TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No. 1 2 3 4 5

Contents Introduction Research Design Company Overview Research Methodology Data Analysis and Interpretation

Page No 1-4 5-16 17-41 42-44 45-62

6 7 8 9 10

Findings Recommendations Conclusion Questionnaire Bibliography

63-64 65 66 67-69 70

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION :
HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited is one of the Indias first private life insurance company to be registered with IRDA, which offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited), Indias leading housing finance institution and a Group Company of the Life Plc, UK. As on February 28, 2009 sHDFC Ltd. Holds 72.43% and Life (Mauritius Holding) 2006, Ltd. Holds 26.00% of equity in the joint venture, while the rest is held by others. HDFC Life believes that establishing a strong and ethical foundation is an essential prerequisite for long term sustainable growth. To ensue this, the company have concentrated their focus on expansion of branch network, organizing an efficient and well sales force, and setting up appropriate systems and processes with optimum use of technology.

VISIONS:
The most successful and admired life insurance company , which means that we are the most trusted company , the easiest to deal with , offer the best value for money and set s in the industries.

VALUES:
Integrity Innovation Customer centric People Care Team work Joy and Simplicity.

COMPETITORS COMPANYS :
ICICI PRUDENTIAL Life Insurance. Birla Sunlife Insurance.
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 Bajaj Alliance Life Insurance. ING Vysya Life Insurance . Reliance Life Insurance. Met Life. Max Newyork Life Insurance. LIC Corporation of India.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES :

To find out the consumer behavior towards HDFC life. To find out the level of satisfaction towards HDFCSL. To compare HDFCSL with its main competitors. To find out the factors that influences the buying of HDFCSL products. To find out the strength and weakness of HDFCSL. To find out the requirements and problems of the customer. To suggest the company for better improvements & changes.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

Research Type Research Techniques

: Descriptive Research : Survey : Bangalore City : 22 Respondents : Non-Probability Sampling : Questionnaire

Population Sample Size Sample Criteria

Research Tool

SOURCES OF DATA :
1. Primary Sources Of Data : Personal interview, questionnaires, observations and experiments. 2. Secondary Sources Of Data : websites , books , newspapers, magazines etc

Duration of the study:

The project work was complete with in 6 weeks.

FINDINGS
32% of the respondents came to know about HDFC Life from

advertisements, friends are also very important source for the consumers. Family members are the most important factors in decision making for buying the products. 54% of the respondent think that the process of HDFCSL is easy. 68% of the respondents have insurance policy in other insurance company. Consumers have different opinions about HDFCSL customer service. Endowment plan is the most preferable plan for the consumers and childrens plan comes the second place. 72% of the respondents are satisfied about their expectations of the product. 45% of the respondents invest their money for future needs and tax benefits are the second reason why they invest. 54% of the respondent are happy about premium rate they are paying. 95% of the respondents said that the advertisement of HDFCSL is effective compared to other companies. According to respondents, LIC is best insurance company in India. HDFCSL is easy to approach that is the reason why there are many students who done their project in this company Competition among insurance company is higher than we think. RECOMMENDATIONS Family members can influence much consumers decision making, therefore, financial advisor should know the importance of family members. The company must find out the root causes and address dissatisfied consumers properly. The company should also contact those who already have insurance policy in HDFCSL or in other companies. The company should continue to give training and project guidance to the students.

 The company should have financial advisors as many as possible, because they are the one who can reach customers directly. The company should concentrate more on TV ads, radio and outdoor advertisements. CONCLUSIONS Life insurance is not only the best possible way for family protection. There is no other way. It is the only way to safeguard the unpredictable risks of the only way to safeguard the unpredictable risks of the future. It is not surpassed by any other savings or investments instrument, in terms of security, marketability, stability of value or liquidity and it perpetuates life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Life insurance in India has huge potential for growth. Statistics reveal that only 25% of the insurable population in India is insured. And those insurance are in need of still higher insurance cover. There fore, insurance company will still be a good career for those who really want to success. The value for the policyholder is derived, not from an actual claim event, rather it is the value derived from the peace of mind experienced by the policyholder, due to the negating of adverse financial consequences caused by the death of the Life Assured. To be a life policy the insured event must be based upon the lives of the people named in the policy. Insured events that may be covered include: Serious illness period in the 1840s; they added that their trustees voted to end the sale of such policies 15 years before the Emancipation Proclamation.

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN

Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the the insurer, where the insurer agree to pay a sum of money upon the occurance of the insured individuals death or other event, such as terminal illness or critical illness. In return, the policy owner agree to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals or in lump sums. There may be designs in some countries where bills & death expenses plus catering for afte funeral expenses should be included in Policy Premium. In the Unites States, the predominant form simply specifies a lump sum to be paid on the insureds demise. As with most insurance policies, life insurance is a contract between the insurer and the policy owner whereby a benefit is paid to the designated beneficiaries if an insured event occurs which is covered by the policy. Life policies are legal contracts and the terms of the contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Specific exclusions are often written into the contract to limit the liability of the insurer; for example claims relating to suicide, fraud, war, riot and civil commotion. Life- based contracts tend to fall into two major categories: Protection policies designed to provide a benefit in the event of specified event, typically a lump sum payment. A common form of this design is term insurance.

Investment policies where the main objective is to facilitate the growth of capital by regular or single premiums. Common forms ( in the US anyway) are whole life, universal life & variable life policies.

HISTORY OF INSURANCE
Insurance began as a way of reducing the risk of traders, as early as 5000 BC in China and 4500 BC in Babylon. Life insurance dates only to ancient Rome; burial clubs covered the cost of members funeral expenses and helped survivors monetarily. Modern life insurance started in late 17th century England, originally as insurance for traders: merchants, ship owners and underwriters met to discuss deals at Lloyds Coffee House, predecessor to the famous Lloyds of London. The first insurance company in the United States was formed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1732, but it provided only fire insurance. The sale of life insurance in the U.S began in the late 1760s.The Presbyterian Synods in Philadelphia and New York created the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers in 1759; Episcopalian priests organized a similar fund in 1769. Between 1787 and 1837 more than two dozen life insurance companies were started, but fewer than half a dozen survived. Prior to the American Civil War, many insurance companies in the United States insured the lives of slaves for their owners. In response to bills passed in California in 2001 and in Illinois in 2003, the companies have been required to search their records for such policies. New York Life for example reported that Nautilus sold 485 slaveholder life insurance policies during a two year

OVERVIEW
Parties to contract There is a difference between the insured and the policy owner (policy holder), although the owner and the insured are often the same person. For example, if Jeo buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Jane, his wife, buys a policy on Jeos life, she is the owner and he is the insured. The policy owner is the guarantee and he or she will be the person who will pay for the policy. The insured is a participant in the contract, but the necessarily a party to it.
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The beneficiary receives policy proceeds upon the insureds death. The owner designates the beneficiary, but the beneficiary is not a party to the policy. The owner can change the beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation. With an irrecoverable beneficiary, that beneficiary must agree to any beneficiary changes, policy assignments, or cash value borrowing. In cases where the policy owner is not the insured (also referred to as the celui qui vit or CQV), insurance companies have sought to limit policy purchases to those with an insurable interest in the CQV. For life insurance policies, close family members and business partners will usually be found to have an insurable interest. The insurable interest requirement usually demonstrates that the purchaser will actually suffer some kind of loss if the CQV dies. Such a requirement prevents people from benefisting from the purchase of purely speculative policies on people they expect to die. With no insurable interest requirement, the risk that a purchaser would murder the CQV for insurance proceeds would be great. In at least one case, an insurance company which sold a policy to a purchaser with no insurable interest (who later murdered the CQV for the proceeds), was found liable in court for contributing to the wrongful death of the victim (Liberty National Life v. Weldon, 267 Ala. 171(1957)). Contract terms Special provisions may apply, such as suicide clauses wherein the policy becomes null if the insured commits suicide within a specified time (usually two years after the purchase date; some sates provide a statutory one-year suicide clause). Any misrepresentations by the insured on the application are also grounds for nullification. Most US states specify that the contestability period cannot be longer than two years; only if the insured dies within this period will the insurer have a legal right to contest the claim on the basis of misrepresentation and request additional information before deciding to pay or deny the claim. The face amount on the policy is the initial amount that the policy will pay at the death of the insured or when the policy matures, although the actual death benefit can
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provide for greater or lesser than the face amount. The policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age (such as 100 years old). Costs, insurability, and underwriting The insurer ( the life insurance company) calculates the policy prices with intent to fund claims to be paid and administrative costs and to make a profit. The cost of insurance is determined using mortality tables calculated by actuaries. Actuaries are professionals who employ actuarial science, which is based in mathematics (primarily probability and statistics). Few expected claims. ( 0.35 to 0.66 expected deaths in each year x$100,000 payout per death = $35 per policy). Administrative and sales commissions need to be accounted for in order for this to make business sense. A 10 years policy for a 25 year old non-smoking male person with preferred medical history may get offers as low as $90 per year for a $100,000 policy in the competitive US life insurance market. The insurance company receives the premiums from the policy owner and invests them to crate a pool of money from which it can pay claims and fianc the insurance companys operations. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the money that insurance companies make comes directly from premiums paid, as money gained through investment of premiums can never, in even the most ideal marketing conditions, vest enough money per year to pay out claims. Rates charges for life insurance increase with the insurers age because, statistically, people are more likely to die as they get older. Given that adverse selection can have a negative impact on the insurers financial situation, the insurer investigates each proposed insured individual unless the policy is below a company established minimum amount, beginning with the application process. Group Insurance policies are an exception.

