PREFACE

Preparing a project of this nature is an arduous task and I was fortunate enough to get support from a large number o persons. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to all those who generously helped in successful completion of this report by sharing their invaluable time and knowledge. It is my proud and previledge to express my deep regards to Respected HOD Dr.Pramesh Gautam, Head of Department of Business Management , SVNIT, SAGAR for allowing me to undertake this project. I feel extremely exhilarated to have completed this project under the able and inspiring guidance of Mr. Neeraj Topkhane she rendered me all possible help me guidance while reviewing the manuscript in finalising the report. I also extend my deep regards to my teachers , family members , friends and all those whose encouragement has infused courage in me to complete to work successfully.
SHIVANI GARG MBA IST SEM.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Preparing a project of this nature is an arduous task and I was fortunate enough to get support from a large number o persons. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to all those who generously helped in successful completion of this report by sharing their invaluable time and knowledge. It is my proud and previledge to express my deep regards to Respected , Head of Department of Business

Dr.Pramesh

Gautam,

Department

Management , SVNIT, SAGAR undertake this project.

for allowing me to

I feel extremely exhilarated to have completed this project under the able and inspiring guidance of He rendered me all possible help me guidance while reviewing the manuscript in finalising the report. I also extend my deep regards to my teachers , family members , friends and all those whose encouragement has infused courage in me to complete to work successfully.

SHIVANI GARG MBA IST SEM.

DELCLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

Date : I declare that the project report titled "MARKETING STRATEGIES OF TOP FIVE INSURANCE SECTOR " on Market Segmentation is nay own work conducted under the supervision of MR. NEERAJ TOPKHANE Department of Business Management ,

SVNIT To the best of my knowledge the report does not contain

any work , which has been submitted for the award of any degree , anywhere.

SHIVANI GARG MBA IST SEM.

CERTIFICATE
The project report titled
" MARKETING

STRATEGIES OF TOP FIVE INSURANCE SECTOR"

been

prepared by SHIVANI GARG MBA IST Semester , under the guidance and supervision of MR. NEERAJ

TOPKHANEfor the partial fulfillment of the Degree of M.B.A.

Signature of the Supervisor

Signature of the Head of the Department

Signature of the Examiner

INTRODUCTION
About the project The project deals with comparative analysis of different insurance products offered by insurance companies. Purpose of the project The main purpose of the project is to do comparative analysis of different insurance products, check the awareness level and perception of insurance by the individuals. The project would also help in understanding preference of people regarding private and public insurance companies. The main objective of the research is Making comparative analysis between:i) Birla sun life insurance with life insurance Corporation of India. ii) Birla sun life insurance with Tata AIG life insurance. iii) National Health Plan with Reliance Health Wise Policy. Finding out the features and benefits of these plans To find out the awareness level of insurance in Sagar To determine customer preference towards private insurance companies and public insurance companies. Marketing of different insurance products. Scope of the project The entry of foreign MNCs and the conductive business environment fostered by the government, it is no wonder that the re-entry of private insurance has marked a second coming for the sector. In just five years, the sector has undergone a makeover, offering more choice, better services, quicker settlement, tighter regulation and greater awareness s the environment become more and more competitive and services and products become alike, creating a differentiation is becoming extremely tough. Thus, the main objective of my project was to find out the preference of people regarding insurance companies, which would help karvy employees to market their

product. The study then goes on to evaluate and analyze the findings so as to present a clear picture of recent trends in the Insurance sector. About Insurance Industry "Insurance is a contract between two parties whereby one party called insurer undertakes in exchange for a fixed sum called premiums, to pay the other party called insured a fixed amount of money on the happening of a certain event."Insurance is a protection against financial loss arising on the happening of an unexpected event. Insurance companies collect premiums to provide for this protection. A loss is paid out of the premiums collected from the insuring public and the Insurance Companies act as trustees to the amount collected. For Example, in a Life Policy, by paying a premium to the Insurer, the family of the insured person receives a fixed compensation on the death of the insured. Similarly, in a car insurance, in the event of the car meeting with an accident, the insured receives the compensation to the extent of damage. It is a system by which the losses suffered by a few are spread over many, exposed to similar risks. Logic of insurance It is a system by which the losses suffered by a few are spread over many, exposed to similar risks. Insurance is a protection against financial loss arising on the happening of an unexpected event. Insurance companies collect premiums to provide for this protection. A loss is paid out of the amount premiums collected from the insuring public and the Insurance Companies act as trustees to the collected. Need of insurance Insurance is desired to safeguard oneself and one's family against possible losses on account of risks and perils. It provides financial compensation for the losses suffered due to the happening of any unforeseen events. By taking life insurance a person can have peace of mind and need not worry about the financial consequences in case of any untimely death. Certain Insurance contracts are also made compulsory by legislation. For example, Motor Vehicles Act 1988, stipulates that a person driving a vehicle in a public place should hold a valid insurance policy covering Act" risks. Another example of compulsory insurance pertains the Environmental Protection Act, wherein a person using or to carrying hazardous substances (as defined in the Act) must hold a valid public

