. 18% of them prefer to avail through in person.
4.29 REASONS FOR PREFERRING TRAVEL INSURANCE FROM THOMAS

COOK
Table 30:Factor Analysis on Reasons for preferring Thomas Cook
57
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling
.707
Adequacy.
Approx. Chi-Square 493.581
Bartlett's Test of
df 91
Sphericity
Sig. .000
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test is a measure of how suited is the data for factor analysis.and it
showed .707 as it is between 0.7 and 1 it is adequate.
Bartlett’s test also showed significance .000 and thus it is adequate for factor analysis.
Rotated Component Matrixa
Component
1 2 3 4 5
NAME AND .007 .034 -.117 .840 .187
REPUTATION
USE OF MODERN .559 - .019 .339 .528

TECHNOLOGY .091
COURTEOUSNESS OF .703 - .231 .003 .107

EMPLOYEES .231
MIN.DEDUCTIBLE .578 - .457 .188 .129

.026
AFFORDABILITY OF -.060 - .824 .002 -.058
PREMIUM .167
WIDE POLICY OPTIONS .182 .428 .668 -.142 -.069
RELIABILITY OF .313 .484 .544 -.009 .103
SERVICES
COMPREHENSIVE .175 .010 .249 .579 -.473
COVERAGE
PROMPTNESS IN .774 .430 .060 -.011 -.159
RESPONSE
CLARITY .751 .291 -.153 .002 -.031
58
WORD OF MOUTH .531 .392 .182 -.422 .314
SIMPLE PROCEDURE .046 .244 .002 .037 .815
PROMPTNESS IN CLAIM .115 .849 -.035 -.060 .095

SETTLEMENT
PREV.INSTANCES WITH -.003 .786 .056 .073 .122

COMPANY
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 8 iterations.
Table 31 Components of Factor Analysis
Procedural
Employee Attractiveness of Attractiveness of Simplicity
approach Service related Plan provider
USE OF PROMPTNESS AFFORDABILI NAME AND SIMPLE
MODERN IN CLAIM TY OF REPUTATION PROCEDU
TECHNOLOGY SETTLEMENT PREMIUM RE
COURTEOUSNE PREV.INSTANC WIDE POLICY COMPREHENSI

SS OF ES WITH VE COVERAGE
EMPLOYEES COMPANY
MIN.DEDUCTIB RELIABILITY
LE APPLICABLE OF SERVICES
PROMPTNESS
IN RESPONSE
TO QUERIES
CLARITY IN
EXPLANATION
BY SALES
PERSONNEL
WORD OF
MOUTH
59
Interpretations:
There are many combinations of variables (according to questionnaire) that affect the
reasons for factors considered for reasons for preferring travel insurance from Thomas
Cook.
According to the table given above, there are five factors which playing a significant
role in factors considered for preferring travel insurance. They are obtained by extraction
method of Principle Component Analysis along with rotation method of Varimax with
Kaiser Normalization. Each component or factor with combination of variables is shown
below.
Factor 1 is a combination of variables like Courteousness of employees, Minimum
deductible, Promptness in response, clarity in explanation, Word of mouth. This
suggests that factor 1 is a combination of six variables. Factor 1 can be named as
Employee approach.
Factor 2 is a combination of variables like promptness in claim settlement and previous

instances with company. This suggests that factor 2 is a combination of two variables.
Factor 1 can be named as Service related Factors.
Factor 3 is a combination of variables like affordability of premium, wide policy

options, reliability of services. This suggests that factor 3 is a combination of three
variables. Factor 3 can be named as Attractiveness of Plans.
Factor 4 is a combination of variables like name and reputation and comprehensive

coverage. This suggests that factor 4 is a combination of two variables. Factor 4 can be
named as Attractiveness of provider.
Factor 5 includes only one variable i.e. Simple procedure. Factor 4 can be named as
Procedural Simplicity.
60
4.30 REASONS FOR NOT PREFERRING THE TRAVEL INSURANCE FROM
THOMAS COOK
Table 27: Frequency Analysis On Reasons For Not Preferring Thomas Cook Travel
Insurance
Strongly Strongly
Factors Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree
Addit.Coverages by
competitors 13 34 23 17 0
Delay In Claim settlement 52 14 14 7 0

Lack of comprehensive
coverage 8 34 28 15 2
Behavior of Employers
unsatisfactory 13 26 27 18 3
More other options 38 25 14 10 0
Premium rate high 7 33 27 20 0
Not much preferred by friends 26 28 18 13 2
WEIGHTED
FACTORS
AVERAGE
Average/Total
Addit.Coverages by competitors 304 3.38
Delay In Claim settlement 372 4.13
Lack of comprehensive coverage 290