This investigation and resulting evaluation of the risk is termed underwriting. Health and lifestyle questions are asked. Certain responses or information received may merit further investigation. Life insurance companies in the Unites States support the
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Medical Information Bureau (MIB), which is a clearinghouse of information on persons who have applied for life insurance with participation companies in the last seven years. As part of the application, the insurer receives permission to obtain information from the proposed insureds physicians. Underwriters will determine the purpose of insurance. The most common is to protect the owners family or financial interests in the event of the insurers demise. Other purposes include estate planning or, in the case of cash- value contracts, investment for retirement planning. Bank loans or buy-sell provision of business agreements are another acceptable purpose. Life Insurance companies are never required by law to underwrite or to provide coverage to anyone, with the exception of Civil Rights Act compliance requirements. Insurance companies alone determine insurability, and some people, for their own health or lifestyle reasons, are deemed uninsurable. The policy can be declined (turned down) or rates. Rating increases the premiums to provide for additional risks relative to the particular insured. Many companies use four general health categories for those evaluated for a life insurance policy. These categories are Preferred Best, Preferred, , and Tabacco. Preferred Best is reserved only for the healthiest individuals in the general population. This means, for instance, that the proposed insured has no adverse medical history, is not under medication for any condition, and his family (immediate and extended) have no history of early cancer, diabetes, or other conditions. Preferred mean that the proposed insured is currently under medication for a medical condition and have a family history of particular illness. Most people are in the category. Profession, travel, and lifestyle factor into whether the proposed insured will be granted a policy and which category the insured falls. For example, a person who would otherwise be classified as Preferred Best may be denied a policy if he or she travels to a high risk country. Underwriting practices can vary from insurer to insurer which provide for more competitive offers in certain circumstances. Life insurance contracts are written on the basis of utmost good faith. That is, the propose and the insurer both accept that the other is acting in good faith. This
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means that the proposer can assume the contract offers what it represents without having to submit.

TEMPORARY TERM
Term assurance: provided for life insurance coverage for a specified term of years for a specified premium. The policy does not accumulate cash value. Term is generally considered dost not accumulate cash value. Term is generally considered pure insurance, where the premium busy protection in the event of death & nothing else. The three key factors to be considered in term insurance are: face amount (protection or death benefit), premium to be paid (cost to the insured), and length of coverage (term). Various insurance companies sell term insurance with many different combinations of these three parameters. The face amount can remain constant or decline. The term can be for one or more years. The premium can remain level or increase. A common type of term is called annual renewable term. It is a one year policy but the insurance company guarantees it will issue a policy of equal or lesser amount without regard to the insurability of the insured and with a premium set for the insureds age at that time. Another common type of term insurance is mortgage insurance, which is usually a level premium, declining face value policy. The face amount is intended to equal the amount of the mortgage on the policy owners residence so the mortgage will be paid if the insured dies.

A policy holder insures his life for a specified term. If he dies before that specified term is up, his estate or named beneficiary receives a payout. If he does not die before the term is up, he receives nothing. In the past these policies would almost always exclude suicide. However, after a number of court judgments against the industry, payout do occur on death by suicide (presumably except for in the unlikely case that it can be shown that the suicide was just to benefit from the policy). Generally, if an
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insured person commits suicide within the first tow policy years, the insurer will return the premiums paid. However, a death benefit will usually be paid if the suicide occurs after the two year period.

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance is life insurance that remains in force (in-line) until the policy matures (pays out), unless the owner fails to pay the premium when due (the policy expires OR policies lapse). The policy cannot be canceled by the insurer for any reason except fraud in the application, and that cancellation must occur within a period of time defined by law (usually tow years). Permanent insurance builds a cash value that reduces the amount at risk to the insurance company and thus the insurance expense over time. This means that a policy with a million dollar face value can be relatively expensive to a 70 year old. The owner can access the money in the cash value by withdrawing money, borrowing the cash value, or surrendering the policy and receiving the surrender value. The four basic types of permanent insurance are whole life, universal life, limited pay & endowment.

Whole life coverage

Whole life insurance provides for a level premium, and a cash value table included in the policy guaranteed by the company. The primary advantages of whole life are guaranteed death benefits; guaranteed cash values, fixed and known annual premiums, and mortality and expense charges will not reduce the cash value shown in the policy. The primary disadvantages of whole life are premium inflexibility, and the internal rate of return in the policy ma not be competitive with other savings alternatives. Riders are available that can allow one to increase the death benefit by paying additional premium. The death benefit can also be increased through the use of policy dividends. Dividends cannot be guaranteed and may be higher or lower than historical rates over time. Premiums are much higher than term insurance in the short-term, but cumulative
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Joint life: insurance is either a term or permanent policy insuring tow or more lives with the proceeds payable on the first death or second death. Survivorship life: is a whole life policy insuring tow lives with the proceeds payable on the second (later) death. Single premium whole life: is a policy with only one premium which is payable at the time for policy is issued. Modified whole life: is a whole life policy that charges smaller premiums for a specified period of time after which the premiums increase for the remainder of the policy. Group life insurance: is term insurance covering a group of people, usually employees of a company or members of a union or association. Individual proof of insurability is not normally a consideration in the underwriting. Rather, the underwriters considers the size and turnover of the group, and the financial strength of the group. Contract provisions will attempt to exclude the possibility of adverse selection. Group life insurance often has a provision that a member exiting the group has the right to buy individual insurance coverage. Senior and preneed products Insurance companies have in recent years developed products to offer to niche markets, most notable targeting the senior market to address needs of an aging population. Many companies offer policies tailored to the need of senior applicants. These are often low to moderate face value of whole life insurance policies, to allow a senior citizen purchasing insurance at an older issue age an opportunity to buy affordable insurance. This may also be marketed as final expense insurance, and an agent or company may suggest (but not require) that the policy proceeds could be used for end- of life expenses. Premed (or prepaid) insurance policies: are whole life policies that, although available at any age, are usually offered to older applicants as well. This type of insurance is designed specifically to cover funeral expenses when the insured person dies. In many
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cases, the applicant signs a refunded funeral arrangement with a funeral home at the time the policy is applied for. The death proceeds are then guaranteed to be directed first to the funeral services provider for payment of services rendered. Most contracts dictate that any excess proceeds will go either to the insureds estate or a designated beneficiary.

Investment policies
With-profits policies: Some polices allow the policyholder to participate in the profits of the insurance company these are with-profits policies. Other policies have no right to participate in the profits of the company, these are non- profit policies. With-profits policies are used as a form of collective investment to achieve capital growth. Other policies offer a guaranteed return not dependent on the companys underlying investment performance; these are often referred to as without-profit policies which may be construed as a misnomer. Investment Bonds Pensions: Pensions are a form of life assurance. However, whilst basic life assurance, permanent heath insurance and non-pensions annuity business includes an amount of mortality or morbidity risk for the insurer, for pension there is a longevity risk. A pension fund will be build up throughout a persons working life. When the person

retires, the pension will become in payment, and at some stage the pensioner will buy an annuity contract, which will guarantee a certain pay-out each month until death. Annuities An annuity is a contract with an insurance company whereby the purchase pays an initial premium or premiums into a tax- deferred account, which pays out a sum at pre-determined intervals. There are two periods: the accumulation (when payments

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are paid into the account) and the annuitization (when the insurance company pays out).