liability (Act) policy. Insurance in India Insurance is a federal subject i n India and has a history dating back to 1818. Life and general insurance in India is still a nascent sector with huge potential for various global players with the life insurance premiums accounting to 2.5% of the country's GDP while general insurance premiums to 0.65% of India's GDP. The Insurance sector in India has gone through a number of phases and changes, particularly in the recent years when the Govt. of India in 1999 opened up the insurance sector by allowing private companies to solicit insurance and also allowing FDI up to 26%. Ever since, the Indian insurance sector is considered as a booming market with every other global insurance company wanting to have a lion's share. Currently, the largest life insurance company in India is still owned by the government. History of Insurance in India Insurance in India has its history dating back till 1818, when Oriental Life Insurance Company was started by Europeans i n Sagar to cater to the needs of European community. Pre-independent era in India saw discrimination among the life of foreigners and Indians with higher premiums being charged for the latter. It was only in the year 1870, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, the first Indian insurance company covered Indian lives at normal rates. At the dawn of the twentieth century, insurance companies started mushrooming up. In the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act, and the Provident Fund Act were passed to regulate the insurance business. 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. However, the disparage still existed as discrimination between Indian and foreign companies. The oldest existing insurance company in India is National Insurance Company Ltd, which was founded in 1906 and is doing business even today. The Insurance industry earlier consisted of only two state insurers: Life Insurers i.e. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurers i.e. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC). GIC had four subsidiary companies. Wi th effect from December 2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from parent company and made as independent insurance companies: Oriental Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company

Limited, National Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited.

Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 Even though the first legislation was enacted i n 1938, it was only in 19 January 1956, that life insurance in India was completely nationalized, through a Government ordinance; the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 effective from 1.9.1956 was enacted in the same year to, inter-alia, form LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION after nationalization of the 245 companies into one entity. There were 245 insurance companies of both Indian and foreign origin in 1956. Nationalization was accomplished by the govt. acquisition of the management of the companies. The Life Insurance Corporation of India was created on 1 September, 1956, as a result and has grown to be the largest insurance company in India as of 2006 .

General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 was enacted to nationalize the 100 odd general insurance companies 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.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999 Till 1999, there were not any private insurance companies in Indian insurance sector. The Govt. of India then introduced the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act in 1999, thereby de-regulating the insurance sector and allowing private companies into the insurance. Further, foreign investment was also allowed and capped at 26% holding in the Indian insurance companies. In recent years many private players entered in the Insurance sector of India. Companies with equal strength started

competing in the Indian insurance market. Currently, in India only 2 million people (0.2 % of total population of 1 billion), are covered under Medi claim, whereas in developed nations like USA about 75 % of the total population are covered under some insurance scheme. With more and more private players in the sector this scenario may change at a rapid pace Different Insurance Companies Insurance is an upcoming sector, in India the year 2000 was a landmark year for life insurance industry, in this year the life insurance industry was liberalized after more than fifty years. Insurance sector was once a monopoly, with LIC as the only company, a public sector enterprise. But nowadays the market opened up and there are many private players competing in the market. There are fifteen private life insurance companies has entered the industry. After the entry of these private players, the market share of LIC has been considerably reduced. In the last five years the private players is able to expand the market (growing at 30% per annum) and also has improved their market share to 18%. For the past five years private players have launched many innovations in the industry in terms of products, market channels and advertisement of products, agent training and customer services etc. The various life insurers entered India:1. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited 2. Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3. HDFC Standard life Insurance Co. Ltd 4. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 5. ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd. 6. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd 7. Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd. 8. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited 9. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd 10. Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited 11. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited. 12. Aviva Life Insurance Co. India Pvt. Ltd. 13. Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd. 14. Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd.

15. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd. The various other general Insurance Companies are as under:1. National Insurance Company Limited. 2. Reliance General Insurance. 3. Star Health Plus Insurance. 4. Oriental Insurance Company. 5. United India Insurance Company Ltd. 6. New India Assurance Company Ltd. 7. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd. 8. Universal Sompo Insurance Company Ltd. 9. Future General Insurance Company Ltd. 10. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Ltd.

ADVANTAGES OF LIFE INSURANCE

i) Protection against risk of untimely death Life insurance is a product, which offers protection against the risk of death the full sum assured is made available under a life assurance policy, whereas under other savings schemes, the total accumulated savings alone will be available. ii) Protection during old age Life insurance can also be used as a means of saving for ones future. There are a number of life insurance policies, which in addition to life cover also provide the means of investing ones income. The sum as per the policy will be received only after a period of time. This amount thus provides for the old age. iii) Forced savings Payment of life insurance premiums is compulsory and becomes a habit. Savings in other scheme can be easily withdrawn and may be used for less worthy purpose. Termination of a life insurance policy by the policyholder usually results in substantial loss in benefits under the policy to the policyholder. One is thus encouraged to save and keep ones policy alive. iv) Educational requirements and charity The object of insurance may be to serve as a security to educational funds in respect of loans advanced for educational purpose or to provide donations to charitable institutions like hospital and school. v) Nomination and assignment The life insured can name the person or persons to whom the policy money would be payable in the event of his death .the proceeds of a life insurance policy can be protected against the claims of the creditors of the life insured by effecting a valid assignment of the policy. The beneficiaries are fully protected from creditors expect to the extent of any interest in the policy retained by the insured.21Marketability and suitability for borrowing After 3 years, if the policyholder finds that he is unable to continue payment of premiums he can surrender a policy for a cash sum. A life insurance policy is accepted as a security for a commercial loan.

vi) Loans from the insurance company A policy holder can take a loan from his insurance company against the Security of his life insurance policy provided the terms of the terms of his policy allow such a loan. This loan can be taken usually after a period of 3 years from commencement of the policy and is a percentage of its surrender value. vii) Investment options The unit link products gives comprehensive insurance solutions that cater to an individuals dual need of earning potentially high returns as well as stay for life. Thus there is an option to invest money in the products that combine the best of insurance and investment. In a volatile market conditions it is possible to secure both as one can hedge the investment with saver investment vehicles that provide a diversified portfolio. viii) Tax benefits The Indian income tax act provides tax concessions to the policyholder both on payment of premium and on the maturity amount. Under sec 88 the tax benefits on premium paid by an individual for life insurance policies on his own life\on the life of spouse \children minor or major, including married daughters. Under sec 6 of the married womens property act if a married man takes a policy of life insurance on his own life and expenses on the face of it to be for the benefit of his wife or of his wife and children or any of them, then it shall be deemed to be a trust for the benefit of his wife and children or any of them, According to the interest so expressed and shall not so long as any object of trust remains be subject to the control of the husband or to his creditors or form part of his estate. An insurance policy taken by a married man in the above manner is ideal way to protect the interest of his wife and children, even after his untimely death.