3.22
Behavior of Employers unsatisfactory 286

3.18
More other options 352 3.91
Premium rate high 288 3.20
Not much preferred by friends 322 3.58
61
REASONS FOR NOT PREFERRING FROM
THOMAS COOK
4.50 4.13
3.91
4.00 3.58
3.38 3.22
F 3.50 3.18 3.20
R 3.00
E 2.50
Q 2.00
U 1.50
E 1.00
N 0.50
C 0.00
Y
FACTORS
Figure 7 Reasons For Not Preferring Thomas Cook
Interpretation:
Here weighted average is used in analysis. From the above it is clear that the most
important reasons stated by the respondents for not preferring Thomas Cook are Delay
in claim settlement and More other options. 26% of the respondents strongly agree with
the opinion that there exists a delay in claim settlement.19% of the respondents believe
that there are more other options.
62
Chapter V: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
63
5.1 FINDINGS
1. Factors influencing the purchase of Travel Insurance
 Out of the various factors influencing the purchase decision of travel insurance,
the most relevant factors are Name and Reputation, Affordability of premium,
Comprehensive coverage and Promptness in claim settlement.
 Use of modern technology ,Minimum deductible applicable, Wide policy
options, Reliability of services, Promptness in Response, Clarity are the factors
of less importance.
 Word of mouth, Simplicity in procedures, Previous instances of good experience
with the company are the least important factors that are considered for taking
travel insurance sold through Thomas Cook.
 Based on the factor analysis considered for reasons for preferring travel
insurance sold through Thomas Cook, 5 components have been identified.
 Affordability of premium, Comprehensive coverage and Wide policy options are
the reasons why the customers prefer the travel insurance through Thomas Cook.
 More than half of the samples are interested to purchase travel insurance sold
through Thomas Cook because of the above factors.
 Based on the Frequency analysis considered for reasons for not preferring Travel
insurance sold through Thomas Cook, the following factors are noticed.
 Delay in claim settlement and more other options have been the main reasons for
why the customers are reluctant to purchase from the company.
2. Awareness level of respondents with regard to the travel insurance plans offered
by Thomas Cook
 Of the various travel insurance plans the most preferred plan is Single trip Travel
Insurance.
 The respondents in the study showed a less preference to annual Multi trip plan
compared to single trip plan. It may be because they cannot predict their travel
and they believe that annual multi trip plan is not required.
64
 74 % of the samples have heard about the travel insurance plans offered by
Thomas Cook from different sources especially from advertisements.
 26% of the sample have not heard about the travel insurance plans.
 Majority of respondents are unaware about the plans offered by the company.
This is because the customers are not getting proper information about the plans
they have availed from the employees or other sources of information.
 The major source of information is from advertisements as well as internet. The
company website focuses on travel insurance and its features and that is highly
beneficial for the customers.
 A small proportion i.e.5.5% of sample studied have been the travel insurance
customers from past 5 yrs and this is a small in number.
 Among the sample only 2% of the sample have purchased travel insurance more
than 4 times.
3. The various travel insurance plans offered by Thomas Cook

 Student travel Insurance is least preferred in the sample studied. It may be
because they have less awareness on the travel insurance sold through Thomas
Cook. Thus, it will be highly beneficial if more awareness is given to the same
and various offers and benefits exclusively for student travelers are given.
 Silver Plus Plan is the most preferred Benefit availed by the Travel Insurance
customers.
 Senior citizen plan is least preferred compared to others. The reason may be this
plan is for the age group between 71 to 80 years and they are short in number as
well as they are not frequent travelers.
 The preferred plans that will be availed in future by the customers are silver plus
plan followed by gold plan and Asia plan due to their unique benefits.
 Based on cross tabulation and Chi square tests, there is a significant relationship
between reasons for overseas travel and the plans preferred.
between common destinations of overseas travel and plans preferred.
65
between employment sector and plans preferred.
4. Category of customers interested in the travel insurance plans offered by