Market trends
Life insurance premiums written in 2005 According to a study by Swiss Re, the EU was the largest market for life insurance premiums written in 2005 followed by the USA and Japan. Criticism Although some aspects of the application process (such as underwriting and insurable interest provisions) make it difficult, life insurance policies have been used in cases of exploitation and fraud. In the case of life insurance, there is a motivation to purchase a life insurance policy, particularly if the face value is substantial, and then kill the insured. Usually, the larger the claim, , and/or the more serious the incident, the larger and more intense will be the number of investigative layers, consisting in police and insurer investigation, eventually also loss adjusters hied by the insurers to work independently. The television series Forensic Files has included episodes that feature this scenario. There was also a documented case in 2006, where tow elderly women are accused of taking in homeless men and assisting them. As part of their assistance, they took out life insurance on the men. After the contestability period ended on the policies (most life contracts hav a contestability period of tow years), the women are alleged to have had the men killed via hit-and- run car crashes. Recently, viatical settlements have thrown the life insurance industry into turmoil. A viatical settlement involves the purchase of a life insurance policy from an elderly or terminally ill policy holder. The policy holder sell the policy (including the right to name the beneficiary ) to a purchaser for a price discounted from the policy value. The seller has cash in hand, and the purchaser will realize a profit when the seller dies and the proceeds are delivered to the purchaser. In the meantime, the purchase continues to pay the premiums. Although both parties have reached an
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agreeable settlement, insurers are troubled by this trend. Insurers calculate their rates with the assumption that a certain portion of policy holder will seek to redeem the cash value of their insurance policies before death. They also expect that a certain portion will stop paying premiums and forfeit their policies. However, viatical settlement ensures that such policies will with absolute certainty to paid out. Some purchasers, in order to take advantage of the potentially large profits, have even actively sought to collude with uninsured elderly and terminally ill patients, and created policies that would have not otherwise been purchase. Likewise, these policies are guaranteed losses from the insurers perspective. The criticism goes also in the direction of pointing out much lower payouts for life insurance than for health or disability insurance in some countries ( for example,UK) Life Insurance in India Life insurance is the fastest growing sector in India sine 2000 as Government allowed private players and FDI up to 26%. Life Insurance in India was nationalized by incorporating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1956. All private life insurance companies at that time were taken over by LIC. In 1993, the Government of Republic of India appointed RN Malhotra Committee to lay down a road map for privatisation of the life insurance sector. While the committee submitted its report in 1994, it took another six years before the enabling legislation was passed in the year 2000, legislation amending the Insurance Act of 1938 and legislating the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 2000.The same year that the newly appointed insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority IRDAstarted issuing licenses to private life insurers.

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List of Life Insurers ( as of Sept, 2006)

Apart from Life Insurance Corporation, the public sector life insurer, there are 17 other private sector life insurers, most of them joint ventures between Indian groups & global insurance giants. Life Insurer in Public Sector 1. Life Insurance Corporation of India Life Insurers in Private Sector Metlife India Life Insurance ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Bajaj Allianz Life, Pranav, Surat 1 Max New York Life Insurance Sahara Life Insurance Tata AIG Life HDFC Life Birla Sunlife SBI Life Insurance Kotak Life Insurance Aviva Life Insurance Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited Formerly known as AMP Sanmar LIC ING Vysya Life Insurance Shriram Life Insurance Bharti Axa Life Insurance Co ltd Future Generali Life Insurance Co ltd IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co ltd AEGON Religare Life Insurance DLF and Pramerica ( will soon Launch the opertions) CANARA HSBC OBC LIFE INSURANCE COMPA

CHAPTER 3: COMPANY PROFILE

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Introduction
HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited . is one of Indias leading private insurance companies, which offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions? It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited), Indias leading housing finance institutions and a Group Company of the Life Plc. UK. As on February 28, 2009 HDFC Ltd. holds 72.43% and Life (Mauritius Holding) 2006, Ltd. holds 26.00% of equity in the joint venture, while the rest is held by others.

Key Strengths
Financial Expertise As a joint venture of leading financial services groups, HDFC Life has the financial expertise required to manage your long-term investments safely and efficiently. Range of Solutions HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited have a range of individual and group solutions, which can be easily customized to specific need. Their group solutions have been designed to offer you complete flexibility combined with a low charging structure. Track Record So far IT grosses premium income, for the yard ending March 31, 2008 stood at Rs.4,859 crores. As of 31 December, 2008 It new business premium income stood at Rs.1,839.70 Crores. The company has covered over 812,811 lives as on December 31, 2008.

WHY HDFC LIFE

Introduction
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HDFC Life believes that establishing a strong and ethical foundation is an essential prerequisite for long-term sustainable growth. To ensure this, they have concentrated their focus on expansion of branch network, organizing and efficient and well trained sales force, and setting up appropriate systems and processes with optimum use of technology. As all these areas form he basic infrastructure use for establishing the highest possible customer service s. It core values are drilled down to all levels of employees, as these are inviolable. They continue to promote high integrity in business practices and shun short cuts and unethical practices, as they wish to be perceived as an institution with high moral insurance space was opened for private participation, they have consistently focused on setting benchmarks in all aspect on insurance business. Being the first private player to be registered with the IRDA and the first to issue a policy on December 12, 2000, their differentiators are:

Strong promoter
HDFC Life is a strong, financially secure business supported by two strong and secure promoters HDFC Ltd and Life. HDFC Ltds excellent brand strength emerges from its unrelenting focus on corporate governance, high s of ethics and clarity of vision. Life is a strong, financially secure business and a market leader in the UK Life & Pension sector.

Preferred and trusted brand

Our brand has managed to set a new in the Indian life insurance communication space. They were the first private life insurer to break the ice using the idea of self-respect instead of death to convey their brand proposition ( Sar Utha ke jiyo). Today, they are one of the few brands that customers recognize, like and prefer to do business. Moreover, their brand thought, Sar Utha Ke Jijos, is the moste recalled compaign in its category .

Investment Philosophy

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They follow a conservative investment management philosophy to ensure that their customers money is looked after well. The investment polices and actions are regularly monitored by a formal Investment Committee comprising non-executive directors and the Principal Officer & Executive Director. As a life insurance company, they understand the customers have invested their savings with them for the long term, with specific objectives in mind. Thus, their investment focus is based on the primary objective of protecting and generating good, consistent , and stable investment returns to match the investors long-term objective and return expectations, irrespective of the market condition.

Need-based selling approach

Despite the critically of life insurance, sales sin the industry have been characterized by over reliance on tax benefits and limited advise-based selling. their eight-step structured sales process Disha however, helps customers understand their latent needs at the first instance itself without focusing on product features or tax benefits. Need- based selling process, Disha, the first of its kinds in the industry, looks at the whole financial picture. Customers see a plan not piecemeal product selling.

Risk control framework

HDFC Life has fully implemented a risk control framework to ensure that all types of risks ( not just financial) are identified and measured. These are regularly reported to the board and this ensures that the company management and board members are fully aware of any risks and the actions taken to ensure they are mitigated. Focus on training Training is an integral part of their business strategy. Almost all employees have undergone training to enhance their technical skills or the softer behavioral skills to be able to deliver the service that their company has set for itself. Besides the mandatory training that Financial Consultants have to undergo prior to being licensed, they have developed and implemented various training modules covering various

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aspects including product knowledge, selling skills, objection handling skill and so on. Focus on long term values HDFC Life does not focus in the business of ramping up the top line only, but to create maximization of stakeholders value. Today, they are extremely satisfies with the base that they have created for the long-term success of this company. Transparent dealing They are one of the few companies whose product details, pricing; clauses are clearly communicated to help customers take the right decision.