Types of insurance products Term assurance plan-In insurance language this is a pure risk cover and can be described as an insurance or risk management product in its purest and simplest form. In case of your untimely death, your dependents will receive the risk-cover amount or the sum assured. On the other hand, there is no survival benefits if you survive the policy term, and you also do not get back the premiums paid. Endowment assurance plans-It is a traditional investment-cum-insurance plan. In other words, it provides both life cover (in the event of death of life insured) or maturity benefits if he/she survives the policy term. Endowment plans are typically front-loaded. Therefore it makes sense for you to remain in the policy for at least 12-15 years. Money-back policy-It is a variant of the endowment assurance policy-the difference is that you get the survival benefits intermittently over the life of the policy. Thus taking care of his lump-sum monetary requirements to enable him to meet his financial goals and major commitments. The maturity benefit is the sum assured value less the survival benefits already paid under the policy, plus bonuses accrued, if any. In case of untimely death the nominee will receive the entire sum assured without considering the payouts already made to you before the unfortunate death. Whole life plan-This policy provides the life assurance cover for almost the entire life. Most of the insurance companies provide protection up to the age of 100 years. The sum assured is paid to you once you reach this age, and the policy is terminated. In this payment of premium is for whole life, and the sum assured is paid to your nominee in the event of your death. In other words, this is equivalent to a term plan over your lifetime. Pension plan-A pension plan can be looked as more of an investment product offered by insurers to cater to the golden retirement years of an individual. Also referred to as retirement plans, these are designed to ensure that you are financially independent during your retirement years. Most of the pension plans also provide an optional life assurance cover in them. Child plan-It basically aims at ensuring the achievement of life goals of your child. The goal can be higher education, financial help in establishing a business or profession, or even marriage. In a child plan, the life assured can

be the parent or the child. The beneficiary for the policy, however, is the child. As a child is a minor, the life insurance contract is between the parent and the insurance company. In case of early death of the parent, the premium payment is waived off by the insurance company and the policy continues as originally planned. Unit Linked Insurance Plan-ULIPs have been the darling of insurance companies, intermediaries and the insured population alike over the last five years. The main reason for this popularity is the twin advantage of a pure life cover (insurance component) and a range of investment funds or options (savings component) to match your risk profile. While the pure life cover provides the much needed financial security to your dependents in the event of your untimely death, the savings component allows you to participate in the capital markets and build wealth over the long-term tenure of the policy.

Changing face of Indian insurance industry Indian life-insurance market is the target market of all the companies who either want to extend or diversify their business. To tap the Indian market there has been tie-ups between the major Indian companies with other International insurance companies to start up their business. The government of India has set up rules that no foreign insurance company can setup their business individually here and they have to tie up with an Indian company and this foreign insurance company can have an investment of only 24% of the total start-up investment. Indian insurance industry can be featured by: Low market penetration. Ever growing middle class component in population. Growth of customers interest with an increasing demand for better insurance products. Application of information technology for business. Rebate from government in the form of tax incentives to be insured. Today, the Indian life insurance industry has a dozen private players, each of which are making strides in raising awareness levels, introducing innovative products and increasing the penetration of life insurance in the vastly

underinsured country. Several of private insurers have introduced attractive products to meet the needs of their target customers and in line with their business objectives

MISSION AND VISION

Mission "Explore and enhance the quality of life of people through financial security by providing products and services of aspired attributes with competitive returns, and by rendering resources for economic development."
Vision "A trans-nationally competitive financial conglomerate of significance to societies and Pride of India

Every day we wake up to the fact that more than 220 million lives are part of our family called LIC. We are humbled by the magnitude of the responsibility we carry and realize that the lives that are associated with us are very valuable indeed. Although this journey started 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.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To know about the different brands of Insurance. To know about the customer satisfaction To know about pricing to Insurance To know about market share of insurance To know about the customers services.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
According to Green and Tall A research design is the specification of the methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is the overall operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates which information is to be collected, from where it is to be collected and by what procedures This research process based on primary data analysis and secondary data analysis will be clearly defined to meet the objectives of the study.

I chose the primary sources to get the data. A questionnaire was designed in accordance with our mentor in Ketchup. I chose a sample of about 30 corporate customers

I collected some data from the secondary sources like published Company documents, internet etc. Research Design A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collections and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedures. It is a descriptive cross sectional design

.It is the conceptual structure with in which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of the various research operations, thereby making research as efficient as possible yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. In the preliminary stage, my research stage constituted of exploratory study by which it is clear that the can directly existence of the problem is obvious .So, I head for the conclusive research. Sampling Plan Sampling plan is a distinct phase of research process. In this stage I have to determine who is to be sampled, how large should be the needed sample and how sampling unit is to be selected. Population In my research, I have defined my population as a complete set of customers of Sagar City. Sample Survey As compared to census study, a sample study has been conducted by us because of: Wide range of population, it was impossible to cover the whole population Time and money constraints. Sample Unit

In this survey I took the list of customers from the dealers of Ketchup Sampling Technique Sampling technique implies the method of choosing the sample items, the two methods of selecting sample are: Probability method. Non-probability method. Probability method is those in which every item of the universe has an equal chance of the inclusion in the sample. Non-probability methods are those that do not provide every item in the universe with known cause of being included in the sample. The selection process is partially subjective. For my study, I employed the Non-probability sampling technique, in which I got the data of the customers from the dealer of Ketchup.