Thomas Cook
 Based on Frequency analysis, the age category of 26-35 is more interested in

travelling and thus they are the prospective customers.
 Private employees especially engaged in IT, Businesses and Financial services
are considered to be availing travel insurance from the company.
 According to the study the total annual income of this group falls from 5-10
lakhs.
 The category travels 2-4 times per year. This may be due to business purposes.
 The expected stay is less than a week as they travel for the purpose of business
needs.
 The common destinations of travels are Europe and Asia.
66
5.2 CONCLUSIONS
 Respondents are more concerned about the company’s Name and Reputation,
Affordability of premium, Comprehensive coverage and Promptness in claim
settlement while selecting the travel insurance.
 Even though there are many options for travel insurance, customers prefer this
due to the name and reputation of the company, affordability of premium and
comprehensive coverage.
 Delay in claim settlement may be because of poor follow ups by the customers.
 Even though there are many travel insurance plans, customers prefer single trip
travel insurance plan because as the frequent travelers are business men and this
type of insurance is typically custom made for an occasional traveller. It is best
suited for businessmen or individuals who travel overseas on occasions.
 Silver plus plan is the most preferred plan due to its benefits offered by overseas
travel insurers.
 It can be seen that Common destinations of overseas travel, Employment sector
and annual income play an important role in selecting the plans preferred.
67
Chapter VI: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
68
6.1 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
 Since delay in claim settlement is considered to be a major reason for non
preference of travel insurance, more focus should be given to settle the claim
within short period of time.
 Awareness about various plans should be given in the form of giving brochures
will give them proper awareness about the plans. Proper information and details
should be given directly to the customers so that there is no room for doubts in
the minds of people. Efficiency of staff is also a major factor in generating
awareness.
 Since Travel Insurance is compulsory in many countries, the relevance is very
important and as a result it is important to include many plans and benefits and
coverage to meet the needs of the people. Setting additional and new varieties of
plans can make the customers to get attracted towards the company.
 As analysed, the student travel insurance is minimum compared to single trip
travel insurance, the company should take necessary steps to attract the students
with coverage that can help them in their travel.
 In addition to that, it is necessary to identify the reasons of the reduction in
number of student travel insurance and thus the company should take necessary
steps to increase the reach of student travel insurance.
 Annual Multi trip plan is less preferred by the respondents thus the company
should take necessary steps to promote the plan by giving various benefits and
discounts to the same.
 A marketing awareness campaign can be given to those who are not aware of the
services of Thomas Cook.
 Customer retention is less for the travel insurance services of the company and
that can be gained through providing loyalty programmes to the customers.
69
 The customer service quality can be focused on by using follow ups as well as
promotional offers to clients after each travel.
 Even though the company is not a travel insurance company, the company has
wide opportunities in this field due to travels offered by the same. As a result
applying these steps could definitely improve the contribution.
70
BIBLIOGRAPHY
71
Bibliography
(n.d.). Retrieved from Understand Insurance: http://understandinsurance.com.au/types-
of-insurance/travel-insurance
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/shabazkhan12/dadapeer-sip-report-

thomas-cook-main-final-report
(2003). Retrieved from http://www.thomascook.in/tcportal/Insbook/student
(2013). Retrieved from Thomas Cook Official Website:

http://www.thomascook.in/tcportal/travel-insurance/travel-insurance-plan-for-asia
(2017). Retrieved from https://www.travelinsurance.com/category/articles/
(2015). Awareness of travel insurance high, usage low: ICICI Lombard study Read
more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50012616.cms?utm_source=contentofi
nterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst. Economic times.
Edwin Thomson, J. (2016). A managerial economic study of travel insurance with

special reference to private sector insurance companies in India.
Hristovska, M., & Mirceska, I. (2010). TRAVEL INSURANCE AS A SIGNIFICANT

ELEMENT OF SUPPORTING TOURIST TRAVELLING.
Nandagopal, R. (2011). Customer Awareness With Respect To ICICI Prudential Life

Insurance Study with reference to Vellore.
PolicyBazaar. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.policybazaar.com/travel-insurance/
policybazaar. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.policybazaar.com/travel-

insurance/annual-multi-trip/articles/travel-with-multi-trip-travel-insurance/
72
S.M.YAMUNA, D. (2015). A STUDY ON CUSTOMER AWARENESS AND
PREFERENCE TOWARDS INSURANCE IN COIMBATORE CITY. 3 (2).
Thomas Cook group. (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.thomascookgroup.com/history/history-1841-1855/
(2017). Tourism & Hospitality Industry in India.
(2017). Understanding the Financial Risks of Traveling Without Emergency Medical