Our Parentage
HDFC Limited
HDFC Limited Indias premier housing finance institution has assisted more than 3.3 million families own a home, since its inception in 1977 across 2400 cities and towns through its network of over 250 offices. It has international offices in Dubai, London and Singapore with service associates in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman to assist NRIs and PIOs to own a home back in India. As of December 2008, the total asset size has crossed more than Rs. 95,000 crores including the mortgage loan assets of more than Rs. 82,800 crores. The corporation has a deposit base of Rs. 17,551 crores, earning the trust of more than 9,00,000 depositors. Customer Service and satisfaction has been the mainstay of the organization. HDFC has set benchmarks for the Indian housing finance industry. Recognition for the service to the sector has come from several national and international entities including the World Bank that has lauded HDFC as a model housing finance company for the developing countries. HDFC has undertaken a lot of consultancies abroad assisting different countries including Egypt, Maldives, and Bangladesh in the setting up of housing finance companies.

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Life Group ( Life plc and its subsidiaries)

The Life Group has been looking after the financial needs of customers for over 180 years. It currently has a customer base of around 7 million people who rely on the company for their insurance, pension, investment, banking and health-care needs. Its investment manager currently administers 125 billion in assets. It is a leading pensions provider in the UK, and is rated by & Poor's as 'strong' with a rating of A+ and as 'good' with a rating of A1 by Moody's. Life was awarded the 'Best Pension Provider' in 2004, 2005 and 2006 at the Money Marketing Awards, and it was voted a 5 star life and pensions provider at the Financial Adviser Service Awards for the last 10 years running. The '5 Star' accolade has also been awarded to Life Investments for the last 10 years, and to Life Bank since its inception in 1998. Life Bank was awarded the 'Best Flexible Mortgage Lender' at the Mortgage Magazine Awards in 2006.

Our Vision & Values

Our Vision 'The most successful and admired life insurance company, which means that we are the most trusted company, the easiest to deal with, offer the best value for money, and set the s in the industry'. 'The most obvious choice for all'. Our Values Values that we observe while we work: Integrity Innovation Customer centric People Care One for all and all for one Team work Joy and Simplicity

Sept 2008 Received 2008 CIO Bold 100 and CIO Security Awards
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HDFC Life has received the 2008 CIO Bold 100 Award. This annual award recognizes organizations that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. This year's award theme, The Bold 100, recognized those executives and organizations that embraced great risk for the sake of great reward. HDFC Life has also been one of the five recipients of the Special 2008 CIO Security Award aimed at CIOs, whose pioneering implementations have taken their enterprise security to the next level. This award category identifies innovative and groundbreaking deployment of technologies aimed at creating a secure business infrastructure.

The company received the 2008 CIO Bold Award for its mobile workforce portal and the CIO Security Award for its initiatives for a secure computing environment, including identity management. May 2008 Received PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award 2008 HDFC Life received the PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award 2008 for Consultant Corner, the applications for its financial consultants, providing centralized control over a vast geographical spread for key business units such as inventory, training, licensing, etc

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HDFC Life has won the PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award for two years consequently. Last year, the company received the award for Wonders, its pathbreaking implementation of an enterprise-wide workflow system. March 2008 -Silver Abby at Goafest 2008 HDFC Life's radio spot for Pension Plans won a Silver Abby in the radio writing craft category at the Goafest 2008 organised by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). The radio commercial Pata nahin chala touched several changes in life in the blink of an eye through an old mans perspective. The objective was drive awareness and ask people to invest in a pension plan to live life to the fullest even after retirement, without compromising on ones self-respect

March 2008 - Unit Linked Savings Plan Tops Mint Best TV Ads Survey The Unit Linked Savings Plan advertisement of HDFC Life, one of the leading private insurance companies in India, has topped Mints Top Television Advertisement survey conducted, for February 2008. HDFC Lifes Unit Linked Savings Plan advertisement was ranked 4th in terms of a combined score of ad awareness and brand recall and 3rd in terms of ad diagnostic scores (likeability, enjoyment, believability, and claim). The respondents were between 18 and 40 years. Mints exclusive report, New voices in a makeover outlines the survey in detail. February 2008- Deepak M Satwalekar Awarded QIMPRO Gold Award 2007 Mr Deepak M Satwalekar, Managing Director and CEO, HDFC Life, received the QIMPRO Gold Award 2007 in the business category at the 18th annual Qimpro Awards function. The award celebrates excellence in individual performance and highlights the quality achievements of extraordinary individuals in an era of global competition and expectations. January 2008 - Sar Utha Ke Jiyo Among Indias 60 Glorious Advertising Moments HDFC Lifes advertising slogan honoured as one of 60 Glorious Advertising & Marketing Moments' over the last 60 years in India, by 4Ps Business and Marketing magazine. The magazine said that HDFC Life is one of the first private
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insurers to break the ice using the idea of self respect (Sar Utha Ke Jiyo) instead of 'death' to convey its brand proposition. This was then, followed by others including ICCI Prudential, thus giving HDFC Life the credit of bringing up one such glorious advertising and marketing moment in the last 60 years. Received CIO 'The Ingenius 100 2009' Award

HDFC Life has received the CIO The Ingenious 100 - 2009 Award, for ATLAS (Agency Training Licensing and Servicing System). Additionally, the company has received the CIO 100 Security Award 2009 for pioneering LANDesk Management and Security Suite security implementation and taking its security to a higher level of technological excellence. HDFC has received the CIO 100 Award for the third consecutive year. It had received the 2008 CIO Bold Award for Consultant Corner and CIO Security Award for our initiatives for a secure computing environment, including Sesame - Identity and Access Management. In 2007, the company received CIO 100 award for Wonders and a Special Award in Storage category. CIO magazine has a long tradition of honoring leading companies for business and technology leadership and innovations through its flagship award program CIO 100. Its a celebration of 100 organizations (and the people within them) that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers. Received Diamond EDGE Award 2009

25

HDFC Life has received the Diamond EDGE Award 2009 for its mobile workforce portal - Consultant Corner. EDGE - Enterprises Driving Growth and Excellence (using IT) is an initiative by the ,Network Computing magazine to identify, recognise, and honour end-user companies in India that have demonstrated the best use of technology to solve a business problem, improve business competitiveness, and deliver quantifiable ROI to stakeholders. Network Computing magazine is part of CMP Technology, which brings more than 100 IT media brands to more than 18 million technology and business decision makers worldwide. 'YoungStar Super' Voted 'Product of the Year 2010'

HDFC Lifes YoungStar Super has been voted Product of the Year 2010 in the 'Insurance' category by more than 30,000 consumers nationwide across 36 markets. YoungStar Super is an unit linked Children Plan with unique benefits such as bumper additions, double and triple benefits, attractive allocations rates, and seven different funds.

26

The consumer study on product innovation in India was conducted by A C Nielsen, the leading global research firm. Entries were accepted from products that demonstrate innovation in their product function, design, packaging or process or any other specified form. Entries were then filtered by a jury of distinguished industry professionals to ensure that the products meet the innovation criteria before they were passed on to the consumer votes/survey round. Product of the Year is an Internationally Recognised that celebrates and rewards the best innovations in consumer products and services. The Product of the Year is selected through an independent consumer survey across the country in 26 countries for the past 20 years. Brief Profile of The Board of Directors

Mr. Deepak S. Parekh is the Chairman of the Company. He is also the Chairman and Director of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited). He joined HDFC Limited in a senior management position in 1978. He was inducted as a wholetime director of HDFC Limited in 1985 and was appointed as its Chairman in 1993. Mr. Parekh is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (England & Wales).

Mr. Keki M. Mistry joined the Board of Directors of the Company in December, 2000. He is currently the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Limited. He joined HDFC Limited in
27

1981 and became an Executive Director in 1993. He was appointed as its Managing Director in 2000. Mr. Mistry is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Renu S. Karnad is the Managing Director of HDFC Limited. She is a graduate in Law and holds a Master's degree in Economics from Delhi University. She has been employed with HDFC Limited since 1978 and was appointed as the Executive Director in 2000 and Deputy Managing Director in 2007. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of lending operations of HDFC Limited.

Mr. David Nish joined

Life on 1 November 2006 as Group

Finance Director and remained in that position until December 2009. He is appointed as the Executive Europe on 1st January 2010. He was awarded the Scottish Business Awards Finance Director of the Year and from 2004 to 2005. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He joined the Board of Directors in February 2010.

28

Mr. Nathan Parnaby is appointed as the Chief Executive, Europe & Asia of Life in the year 2010. Nathan joined Life in 1982 as Investment Manager, responsible for all UK net funds. He was appointed a Director of the Life Investments board. He is a Mathematics graduate from Oxford University and the Member of the Securities Institute. He joined the Board of Directors in December 2009.