MARKET ANALYSIS
Private players in the life insurance business are growing at a scorching pace. Within three years of their inception, they have seized about 14 per cent of the market. Compare this to new generation private-sector banks, which took nine years for 20 per cent share in the Indian banking industry. And after seven years in the industry, in 2000, private mutual funds accounted for just 9 per cent of a market that had been dominated by the Unit Trust of India. There's another dimension to the insurance numbers game. While the private insurance companies have attained 13 to 14 per cent share of the overall insurance market, their share in the key metros (Mumbai and Delhi) is as high as 30 to 40 per cent. "We have to struggle to complete a deal in the metros now, because policyholders are comparing products and asking for better deals," says S B Mathur, chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Private insurance companies are essentially joint ventures with global insurance companies holding a maximum of 26 per cent stake. The foreign partners are investing heavily in the Indian market and, thereby, driving sales, because they see India emerging as one of the biggest markets in the Asian region.

"India will become the biggest market for us in the next three to four years," predicts Dan Bardin, Prudential Corporation Asia managing director south Asia and greater China. Private players have certainly done their bit to increase the penetration levels of insurance, mainly by creating alternative distribution channels--such as associations with banks, brokers and corporate agents. "Our bancassurance channel--with tie-ups with four banks--

contributes almost 70 per cent of our total sales," says Aviva CEO Stuart Purdy. OM Kotak Mahindra Life, which is ranked eighth among private players, is also leaning towards alternative distribution channels that will contribute to 45 per cent of total sales, in line with the contribution from its tied agency force. In sharp contrast, most of the LIC's policies continue to be sold through its tied-agency network. The state life corporation acknowledges that it is unable to maintain its lead in some metros: penetration by the private-sector insurers has come of age and they are giving the LIC a run for its money. The multi-channel approach adopted by private insurance companies has proved to be a boon in terms of costing and their ability to capture business. Earlier, most private insurance companies focused their energies on the top 20 cities. Today they are moving to smaller cities.

"The potential in smaller cities is increasing and companies are moving to smaller cities and towns because these are increasingly becoming more prosperous with a rise in agricultural income. With the increase in buying power, this has fuelled growth opportunities for us," says Max New York Life CEO Anuroop Tony Singh. AMP Sanmar, another private player, has tied up with various chit funds and transport finance companies in the country, where it is selling life policies on the back of fixed deposits and bonds. A senior company official cites the example of Vijaywada where a significant portion of the income is derived from farming activities. "The rural populace is managing their money well and no longer keeping it under their beds. They have mobile phones and have opened bank accounts. They are not very different from their urban counterparts when it comes to purchasing life insurance covers," he points out. And that's making the private sector optimistic about its future in the Indian insurance market. "We [private insurers] are becoming an alternative to LIC. If a customer has already bought an LIC plan, his second policy is likely to be bought by the private insurance sector on account of various reasons--more specifically flexibility and transparency," says OM Kotak Mahindra Life CEO Shivaji Dam. Perhaps this partly explains why the LIC has increased its advertising spend multifold since the insurance sector was privatized. Its ad spend more than doubled to Rs 81 crore (Rs 810 million) in fiscal

2003, against Rs 37 crore (Rs 370 million) in 1999-2000, prior to the industry being privatized. Of course, the private insurance sector has also been steadily increasing its ad spend, from Rs 29 crore (Rs 290 million) in fiscal 2001 when the industry opened up, to Rs 92 crore (Rs 920 million) the following year. In fiscal 2003, private insurers spent Rs 143 crore (Rs 1.43 billion) on advertising. But it's not the increased spend on advertising alone that has helped private players in grabbing market share. One of the key differential factors responsible for their growing market is the 150,000-odd life insurance advisors of the private insurance companies. "The private insurance agents sell better than their counterparts at the LIC. Life insurance advisors of private sector insurance companies adopt the need-based selling approach, unlike the LIC's agency force that pushes the number of policies," says Dam. This also gets reflected in the average sum assured by private insurance companies being higher than that of the LIC. Policies sold by the private players tend to be of a higher value. For instance, Birla Sun Life's average premium stands at Rs 24,500, while that of OM Kotak Mahindra Life is equally high at Rs 20,400. Against this is the LIC's average premium of Rs 3,200. Of course, there's also a difference in the target client of the private and the state-run insurance companies. While the private players are targeting the upper middle-class and high net-worth individuals, the