Coverage.
Piontek & Stephen (1995).Awareness on insurance industry.
Peter A.Leggat,judith Carne and Ureporn Kedajarune(1999).Travel Insurance and health
Peter A.Leggat,F.W.Leggat and U.Kedjarune(2001).Travel insurance claims made by

travelers from Australia for dental conditions.
Peter A.Leggat,and Frances W.Leggat(2002). Travel insurance claims made by travelers

from Australia
Rea A.Somer Kniestedt and Robert Steffen (2003).Travel health risks and claims.
Woehr & Maria (2006).Insurance Industry importance.
Nylund & Lisa Nido(2007).Awareness on Insurance Industry
Servaas & Plessis(2008).Public awareness on Insurance.
Wyne(2009).Relationship between insurance company and customer
73
Stephen(2009).Customers purchase Insurance.
Jacobs,Debrorah L(2013).Usefulness of having travel Insurance.
Nadine Gatzert and Alexander Maegebier(2015).Challenges and Opportunities for

insureres.
74
APPENDICES
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Age
2. Gender
(a) Male (b) Female
3. Marital Status
(a) Married (b) Single
(c)Divorced (d) widow/widower
4. Employment Status
(a) Govt. Employee (b) Private Employee (c) Business
(d) Retired (e) Unemployed
(f) Others, Please Specify …………………………………………………………
5. Nature of sector in which you are employed or doing business?
(a) IT (b) Construction (c) Real Estate

(d) Automobiles (e) Financial Services f) Consulting
(g) E-Commerce (h) Retail
(i) Others, Please Specify …………………………………………………………..
6. Total Annual Income of your family from all sources

(a) Less than 5 lakhs (b) 5-10 lakhs (c) 10-15 lakhs
(d) 15-20 lakhs (e) Above 20 lakhs
7.How often do you travel abroad ?
75
(a) Once (b) 2-4 times per yr (c) 4-6 times per yr
(d) more than 6 times per yr
8.Duration of stay abroad ?

(a) Less than a week (b) 1-2 weeks (c) more than a month
9.For what purposes do you usually travel abroad?

(a) Business needs (b) Leisure (c) Personal needs
(d) Others, please specify ………………………………………
10.Common destinations of your travel?

(a) USA (b) Canada (c) Europe (d) Asia
11. Which of the following overseas travel insurance plans have been availed by you?
(a) Single Trip Travel Insurance

(b) Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance for frequent travelers
(c) Group Travel Insurance: Mice
(d) Student Travel Insurance
12. Please indicate the factors you consider while choosing travel insurance from
1- Strongly agree, 2- Agree, 3-Neutral, 4-Disagree, 5- Strongly disagree .
FACTORS SA A I DA SD
Name and Reputation of the
insurance company
Use of modern technology by
insurance company
Courteousness of employees
Minimum deductible applicable
76
Affordability of premium
Wide policy options
Reliability of services offered
Comprehensive coverage
Promptness in responding to
queries
Clarity in explanation of the
terms by the sales personnel
Word of mouth
Simplicity in procedures
Promptness in claim settlement
Previous instances of good
experience with the company
13. Have you heard of the overseas travel insurance plans sold through Thomas Cook?
Yes No
If No, Please Proceed 19

14. Please name the source from where you got the information on Travel insurance
from Thomas Cook?
(a) Advertisements (b) Friends and Relatives

(c) Internet (d) Company Brochures
(e) Others, Please Specify …………………………………………………..
15. Have you heard of the below mentioned plans offered by Thomas Cook?
(a)Silver Plus Plan Yes / No
(b)Gold Plan Yes / No
(c)Multi-trip Plan Yes / No
(d)Senior Citizen Plan Yes / No
77
(e)Asia Plan Yes / No
16. Have you ever availed travel insurance sold through Thomas Cook India Ltd.?
(a)Yes (b) No
If No, Please Proceed to Q.No.15
If Yes, Which of the following plans have you availed from Thomas Cook?
(a)Silver Plus Plan Yes / No

(b)Gold Plan Yes / No
(c)Multi-trip Plan Yes / No
(d)Senior Citizen Plan Yes / No
(e)Asia Plan Yes / No
17. How long have you been the Travel Insurance customers of Thomas Cook?
(a) Less than 1 yr. (b) 3-5 yrs.
(c) 1yrs-3yrs (d) More than 5 yrs.
18. How many times have you purchased travel insurance from Thomas Cook?
(a) Only Once (b) Twice
(c) 2-4 times (d) 4-6 times
(e) More than 6 times
19. Are you interested in purchasing Travel Insurance from Thomas Cook for all your
future needs in Travel Insurance?
(a)Yes (b) No
If No, Please Proceed to Q.No.23
20. Which of the following plans do you prefer from Thomas Cook?
(a) Silver plus Plan
(b) Gold Plan
(c) Multi-trip Plan
(d) Senior Citizen Plan
(e) Asia Plan
78
(f) No idea about the plans
21. Which method do you prefer while availing travel insurance?