Mr. Norman K. Skeoch is currently the Chief Executive in Life Investments Limited and is responsible for overseeing Investment Process & Chief Executive Officer Function. Prior to this, Mr. Skeoch was working with M/s. James Capel & Co. holding the positions of UK Economist, Chief Economist, Executive Director, Director of Controls and Strategy HSBS Securities and Managing Director International Equities. He was also responsible for Economic and Investment Strategy research produced on a worldwide basis. Mr. Skeoch joined the Board of Directors in November 2005.

29

Mr. Gautam R. Divan is a practising Chartered Accountant and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Mr. Divan was the Former Chairman and Managing Committee Member of Midsnell Group International, an International Association of Independent Accounting Firms and has authored several papers of professional interest. Mr. Divan has wide experience in auditing accounts of large public limited companies and nationalised banks, financial and taxation planning of individuals and limited companies and also has substantial experience in structuring overseas investments to and from India.

Mr. Ranjan Pant is a global Management Consultant advising CEO/Boards on Strategy and Change Management. Mr. Pant, until 2002 was a Partner & Vice-President at Bain & Company, Inc., Boston, where he led the worldwide Utility Practice. He was also Director, Corporate Business Development at General Electric headquarters in Fairfield, USA. Mr. Pant has an MBA from The Wharton School and BE (Honours) from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences.

Mr. Ravi Narain is the Managing Director & CEO of National Stock Exchange of India Limited. Mr. Ravi Narain was a member of the core team to set-up the Securities & Exchange Board of India

30

(SEBI) and is also associated with various committees of SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Mr. A. K.T. Chari has joined HDFC Life as a Director on March 10, 2010. Mr. Chari has completed his Electrical Engineering from Madras University in 1962. He is associated with Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) for last 11 years. Currently he is handling project finance for infrastructure projects at IDFC. Prior to this he was associated with Infrastructure Development Bank of India (IDBI) from 1975 to 1999.

Mr. Gerald E. Grimstone was appointed Chairman of Life in May 2007, having been Deputy Chairman since March 2006. He became a director of the Life Assurance Company in July 2003. He is also Chairman of Candover Investments plc and was appointed as one of the UKs Business Ambassadors by the Prime Minister in January 2009. Gerry held senior positions within the Department of Health and Social Security and HM Treasury until 1986. He then spent 13 years with Schroders in London, Hong Kong and New York, and was Vice Chairman of Schroders worldwide investment banking activities from 1998 to 1999. He is the Alternate Director to Mr. David Nish.

31

Mr. Michael G Connarty is responsible for Life's investments in life assurance Joint Ventures in India and China. He holds a degree in Law and MBA. He has worked with Life for 33 years in managerial positions covering a number of fields such as Pensions law, International Marketing, Operational Management, Strategy, Risk, Compliance, Company Secretarial and Banking. He has acted as Project Manager for the start-up project of the Company in 2000. He is the Alternate Director to Mr. Norman K. Skeoch.

Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry is the MD and CEO of HDFC Life. Before joining HDFC Life, he was the MD and CEO of Infosys BPO and was also heading an Independent Validation Services unit in Infosys Technologies. He started his career with Bank of America delivering diverse roles ranging from Head of Technology Investment Banking for Asia, Regional Finance Head for Wholesale Banking and Global Markets and Chief Finance Officer of Bank of America (India). He moved to Credit Lyonnais Securities in 2001 in Singapore where he headed their investment banking franchise for South East Asia and structured finance practice for Asia before joining Infosys BPO in 2005. Mr. Chaudhry completed his Engineering in 1985 from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and MBA in 1987 from IIM, Ahmedabad.

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Mr. Paresh Parasnis is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the company. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he has been associated with the HDFC Group since 1984. During his 16-year tenure at HDFC Limited, he was responsible for driving and spearheading several key initiatives. As one of the founding members of HDFC life, Mr. Parasnis has been responsible for setting up branches, driving sales and servicing strategy, leading recruitment, contributing to product launches and performance management system, overseeing new business and claims settlement, customer interactions etc.

Associate Companies

HDFC Limited

HDFC Bank

HDFC Mutual Fund

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HDFC Sales

HDFC ERGO General Insurance

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

Bancassurance Partners

HDFC Bank

34

Saraswat Bank HDFCSL Milestone 2008 2007 2006 Archive

The year witnessed the launch of My Account, a web-based facility with various policy servicing options such as switch, premium redirection to be executed by clients, without recourse to visiting a brancha as against a regulatory requirement of writing 18% of all policies in rural areas, the company issued over 1, 21,000 policies accounting for more than 23% of all policies issued during the year. The company had been awarded the Intelligent Enterprise Award by the Express Computer Magazine Part of the Indian Express Group, for investing in workflow and imaging technology which helped in increasing volumes without affecting service s. Was selected as the '4Ps Power Brand 2006', for being one of India's Top 25 'Most Innovative Companies' in an exclusive survey conducted by ICMR (Indian Council of Market Research) and 4Ps - Business and Marketing (a Business and Marketing magazine published by Planman Media). Biggest NGO covered on 28th March 2006 with 14000 lives HDFCSL expanded its reach in the Bancassurance channel by arrangements with cooperative banks in the rural areas continued to increase its focus on quality service, by putting in place a robust mechanism to capture Voice of the Customer through service audits across its offices. This was complemented by use of technology that enabled capture of all interactions with customers across all touch points Sar Utha Ke Jiyo was honoured as Among Indias 60 Glorious Advertising Moments. The advertisements of the company were ranked 6th amongst The 10 most effective Advertisements in September 2007.
35

Received the PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award 2007 for Wonders, its path-breaking implementation of an enterprise-wide workflow system. In addition the company also bagged the EMC storage award for being the most innovative users of storage and storage management. Pension Plan Tops Mints Survey of Best TV Ads. HDFC Lifes advertising created high awareness for the brand and bagged 2 silver and 1 bronze awards at the ADFEST 2007 National Awards organised by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). The 3 awards are the highest won by any single brand in the financial services business (including banking, mutual fund, insurance and other financial services). Ranked 29th most trusted Indian Brands amongst the Top 50 Service Brands of 2006 according to a study conducted by the Brand Equity Economic Times, the leading business publication of India. Received the PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award 2008 for Consultant Corner, the applications for its financial consultants, providing centralized control over a vast geographical spread for key business units such as inventory, training, licensing, etc. Received the 2008 CIO Bold 100 Award for its mobile workforce portal and the Special 2008 CIO Security Award for a secure computing environment, including identity management respectively. Mr. Deepak M Satwalekar Awarded QIMPRO Gold Award.

Corporate Governance
Introduction The Corporate Governance Policy provides the framework under which the Board of Directors operates. It includes its corporate structure, culture, policies and the manner in which it deals with various stakeholders. The governance policies address the responsibilities, authority and administration of the Board of Directors. The policies also include the responsibilities of the Principal Officer and define the reporting relationships. Timely and accurate disclosure of information regarding the financial situation, performance, board constitution, ownership of the company etc. is an important part of corporate governance. Corporate governance arrangements are
36

those through which an organisation directs and controls itself and the people associated with it.

COMPETITORS DETAILS
LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA Every day we wake up to the fact that more than 250 million lives are part of our family called LIC. We are humbled by the magnitude of the responsibility we carry and realise the lives that are associated with us are very valuable indeed. Though this journey started over five decades ago, we are still conscious of the fact that, while insurance may be a business for us, being part of millions of lives every day for the past 52 years has been a process called TRUST

History of LIC
Life Insurance in its modern form came to India from England in the year 1818. Oriental Life Insurance Company started by Europeans in Calcutta was the first life insurance company on Indian Soil. All the insurance companies established during that period were brought up with the purpose of looking after the needs of European community and Indian natives were not being insured by these companies. However, later with the efforts of eminent people like Babu Muttylal Seal, the foreign life insurance companies started insuring Indian lives. But Indian lives were being treated as sub- lives and heavy extra premiums were being charged on them. Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society heralded the birth of first Indian life insurance company in the year 1870, and covered Indian lives at normal rates. Starting as Indian enterprise with highly patriotic motives, insurance companies came into existence to carry the message of insurance and social security through insurance to various sectors of society. Bharat Insurance Company (1896) was also one of such companies inspired by nationalism. The Life Insurance Companies Act, 1912 made it necessary that the premium rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary. But the Act discriminated between foreign and Indian companies on many accounts, putting the Indian companies at a disadvantage.
37

The demand for nationalization of life insurance industry was made repeatedly in the past but it gathered momentum in 1944 when a bill to amend the Life Insurance Act 1938 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly. However, it was much later on the 19th of January, 1956, that life insurance in India was nationalized. About 154 Indian insurance companies, 16 non-Indian companies and 75 provident were operating in India at the time of nationalization. Nationalization was accomplished in two stages; initially the management of the companies was taken over by means of an Ordinance, and later, the ownership too by means of a comprehensive bill. The Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act on the 19th of June 1956, and the Life Insurance Corporation of India was created on 1st September, 1956, with the objective of spreading life insurance much more widely and in particular to the rural areas with a view to reach all insurable persons in the country, providing them adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost.