LIC aims for the masses through its 2,048 branches spread across semi-rural and rural towns. Meanwhile, private insurance companies are capitalizing on global relationships. "Business deals are often a call away since we capitalize on AIG's global relationship with multinational companies such as GE and Kodak," says Tata AIG Life Ian Watts. OM Kotak has gone a step further and tied up with Swiss Life International so that it can capitalize on the latter's relationship with 300 multinational subsidiaries and affiliates. But it's not as if LIC has lost out on group insurance. The insurance major's group business reached new heights in fiscal 2004, recording a 119 per cent growth in new premium income and 50 per cent increase in the number of lives covered. Still, new business income for private companies has grown at 146 per cent in fiscal 2004, compared to the 18 per cent average industry growth in new premium income for the same period. "The key in product sales lies in offering unbundled and transparent products that give customer value," points out Dam. The biggest draw in insurance in fiscal 2004 was unit-linked plans. Ninety-five per cent of the policies sold by Birla Sun Life and over 80 per cent of the 436,000 policies sold by ICICI Prudential were unitlinked plans. And even though the LIC was late (January 2004) in pushing its unitlinked product "Bima Plus", it managed to mop up a premium income

of Rs 373 crore (Rs billion) with the sale of just under 1.7-lakh unitlinked policies, the highest sales figure in the industry. The advantage with unit-linked plans is that they offer policyholders transparency in terms of costs, annual returns and bonus calculations. With many companies guaranteeing the capital investment (some like Birla Sun Life even guarantee 3 per cent assured returns on its unit-linked plans), the interest in unit-linked plans only increased. And the switch from traditional products to unit-linked plans gained momentum as the Sensex climbed higher: the returns on such policies are linked to the equity market. "The stock market has helped to a certain extent and has contributed to our growth and performance," agrees Birla Sun Life CEO Nani Javeri. Aviva has shown a compounded aggregate growth rate of 36 per cent since the inception of its fund. Returns on OM Kotak's balanced and growth funds stand at 31.79 to 43.25 per cent respectively. Dam claims that OM Kotak has sold several policies of Rs 25-50 lakh (Rs 2.5-5 million) since the "savvy investor thinks it best to invest in unit-linked products." He adds: "Growth is coming faster in insurance companies with unit-linked plans."

CONSUMER GROUPS
Market by 2015, particularly in countries like India and China. The IRDA is the major body, which is providing better opportunities for the private player in India. GIC & LIC's monopoly market approach is no more prevalent in India. The new market scenario for insurance is growing; no doubt it is a flying bird. Change is the eternal law of nature. Everything is changing according to the need of the time. Economic growth and social development in present scenario is due to sudden change in industrial policy and economic planning. Globalization has been the basic mantra after 1991, so every one thinks of being global. Liberalization, privatization and globalization is the basic concept of success in all aspect of development. Competition is tough now due to globalization. Business has positioned the entire economy, and industrialists think about making things global. There are no stringent rules or regulations for making any business house or industry. Government gives more emphasis on export and entrepreneurship. This is a changing world. Everyone has to compete for better success. Marketing is the major concept for developing any type of business. After globalization, marketing has taken a new dimension and it is the most challenging task now. The new horizon of marketing in the field of finance and insurance in present scenario is a good sign of development.

MARKETING STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION: Wherever there is uncertainty there is risk. We do not have any control over uncertainties which involves financial losses. The risks may be certain events like death, pension, retirement or uncertain events like theft, fire, accident, etc. Insurance is a financial service for collecting the savings of the public and providing them with risk coverage. The main function of Insurance is to provide protection against the possible chances of generating losses. It eliminates worries and miseries of losses by destruction of property and death. It also provides capital to the society as the funds accumulated are invested in productive heads. Insurance comes under the service sector and while marketing this service, due care is to be taken in quality product and customer satisfaction. While marketing the services, it is also pertinent that they think about the innovative promotional measures. It is not sufficient that you perform well but it is also important that you let others know about the quality of your positive contributions.

The creativity in the promotional measures is the need of the hour. The advertisement, public relations, word of mouth communication needs due care and personal selling requires intensive care. INSURANCE MARKETING: The term Insurance Marketing refers to the marketing of Insurance services with the aim to create customer and generate profit through customer satisfaction. The Insurance Marketing focuses on the formulation of an ideal mix for Insurance business so that the Insurance organisation survives and thrives in the right perspective. MARKETING MIX FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES: The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. The Insurance business deals in selling services and therefore due weightage in the formation of marketing mix for the Insurance business is needed. The marketing mix includes sub-mixes of the 7 Ps of marketing i.e. the product, its price, place, promotion, people, process & physical attraction. The above mentioned 7 Ps can be used for marketing of Insurance products, in the

following manner:

1. PRODUCT: A product means what we produce. If we produce goods, it means tangible product and when we produce or generate services, it means intangible service product. A product is both what a seller has to sell and a buyer has to buy. Thus, an Insurance company sells services and therefore services are their product. In India, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) are the two leading companies offering insurance services to the users. Apart from offering life insurance policies , they also offer underwriting and consulting services . When a person or an organisation buys an Insurance policy from the insurance company, he not only buys a policy, but along with it the assistance and advice of the agent, the prestige of the insurance company and the facilities of claims and compensation. It is natural that the users expect a reasonable return for their investment and the insurance companies want to

maximize their profitability. Hence, while deciding the product portfolio or the product-mix, the services or the schemes should be motivational. The Group Insurance scheme is required to be promoted, the Crop Insurance is required to be expanded and the new schemes and policies for the villagers or the rural population are to be included. The Life Insurance Corporation has intensified efforts to promote urban savings, but as far as rural savings are concerned, it is not that impressive. The introduction of Rural Career Agents Scheme has been found instrumental in inducing the rural prospects but the process is at infant stage and requires more professional excellence. The policy makers are required to activate the efforts. It would be prudent that the LIC is allowed to pursue a policy of direct investment for rural development. Investment in Government securities should be stopped and the investment should be channelized in private sector for maximizing profits. In short, the formulation of product-mix should be in the face of innovative product strategy. While initiating the innovative process it is necessary to take into consideration the strategies adopted by private and foreign insurance companies.