(a)In Person (b) Online
(c)Telephone
If Others, Please Specify…………………………………
22. Please indicate the reasons for Preferring the Travel Insurance from Thomas Cook
.Please rate it on a scale of 1 to 5. Note: - SA – Strongly Agree, A – Agree, I –
Indifferent, D – Disagree, SD –Strongly Disagree
Name and Reputation of the
insurance company
Use of modern technology by
insurance company
Courteousness of employees
Minimum deductible applicable
Affordability of premium
Wide policy options
Reliability of services offered
Comprehensive coverage
Promptness in responding to
queries
Clarity in explanation of the
terms by the sales personnel
Word of mouth
Simplicity in procedures
Promptness in claim settlement
Previous instances of good
experience with the company
79
23. Please indicate the reasons for Not Preferring the Travel Insurance from Thomas Cook.
Please rate it on a scale of 1 to 5. Note: - SA – Strongly Agree, A – Agree, I – Indifferent, D –
Disagree, SD –Strongly Disagree.
Additional Coverages by competitors
Delay in claim settlement
Lack of comprehensive coverage
Behavior of Employers was not
satisfactory
More other options
Premium rates are High
Not much preferred by friends/
relatives
24. Do you have any suggestions to make the Travel Insurance plans of Thomas Cook
more popular among travelers?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
80

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A Report of

“Customer Awareness And Acceptance Levels With Respect

THOMAS COOK INDIA LIMITED

in partial fulfilment of the

SCMS COCHIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

SCMS CAMPUS, PRATHAP NAGAR, MUTTOM, ALUVA, COCHIN-683106.

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this project report entitled

I understand that detection of any copying is liable to be punished in any

Date: Treesa George

This is to certify that the project work entitled “Customer

Date: MRS. JOBY JOY

This is to certify that the project work entitled “Customer

Date: Dr. Filomina P. George

I would like to express my gratefulness to our Director, Dr. Filomina P. George

I am very grateful to my faculty guide, Mrs. Joby Joy. (Assistant Professor)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... xiii

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE

Chapter II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 12

Chapter III: PROFILES ................................................................................................ 16

frequency analysis ............................................................................................................. 30

4.1. Age of the respondents............................................................................................... 30

4.2. Occupation of respondents ......................................................................................... 31

4.3. Employment sector .................................................................................................... 32

4.4. Total annual income ................................................................................................... 32

4.5. Frequency of overseas travel ..................................................................................... 33

4.6. Duration of stay abroad .............................................................................................. 34

4.7. Reasons for overseas travel ........................................................................................ 34

4.8. Common destinations of overseas travel ................................................................... 35

4.9.types of overseas travel insurance plans availed so far............................................... 36

4.10. Factors considered while choosing overseas travel insurance ................................. 37

4.11. Insurance plans sold through Thomas Cook ............................................................ 38

through Thomas Cook....................................................................................................... 40

Thomas Cook .................................................................................................................... 41

4.15. Types of plans availed ............................................................................................. 41

4.17. Frequency of purchase of travel insurance from Thomas Cook ............................ 43

4.23 plans preferred .......................................................................................................... 49

4.24 frequency of overseas travel and plans preferred .................................................... 50

4.25 reasons for overseas travel and plans preferred ........................................................ 51

4.26 common destinations of overseas travel and plans preferred .................................. 52

4.27 employment sector and plans preferred .................................................................... 55

4.28 methods preferred ..................................................................................................... 57

Chapter V: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS........................................................... 63

Chapter VI: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 68

Figure 1 Purpose Of Travel............................................................................................... 35

Motives to travel include pleasure, relaxation, discovery and exploration, getting to

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

India is a developing country. IT sector is increasing, Tourism and Hospitality is

Travel Insurance is an insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, trip

DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT INSURANCE TERMS

7. Emergency Medical Evacuation

Emergency Medical Evacuation provides medically necessary transportation to the

TYPES OF TRAVEL INSURANCE

2. Annual Multi Trip

3. Worldwide Travel Insurance

4. Group Travel Insurance

5. Senior Citizen Travel Insurance

SIGNIFICANCE OF TRAVEL INSURANCE

Some of the anticipated risks in travel are:

1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 TOPIC OF THE STUDY

2.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

 To identify the factors influencing the purchase of Travel Insurance