MAX NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE

Max New York Life Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture between Max India Limited, one of India's leading multi-business corporations and New York Life International, the international arm of New York Life, a Fortune 100 company. The company has positioned itself on the quality platform. In line with its vision to be the most admired life insurance company in India, it has developed a strong corporate governance model based on the core values of excellence, honesty, knowledge, caring, integrity and teamwork.

Incorporated in 2000, Max New York Life started commercial operation in April 2001. In line with its values of financial responsibility, Max New York Life has adopted prudent financial practices to ensure safety of policyholder's funds. The Company's paid up capital as on 30th April, 2009 is Rs 1,968 crore. Max New York Life has multi-channel distribution spread across the country. Agency distribution is the primary channel complemented by partnership distribution, bancassurance, alliance marketing and dedicated distribution for emerging markets.
38

The Company places a lot of emphasis on its selection process for agent advisors, which comprises four stages - screening, psychometric test, career seminar and final interview. The agent advisors are trained in-house to ensure optimal control on quality of training. The company currently has around 72,813 agent advisors at 705 offices across 389 cities. The company also has 36 referral tie-ups with banks, 24 partnership distribution and alliance marketing relationships each. Max New York Life has put in place a unique hub and spoke model of distribution to deepen our rural penetration. This is the first time such a model has been put in place for rural marketing of insurance. The company has 139 offices dedicated to rural areas. New York Life offers a suite of flexible products. It now has 33 products covering both life and health insurance and 8 riders that can be customized to over 800 combinations enabling customers to choose the policy that best fits their need. Besides this, the company offers 6 products and 7 riders in group insurance business. The company currently has more than 10,454 employees.

RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE

Few men in history have made as dramatic a contribution to their countrys economic fortunes as did the founder of Reliance, Shri. Dhirubhai H Ambani. Fewer still have left behind a legacy that is more enduring and timeless. As with all great pioneers, there is more than one unique way of describing the true genius of Dhirubhai: The corporate visionary, the unmatched strategist, the proud patriot, the leader of men, the architect of Indias capital markets, the champion of shareholder interest. But the role Dhirubhai cherished most was perhaps that of Indias greatest wealth creator. In one lifetime, he built, starting from the proverbial scratch, Indias largest private sector enterprise. When Dhirubhai embarked on his first business venture, he had a seed capital of barely US$ 300 (around Rs 14,000). Over the next three and a half decades, he converted this fledgling enterprise into a Rs 60,000 crore colossusan achievement which earned Reliance a place on the global Fortune 500 list, the first ever Indian private company to do so.

39

Dhirubhai is widely regarded as the father of Indias capital markets. In 1977, when Reliance Textile Industries Limited first went public, the Indian stock market was a place patronised by a small club of elite investors which dabbled in a handful of stocks. Undaunted, Dhirubhai managed to convince a large number of first-time retail investors to participate in the unfolding Reliance story and put their hard-earned money in the Reliance Textile IPO, promising them, in exchange for their trust, substantial return on their investments. It was to be the start of one of great stories of mutual respect and reciprocal gain in the Indian markets. Under Dhirubhais extraordinary vision and leadership, Reliance scripted one of the greatest growth stories in corporate history anywhere in the world, and went on to become Indias largest private sector enterprise. Through out this amazing journey, Dhirubhai always kept the interests of the ordinary shareholder uppermost in mind, in the process making millionaires out of many of the initial investors in the Reliance stock, and creating one of the worlds largest shareholder families.

BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIFE INSURANCE

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance is a union between Allianz SE, one of the largest Insurance Company and Bajaj finersy. a leading insurance conglomerate globally and one of the largest asset managers in the world, managing assets worth over a Trillion (Over INR. 55, 00,000 Crores). Allianz SE has over 119 years of financial experience and is present in over 70 countries around the world. At Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, customer delight is our guiding principle. Our business philosophy is to ensure excellent insurance and investment solutions by offering customised products, supported by the best technology.

ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE\

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank - one of India's foremost financial services companies-and Prudential plc - a leading international financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. Total capital infusion stands at Rs. 47.80 billion, with ICICI Bank holding a stake of 74% and Prudentialplcholding26%.
40

We began our operations in December 2000 after receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). Today, our nation-wide reach includes over 1,900 branches (inclusive of 1,074 micro-offices), over 210,000 advisors and 7 bancassurance parterns. For three years in a row, ICICI Prudential has been voted as India's Most Trusted Private Life Insurer, by The Economic Times - AC Nielsen ORG Marg survey of 'Most Trusted Brands'. As we grow our distribution, product range and customer base, we continue to tirelessly uphold our commitment to deliver worldclass financial solutions to customers all over India.

Birla Sun Life Insurance

Established in 2000, Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group, a well known and trusted name globally amongst Indian conglomerates and Sun Life Financial Inc, leading international financial services organization from Canada. The local knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the domain expertise of Sun Life Financial Inc., offers a formidable protection for its customers future. With an experience of over 9 years, BSLI has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the life insurance industry in India and currently ranks amongst the top 5 private life insurance companies in the country.

Known for its innovation and creating industry benchmarks, BSLI has several firsts to its credit. It was the first Indian Insurance Company to introduce Free Look Period and the same was made mandatory by IRDA for all other life insurance companies. Additionally, BSLI pioneered the launch of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the private players in India. To establish credibility and further transparency, BSLI also enjoys the prestige to be the originator of practice to disclose portfolio on monthly basis. These category development initiatives have helped BSLI be closer to its policy holders expectations, which gets further accentuated by the complete bouquet of insurance products (viz. pure term plan, life stage products, health plan and retirement plan) that the company offers.

41

Add to this, the extensive reach through its network of 600 branches and 1,75,000 empanelled advisors. This impressive combination of domain expertise, product range, reach and ears on ground, helped BSLI cover more than 2 million lives since it commenced operations and establish a customer base spread across more than 1500 towns and cities in India. To ensure that our customers have an impeccable experience, BSLI has ensured that it has lowest outstanding claims ratio of 0.00% for FY 2008-09. Additionally, BSLI has the best Turn Around Time according to LOMA on all claims Parameters. Such services are well supported by sound financials that the Company has. The AUM of BSLI stood at Rs. 8165 crs as on February 28, 2009, while as on March 31, 2009, the company has a robust capital base of Rs. 2000 crs.

CHAPTER 4 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Title of the study:
42

A study on consumer behavior towards HDFC life.

Objective of the study

To find out the consumer behavior towards HDFC life. To find out the level of satisfaction towards HDFC life. To compare HDFC life with its main competitors. To find out the factors that influences the buying of HDFC life product. To find out the strength and weakness of HDFC life. To find out the requirements and problems of the customer. To suggest the company for better improvement.

Methodology
Research Design A research design is a logical systematic plan prepared for directing a research study. It specifies the objectives of the study, objectives. It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of the data. It is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions .The plan is the overall scheme or program of research. A research design is the program that guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. Type of research In this project, Descriptive research was used. Descriptive research is a fact finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It aims at identifying the various characteristics of a community or institution or problem under study and also aims at a classification of the range of elements comprising the subject matter of the study. It contributes to the development of a young science and useful in verifying focal concepts through empirical observation. It can highlight important methodological aspects of data collection and interpretation. The information obtained may be useful for predication about areas of social life outside the boundaries of the research. They are valuable in providing facts needed for planning social action program.