2. PRICING: In the insurance business the pricing decisions are concerned with: i) The premium charged against the policies, ii) Interest charged for defaulting the payment of premium and credit facility, and iii) Commission charged for underwriting and consultancy activities. With a view of influencing the target market or prospects the formulation of pricing strategy becomes significant. In a developing country like India where the disposable income in the hands of prospects is low, the pricing decision also governs the transformation of potential policyholders into actual policyholders. The strategies may be high or low pricing keeping in view the level or standard of customers or the policyholders. The pricing in insurance is in the form of premium rates. The three main factors used for determining the premium rates under a life insurance plan are mortality, expense and interest. The premium rates are revised if there are any significant changes in any of these factors.

 Mortality(deaths in a particular area): When deciding upon the pricing strategy the average rate of mortality is one of the main considerations. In a country like South Africa the threat to life is very important as it is played by host of diseases. Expenses: The cost of processing, commission to agents, reinsurance companies as well as registration are all incorporated into the cost of installments and premium sum and forms the integral part of the pricing strategy. Interest: The rate of interest is one of the major factors which determines peoples willingness to invest in insurance. People would not be willing to put their funds to invest in insurance business if the interest rates provided by the banks or other financial instruments are much greater than the perceived returns from the insurance premiums. 3. PLACE: This component of the marketing mix is related to two important facets i) Managing the insurance personnel, and ii) Locating a branch.

The management of agents and insurance personnel is found significant with the viewpoint of maintaining the norms for offering the services. This is also to process the services to the end user in such a way that a gap between the services- promised and services offered is bridged over. In a majority of the service generating organizations, such a gap is found existent which has been instrumental in making worse the image problem. The transformation of potential policyholders to the actual policyholders is a difficult task that depends upon the professional excellence of the personnel. The agents and the rural career agents acting as a link, lack professionalism. The front-line staff and the branch managers also are found not assigning due weightage to the degeneration process. The insurance personnel if not managed properly would make all efforts insensitive. Even if the policy makers make provision for the quality upgradation, the promised services hardly reach to the end users. It is also essential that they have rural orientation and are well aware of the lifestyles of the prospects or users. They are required to be given adequate incentives to show their excellence. While recruiting agents, the

branch managers need to prefer local persons and provide them training and conduct seminars. In addition to the agents, the front-line staff also needs an intensive training programme to focus mainly on behavioral management. Another important dimension to the Place Mix is related to the location of the insurance branches. While locating branches, the branch manager needs to consider a number of factors, such as smooth accessibility, availability of infrastructural facilities and the management of branch offices and premises. In addition it is also significant to provide safety measures and also factors like office furnishing, civic amenities and facilities, parking facilities and interior office decoration should be given proper attention. Thus the place management of insurance branch offices needs a new vision, distinct approach and an innovative style. This is essential to make the work place conducive, attractive and proactive for the generation of efficiency among employees. The branch managers need professional excellence to make place decisions productive.

4. PROMOTION: The insurance services depend on effective promotional measures. In a country like India, the rate of illiteracy is very high and the rural economy has dominance in the national economy. It is essential to have both personal and impersonal promotion strategies. In promoting insurance business, the agents and the rural career agents play an important role. Due attention should be given in selecting the promotional tools for agents and rural career agents and even for the branch managers and front line staff. They also have to be given proper training in order to create impulse buying. Advertising and Publicity, organisation of conferences and seminars, incentive to policyholders are impersonal communication. Arranging Kirtans, exhibitions, participation in fairs and festivals, rural wall paintings and publicity drive through the mobile publicity van units would be effective in creating the impulse buying and the rural prospects would be easily transformed into actual policyholders. 5. PEOPLE: Understanding the customer better allows to design appropriate products. Being a service industry which

involves a high level of people interaction, it is very important to use this resource efficiently in order to satisfy customers. Training, development and strong relationships with intermediaries are the key areas to be kept under consideration. Training the employees, use of IT for efficiency, both at the staff and agent level, is one of the important areas to look into. 6. PROCESS: The process should be customer friendly in insurance industry. The speed and accuracy of payment is of great importance. The processing method should be easy and convenient to the customers. Installment schemes should be streamlined to cater to the ever growing demands of the customers. IT & Data Warehousing will smoothen the process flow. IT will help in servicing large no. of customers efficiently and bring down overheads. Technology can either complement or supplement the channels of distribution cost effectively. It can also help to improve customer service levels. The use of data warehousing management and mining will help to find out the profitability and potential of various customers product segments.

7. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION: Distribution is a key determinant of success for all insurance companies. Today, the nationalized insurers have a large reach and presence in India. Building a distribution network is very expensive and time consuming. If the insurers are willing to take advantage of Indias large population and reach a profitable mass of customers, then new distribution avenues and alliances will be necessary. Initially insurance was looked upon as a complex product with a high advice and service component. Buyers prefer a face-to-face interaction and they place a high premium on brand names and reliability. As the awareness increases, the product becomes simpler and they become off-the-shelf commodity products. Today, various intermediaries, not necessarily insurance companies, are selling insurance. For example, in UK, retailer like Marks & Spencer sells insurance products. The financial services industries have successfully used remote distribution channels such as telephone or internet so as to reach more customers, avoid intermediaries, bring down overheads and increase

PRODUCT PROFILE
National Insurance Company Limited National Insurance Company Limited was incorporated in 1906 with its registered office in Sagar. Consequ ent to passing of the General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act in 1972, 21 Foreign and 11 Indian Companies were amalgamated with it and National became a subsidiary of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) which is fully owned by the Government of India. After the notification of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Act, on 7th August 2002, National has been de-linked from its holding company GIC and presently operating as a Government of India undertaking. National Insurance Company Ltd (NIC) is one of the leading public sector insurance companies of India, carrying out non life insurance business. Headquartered in Sagar, NIC's network of about 1000 offices, manned by more than 16,000 skilled personnel, is spread over the length and breadth of the country covering remote rural areas, townships and metropolitan cities. NIC's foreign operations are carried out from its branch offices in Nepal. National transacts general insurance business of Fire, Marine and Miscellaneous insurance. The Company offers protection against a wide range of risks to its customers. The Company is privileged to cater its services to almost every sector or industry in the Indian Economy viz.

Banking, Telecom, Aviation, Shipping, Information Technology, Power, Oil & Energy, Agronomy, Plantations, Foreign Trade, Healthcare, Tea, Automobile, Education, Environment, Space Research etc. National Insurance is the second largest non life insurer in India having a large market presence in Northern and Eastern India.

HDFC INSURANCE

HDFC Life (HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company) is an Indian private life insurance company. It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd(HDFC) and Standard Life plc, provider of financial services in the UK. It was established after private companies were allowed

to enter the insurance industry in the year 2000. HDFC holds 74% of the equity while Standard Life h olds 26%.[1] Business Divisions The company is present across 700 cities in India and has a network of over 500 branches. Distribution Channels HDFC Life distributes its products through a multi channel network consisting of Insurance agents, Bancassurance partners (HDFC Bank, Saraswat Bank,Indian Bank), Direct channel, Brokers, Online buy channel Principal products category of the HDFC Life include Protection plans, Childrens plans, Savings plans, Investment plans, Health plans, Womens Plan and Group insurance solutions. The companys portfolio currently consists of 28 retail, 9 group products and 10 rider benefits under savings, investment, protection and retirement product category.

Life insurance in India

Life Insurance is the fastest gro wing sector in India since 2000 as Government allowed Private players and FDI up to 26% and recently Cabinet approved a proposal to increase it to 49%. Life Insurance in India was nationalised 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 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 the newly appointed insurance regulator - Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority IRDAstarted issuing licenses to private life insurers. Types of Life Insurance in India Life insurance products come in a variety of offerings catering to the investment needs and objectives of different kinds of investors. Following is the list of broad categories of life insurance products: Term Insurance Policies The basic premise of a term insurance policy is to secure the immediate needs of nominees or beneficiaries in the event of sudden or unfortunate demise of the policy holder. The policy holder does not get any monetary benefit at the end of the policy term except for the tax benefits he or she can choose to avail of throughout the tenure of the policy. In the event of death of the policy holder, the sum assured is paid to his or her beneficiaries. Term insurance policies are also relatively cheap to acquire compared to other insurance products. Endowment Policies This basically falls into the category of an insurance-cum-investment product. Unlike a regular term insurance policy, an endowment plan provides returns on investment at the end of the policy term. There are several varieties of endowment plans, and the rate of returns and the type of benefits can vary based on the kind of endowment plan an individual has opted for. With an endowment plan, a persona can opt for insurance products that provide both the benefit of insurance as well as investment. Money-back Policies Money back policies are basically an extension of endowment plans wherein the policy holder receives a fixed amount at specific intervals throughout the duration of the policy. In the event of the unfortunate death of the policy

holder, the full sum assured is paid to the beneficiaries. The terms again might slightly vary from one insurance company to another. Unit-linked Insurance Policies (ULIP) Main article: Unit-linked insurance plan Unit linked insurance policies again belong to the insurance-cum-investment category where one gets to enjoy the benefits of both insurance and investment. While a part of the monthly premium pay-out goes towards the insurance cover, the remaining money is invested in various types of funds that invest in debt and equity instruments. ULIP plans are more or less similar in comparison to mutual funds except for the difference that ULIPs offer the additional benefit of insurance. Pension Policies Pension policies let individuals determine a fixed stream of income post retirement. This basically is a retirement planning investment scheme where the sum assured or the monthly pay-out after retirement entirely depends on the capital invested, the investment timeframe, and the age at which one wishes to retire. There are again several types of pension plans that cater to different investment needs. Now it is recognized as insurance product and being regulated by IRDA.

Aviva

Aviva plc (LSE: AV., NYSE: AV) is a British multinational insurance companyheadquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has around 43 million customers across 21 countries.[3] It is the market leader in both general insurance and life and pensions in the UK and has major businesses in Asia, Continental Europe and North America.[3]

Aviva has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Name The name of the company upon its formation in May 2000 was CGNU plc. [4] In April 2002 the company's shareholders voted to change the company name to "Aviva plc", an invented word derived from "viva", the Latin for 'life' and designed to be short, memorable and work worldwide.[5] In April 2008 Aviva announced that it would adopt the "Aviva" name as its worldwide consumer-facing brand, and that the Norwich Union brand would be phased out in the United Kingdom.[6] [edit]History Aviva can trace its history back to the establishment of the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in London in 1696.[7] It was created by a merger of two British insurance firms, Norwich Union and CGU plc[8] (itself created by the 1998 merger ofCommercial Union and General Accident[9]) as CGNU in 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002.[10] During March 2005 Aviva acquired the RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for around 1.1 billion.[11] In July 2006, Aviva greatly increased its presence in the United States by acquiring AmerUs Group, a financial services company founded in 1896. [12] AmerUs Group was subsequently renamed Aviva USA Corporation. The Company continued to use the Norwich Union name as a trading name in the UK until 1 June 2009 when it became formally known as Aviva within the United Kingdom. The launch was supported by a 9 million advertising campaign to promote the rebranding (one of the most expensive ever in the UK insurance field), with the participation of celebrities including Bruce Willis and Alice Cooper.[13]