43

Research Technique need Survey method was used in this project; it is a fact finding study involving collection of data directly from a population or a sample thereof at particular time. Its purpose is to information, explains phenomena, to make comparisons and concerned with cause and effect relationships can be useful for making predications. Sampling technique: In this study, the sampling technique adopted was non probability sampling. Sample size: The sample size of the study is 22 which include employees, self-employed, housewife, retired from across Bangalore Locations of the study: The study was conducted in Bangalore city. Research Tools used: Questionnaire was used as research tools in this product. Sources of Data: The main sources of data collection are of two types: Primary data Secondary data

Primary data: Primary sources are original sources from which the researcher directly collects data that have not been previously collected e.g collection of data directly by the researcher on brand awareness, brand preference, brand loyalty and other aspects of consumer behavior from a sample of consumers by interviewing through various methods such as observation, interviewing, mailing etc, primary data was collected through: Personal Interview Questionnaires
44

Observations Experiments

Secondary Data: These are sources containing data which have been collected and complied for another purpose. The secondary sources consists of readily compendia and already compiled statistical statements and reports whose data may be used by researchers for their studies. The secondary data for the study was collected trough various sources such as: Company website Magazines Books Newpaper

Duration of the study: The project work was complete within 6 weeks. Limitation of the study: The study was conducted only on 22 respondents. The study was conducted only in Bangalore city There is chance for bias in the information given by the respondents

Analysis and interpretation of the data: After collection of data, the result are depicted in tables and graph

CHAPTER 5 : DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Table showing gender of respondents:
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Table 1 Gender Male Female Total No. of respondents 20 2 22 Percentage 91 9 100

Chart 1

Female= 9%

Male= 91%

Findings: Male are more interest in life insurance than female. Analysis: 91% of the respondents are male and 9% are female.

Table showing respondents age

Table No. 2 Age (Years ) 20-30 30-40 40-50 Total No. of respondents 13 6 3 22 Percentage 59 27 14 100

46

Chart No. 2

40-50= 14%

30-40= 27%

20-30= 59%

Finding: Persons between 20-30 years are the most interested person in life
insurance and bought more policy than others.

Analysis: Out of 22 respondent, 59% are 20-30 years old, 27% are 30-40 years old
and 14% are 40-50 years old.

Table showing respondents occupation

Table No. 3 Occupation Employees Self employees Retired Total No. of respondents 20 1 1 22 Percentage 90 5 5 100

Chart No.3
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Selfemployee s= Retired= 5% 5%

employee s= 90%

Findings: Those who are working in corporate bought more policy compare to
others.

Analysis: Out of 22 respondents, 90% are employees, 5% are self employed and
5% are retired persons.

Table showing respondents monthly income

Table No. 4 Monthly income (Rs.) Less than 10,000 10,000-20,000 20,000-30,000 Above 30,000 Total No. of respondents 1 12 2 7 22 Percentage 5 54 9 32 100

Chart No. 4

48

Le s s than 10k= 5% Above 30k= 32% 10k-20k = 54% 20k-30k = 9%

Findings: Person who earned around Rs. 20,000 monthly are the chief buyers of
policy.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 5% belongs
to the income category less than 10,000, 54% belongs to the income category of 10,000 20,000, 9% belongs to the income category of 20,000 30,000 and the remaining 32% belongs to the income category of above 30,000.

Table showing how consumers came to about HDFCSL

Table No.5 Source Agents Friends Advertisement Family Others Total Chart No.5 No of respondents 3 6 7 2 4 22 Percentage 14 27 32 9 18 100

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Others= 18% Family= 9%

Agent= 14%

Friends= 27% Advertisements= 32%

Findings: Advertisement is the best method for attracting consumers and friends
are also very important source for the consumers.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 14% came to
know HDFCSL from agents, 27% are from their friends, 32% are from advertisements, 9% are from family members and 18% from others.

Table showing whom do consumer consult before making investment?

Table No. 6 Source Family Friends Agents Others Total No of respondents 9 4 6 3 22 Percentage 41 18 27 14 100

Chart No.6

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Othe rs= 14% Family= 41% Age nts= 27% Frie nds= 18%

Findings: Family members are the most important factors in decision making for
consumers before buying the products and agents come to the second place.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents , 41% consult
their family,18% consult their friends, 27% consult agent and the remaining 14% consult with others.

Table showing how long respondents are customers of HDFC Life? Table No. 7 Years
Less than 1 1-3 3-5 More than 5

No of respondents
9 7 4 2

Percentage
41 32 18 9

Total

22

100

Chart No. 7

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more than 5 years= 9%

1-3 years = 32% 3-5 years= 18%

less than 1 year= 41%

Finding: Majority of the respondents are the consumers of HDFC SL less than one
year.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 41% has
been customer of HDFCSL less than 1 year, 32% are between 1-3 years customer, 18% are between 3-5 years customer and the remaining 9% has been more than 5 years customer.

Table showing how respondents feel about the process of HDFC Life? Table No. 8 Particulars Yes No Cant say Total Chart No. 8 No of respondents 12 5 5 22 Percentage 54 23 23 100

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Cant say= 23%

Yes= 54% No= 23%

Finding : Majority of the respondent think that the process of HDFCSL is easy. Analysis : The above table and chart shows that asking how they think the process
of HDFCSL is easy or not, out of 22 respondents, 54% said the process of HDFC Life is easy, 23% said NO and the remaining 23% replied Cant say

Table showing do respondents have any other insurance policy in other insurance company ? Table No .9 Answers
Yes No

No of respondents
15

Percentage
68 32

Total Chart No. 9

7 22

100

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No= 32%

Yes= 68%

Findings: Majority of the Consumer are also having in other insurance company. Analysis: The above table and chart shows that, out of 22 respondents, 68% said
that they also have insurance policy in other insurance company and the remaining 32% said that they dont have any insurance policy in other insurance company

Table showing how do respondents rated customer service of HDFCSL company ? Table No . 10 Category
Below 25% 25% - 50% 50% - 75% 75%-100%

No of respondents
3 4 8 7

Percentage
14 18 36 32

Total
Chart No . 10

22

100

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Below 25%= 14% 75% - 100%= 32% 25% - 50%= 18%

50% - 75%= 36%

Finding : Majority of the respondents are satisfied about customer service of

HDFCSL.

Analysis : The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondent, 14% rated
customer service of HDFCSL below 25%, 18% rated between 25% -50%, 36% rated between 50% -75% and remaining 32% rated between 75% -100

Table showing what kind of product does respondents purchased Table No.11 Product
Endowment Plan Retirement plan Children plan Insurance plan

No of respondents
11 1 5 5 49 5 23 23

Percentage

Total Chart No .11

22

100

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Insunrance plan= 23%

Endowment plan= 49%

Children plan= 23%

Retirement plan= 5%

Finding: Endowment plan is the most preferable plan for the consumers, it gives
customers end of the term good returns and survival benefit and childrens plan comes the second place.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 49% bought
endowment plan, 5% bought retirement plan, 23% bought children plan and the remaining 23% bought insurance plan for risk cover & protection.

Table showing the satisfaction level of consumers Table No. 12 Satisfaction level
Satisfied

Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Not sure Total Chart No .12

No of respondents 16 4 1 1 22

Percentage 72 18 5 5 100

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Highlydissatisfie d= 5%

Not sure= 5%

Dissatisfied= 18% Satisfied= 72%

Finding: Majority of the respondent are satisfied about their expectation of the
products.

Analysis : The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 72% are
satisfied consumers, 18% are dissatisfied consumers, 5% are highly dissatisfied and the remaining 5% are not sure about their satisfaction.

Table showing what factors made consumers invest in HDFCSL Table No . 13 Category
Tax benefits Future needs Safety Risk cover Others Total

No of respondents
8 10 2 1 1 22

Percentage
36 45 9 5 5 100

Chart No. 13

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Risk cover= 5%

Others= 5% Tax Benefits= 36%

Safety= 9%

Future Needs= 45%

Finding: Majority of the respondents invest their money for future needs and tax
benefits are the second reason for future expected events.

Analysis : The above table and chart shows that out of 22 respondents, 36% invest
their hard and earn money in order to get tax benefits, 45% invests for secure there future needs, 9% invests for their safety, 5% invest for risk cover and the remaining 5% invests for other reasons.