In June 2009 the Company decided to dispose of Navigator, its Australian wealth management business, to National Australia Bank for A$825 million (401 million).[14] In October 2009 the company decided to focus on its commercial insurance sector and demonstrate its commitment to brokers by launching their 'find a broker' facility, using the British Insurance Brokers Association search engine. To help them with this endeavour,Paul Whitehouse was recruited to play the part of a successful hairdresser running three salons. The message of the campaign focused on business insurance through insurance brokers. [15] The closing line of the campaign was "We're in business to keep you in business". In September 2011, Aviva completed the sale of RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for 1.0 billion to The Carlyle Group.[16] In July 2012, Aviva announced plans to sell or close 16 non-core businesses in order to simplify its activities and boost shareholder returns.[17] As part of the plans Aviva announced the sale of its operations in South Korea and the closure to new business of its bulk-buying annuity unit in the United Kingdom.[17] In August 2012, Aviva announced that up to 800 jobs would be lost following a reorganization caused by further turmoil in theEurozone.[2] In December 2012, Aviva agreed to sell Aviva USA Corporation to Athene Holding for US$1.8 billion (1.1 billion) as part of a plan to improve shareholder returns and reduce the group's capital requirements.[18][19]

Reliance Life Insurance

Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited (Reliance Life Insurance) is a part ofReliance Capital Ltd. of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Capital is one of Indias leading private sector financial services companies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking companies, in terms of net worth.[3] Nippon Life Insurance Company acquired 26% interest in equity share capital of the Company effective October 7, 2011 subsequent to receipt of all regulatory approval. Nippon Life Insurance, also called Nissay, is Japan's largest private life insurer with revenues of Rs 346,834 crore (US$ 80 Billion) and profits of over Rs 12,199 crore (US$ 3 billion). The Company has over 14 million policies in Japan, offers a wide range of products, including individual and group life and annuity policies through various distribution channels and mainly uses face-to-face sales channel for its traditional insurance products. The company primarily operated in North America, Europe and Asia and is headquartered inOsaka, Japan. It is ranked 81st in Global Fortune 500 firms in 2011

DO YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THESE INSURANCE

5% Pie-chart

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Yes No

95%

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THESE INSURANCE

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes No. Series1

DO YOU HAVE GOT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT

10% Print Media Electronic Media Face to Face Comm

60%

30%

WHAT PRODUC T YOU LIKE MOST

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 NIC LIC HDFC AVIVA RELIANCE Series1

WHAT IS REASON BECAUSE OF WHICH YOU PREFER THESE INSURANCE

Quality Price Product

SUGGESTION People are not aware of the life insurance. Most of them know only one

company which provides life insurance i.e. LIC. So awareness campaign should be run so that people are aware of different life insurance companies in India. People should be educated about the different types of products or plans offered by the life insurance companies. Most of them dont know much of the different types of plan or products. It was felt that most of the people took life for tax savings or just to cover up their life, not as an investment avenue. Life Insurance companies need to advertise in such a manner that people start investing in life insurance like the way they invest in the stock market Now at the time of global turmoil insurance company had to hold on to the policyholders trust which might lead the company to the path of success

Insurance companies should try to adopt different strategies to market their products or plan. Companies should not primarily focus on the agents for their business.

Conclusion

Insurance is one sector that witnessed continuous growth owing to the reforms in 2000. The insurance sector is likely to attain a size of Rs. 2,00,000 crore ($ 51.2 billion) in 2009-10. In life insurance, the business grew by 23.3% to Rs. 93,000 crore in 2007-08 (Source:Assocham). The sector alone employs close to 30 lakh people (including agents and direct employees).

A well-functioning insurance market plays an important role in economic development and financial stability of developing economies such as Indias. First, it inculcates and encourages the habit of saving. Second, it provides a safety net to rural and urban enterprise and productive individuals.

The life insurance market in India is on a growth path. In spite of this, the country lags far behind the others in awareness about life insurance. The challenge is to spread awareness about life insurance and it true benefits. The industry has to convince people to park their hard earned money in long-term insurance and not just look at it as a tax saving instrument.

Limitations 1. Useful Financial insights are not easily available. 2. Due to time constraint sufficient research on all the investment tools is

difficult. 3. The survey sample is not very large for analysis 4. Properly convincing people to invest in insurance products is challenging. 5. Due to recession there is liquidity crunch in the market. 6. There might have been tendencies among the respondents to amplify or filter their responses under the testing conditions . 7. The research is confined to Sagar and does not necessarily shows a pattern applicable to other parts of the country.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Q.1 Q.2 Q.3 Q.4 Q.5 Q.6

Do you have knowledge about these product ? (a) Yes (a) Yes (b) No. (b) No. Are you satisfied with these product From where do you have got knowledge about this product (a) Print Media (b) Electronic Media (c) Media Which product you like most (a) NIC (b) LiC (c) HDFC (d) AVIVA (e) Reliance Do you like the quality of this product What is the reason becuase of which you prefer this product (a) Quality (b) Price (c) Product

Q. 7 Any Suggestions:

BIBLIOGRAPHY
News Paper Mazine

www.lic.co.in

www.wikipedia.com

www.tata-aig-life.com www.birlasunlife.com www.irdaindia.org

www.google.com www.wikipedia.com