Table showing how happy are consumer about premium rate they are paying Table No. 14 Particulars
Yes No Cant say

No of respondents
12 5 5

Percentage
54 23 23

Total Chart No. 14

22

100

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Cant say= 23%

Yes= 54% No= 23%

Finding: Majority of the respondents are happy about premium rate they are
paying

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that asking whether consumers are
happy or not about premium rate they are paying,54% respondents are happy, 23% respondents are not happy and the remaining 23% cant say whether they are happy or not.

Table showing consumers opinion about if they were to take another policy, would they take the policy of the same company or not Table no .15 Particulars Yes No Cant say Total Chart No. 15 No of respondents 7 8 7 22 Percentage 32 36 32 100

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Cant say = 32%

Yes = 32%

No = 36%

Finding: Many of the respondents will not purchase again from the same company
i,e. HDFC SL if they have were to take another policy that means they dont want to invest in only one company

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that 32% respondents will take the
policy of HDFCSL if they were to take the policy, 36% will not purchased again from HDFCSL and the remaining 32% respondent cant say whether they will buy again or not.

Table showing whether consumer recommends others to buy HDFCSL product or not Table No.16 Particulars
Yes No Cant say Total

No of respondents
14 4 4 22

Percentage
64 18 18 100

Chart No .16

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Cant say= 18%

No= 18%

Yes= 64%

Finding: Most of the respondents recommend others to buy HDFCSL products. Analysis; The above table and chart shows that 64% respondent recommend others
to buy HDFCSL Products , 18% respondent does not recommend and the remaining 18% cant say whether they recommend or not.

Table shows whether the advertisement of HDFCSL is effective or not as compared to other companies Table No . 17 Advertisement
Very effective Effective Not sure

No of respondents
7 14 1

Percentage
32 63 5

Total

22

100

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that 32% respondents believed that
advertisement of HDFCSL is very effective and it will be reality as compared to other companies,63% said that it is effective and the remaining 5% are not sure.
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Not Sure= 5% Very Effective 32%

Effictive= 63%

Finding: Most of the respondent think that the advertisement of HDFCSL is

effective as compared to the companies.

Table showing the most preferable insurance company according to consumers Table No.18 Company
LIC HDFCSL None

No of respondents
12 9 1

Percentage
54 41 5

Total Chart No.18

22

100

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None= 5%

HDFC Standard Life= 41%

LIC= 54%

Finding: Most of the respondents said that LIC is the most preferable insurance
company in India.

Analysis: The above table and chart shows that 54% respondents said that LIC is
the best insurance company, 41% respondents said that it was HDFCSL remaining 5% said that none was good in terms of quality of business. and

CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS
Majority of the consumer's i.e. 32% came to know about HDFC life from Advertisements which means that Advertisement is the best method for attracting consumers, friends are also very important source for the consumers, 27% of the respondents said that they came to know about HDFC Life from after their friends and agents contributes 18% for this knowledge. Family members are the most important facots in decision making for buying the products, after family members Agent comes to the second place while friends stood in the third place.

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 Its good to know that 54% of the responds think that the process of HDFC Life is easy and only 23% said that it is not easy to understand and the rest 23% said that it is not easy to understand and the rest 23% can't say whether it is easy or not. Opinions contrary to mine, Majority of the respondents' i.e. 68% have insurance policy in other insurance company. Consumers have different opinions about HDFC Life Customer service, 14% rated customer service of HDFC Life below 25%, 18% rated between 25%50%, 36% rates between 50%-75% and the remaining 32% rates between 75%-100% which means that 32% of the respondents rated below 50%. We can say that majority of consumers are satisfied. Endowment plan is the most preferable plan for the consumers and Childrens plan come the second place. Majority of the respondents i.e. 72% are satisfied about their expectation of the product while about 28% are not satisfied. Majority of the respondents invest their money for future needs and tax benefits is the second reason why they invest. Majority of the respondents i.e 54% are happy about premium rate they are paying. Many of the respondents i.e.30% will not purchase again from the same company i.e. HDFC Life if they were to take another policy that means they dont want to invest only in one company. 95% of the respondents said that the advertisement of HDFC Life is effective compared to other companies.

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 Majority of the respondents i.e.64% recommend others to buy HDFC Life products. According to respondents, LIC is the best insurance company in India. HDFC Life is easy to approach that is the reason why there are many students who done their project in this company. Competition among insurance company is higher than we think.

CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS
The company should concentrate more on different advertisement program because advertisement is the best method for attracting consumers according to the respondents. When the consumers tries to buy the product, Family members can influence much in his decision making; therefore, agent should know the importance of family members and tired to convince them also. There are some dissatisfied policy holders and the company must find out the root causes and address them properly because dissatisfied consumers always

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tell others about their dissatisfaction that can make others to think the company in that way. There are many persons who do not buy a policy only from one company; therefore the company should also contact those who already have insurance policy in HDFC Life or other company. The company should continue to give training and project guidance to the students because this will bring a good return to the company in many forms. More financial consultant (Agent) indicates more consumers, therefore, the company should try to have financial as many as possible.

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS
For economic development, Investment is necessary. Investments are made out of savings. A Life insurance company is a major instrument for the mobilization of savings of people, particularly from the middle and lower income groups. As we know that there are many unexpected things happen around the world e.g. earthquakes, floods, Hurricane, fire, terrorist attacks, accidents etc this things will raise the needs of insurance. Life insurance in not only the best possible way for family protection. There is not other way. It is the only way to safeguard the unpredictable risks of the future. It is not surpassed by any other savings or investment instrument, in terms of security ,
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marketability, stability of value or liquidity and it perpetuates life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Life insurance in India has a huge potential for growth. Statistics reveal that only 25% of the insurable population in India is insured. And those insurers are in need of still higher insurance cover. Therefore, insurance company will still be a good career for those who really want to success

CHAPTER 9: QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Sir / Madam, As apart of my B.B.M curriculum, I am collecting the following information regarding my project title A study on consumer behaviour towards HDFC Life. I assure you that all the information provided by you will be kept confidential and used for academic purposes only .So , I request you to co- operate and provide necessary and relevant information. Thanking you. Yours faithfully, ( )

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1. Name_______________________________________ 2. Gender a) Male 3. Age a) Below 20 d) 40 - 50 4. Occupation a) Employees d) Retired 5. Monthly income a) Less than 10,000 c) 20,000 30,000 b) 10,000- 20,000 d) Above 30,000 b) Self employed e) Student c) Housewife f) Others b) 20 - 30 e) 50 60 c) 30 40 f) Above 60 b) Female

6. How did you come to know about HDFC Life? a) Agent d) Family a) Family b) Friends e) Others b) Friends c) Agent d) others c) Advertisement

7. Whom do you consult before making investment?

8. How long you have been the customer of HDFC Life? a) Less than 1 year c) 3-5 years b) 1-3 years d) More than 5 years

9. Do you think the process of HDFC Life is easy? a)Yes b) No c) Cant say

10. Do you have any other insurance policy in other insurance company? a) Yes b) No

11. How do you rate HDFC Life Customer Service?

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a) Below 25% d) 75% -100%

b) 25%-50%

c) 50%-75%

12. Which kind of product you purchase? a) Endowment plan c) Childrens plan b) Retirement Plan d) Insurance plan

13. Are you satisfied with the expectation of the product? a) Highly Satisfies c) Dissatisfied b) Satisfied d) Highly Dissatisfied

14. What made you investment in HDFC Life? a) Tax Benefits d) Risk cover b) Future needs e) others c) Safety

15. Are you happy with the premium rate your are paying? a) Yes b) No c) Cant say

16. If you were to take another policy , would you take the policy of the same company? a) Yes b) No c) Cant say

17. Would you recommend others to buy HDFC Life? a) Yes b) No c) Cant say

18. How do you think the advertisement of HDFC Life is effective compared to other companies? a) Very effective d) Ineffective b) Effective d) Very ineffective

19. Which is the most preferable insurance company according to you? a) LIC b) HDFC Life c)ICICI prudential life
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d) Bajaj Allianz life

e) ING vysya

f) _________________

Signature I thank you very much for spending your precious time.

CHAPTER 10: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Consumer behavior, Third edition by Michael R. Solomon Consumer behavior, ninth edition by Roger D. Blackwell, Pqul W. Miniard, James F. Engel Research Methodology, Edition: fall 2007, published on behalf of sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences, Gangtok, Sikkim by Mr. Rajkumar Mascreen www.hdfcinsurance.com
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www.Google.com www.moneycontrol.com

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