PROJECT TITLE:

EFFECTIVENESS OF RECRUITMENT AND

TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR SALES FORCE=A
CASE STUDY OF HDFC STANDARD LIFE.

KRITI VISHWAKARMA
DIV-B ROLL NO.- 22

INDIRA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, PUNE

YEAR: 2009-2011
3. COMPANY CERTIFICATE

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to thank the Management at HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Company Ltd Life Insurance co. for giving me the opportunity to do my two-month project
training in their esteemed organization. I am highly obliged to Mr. ANURAG
MAHENDRA (Channel Development Manager) for granting me to undertake my training.
I express my thanks to all Sales Managers under whose able guidance and direction, I was
able to give shape to my training. Their constant review and excellent suggestions
throughout the project are highly commendable. My heartful thanks go to all the executives
who helped me gain knowledge about the actual working and the processes involved in
various departments.
I would also like to thanks my internal guide Shri Deshpandey Sir who helped me in
making my project report.
TABLE CONTENTS AND PAGE NUMBER

Sno. TOPIC PAGE

No
1. Executive Summary

2. Part I Company Profile

(a) Brief introduction of the company.

(b) History of the Company / Organization profile

3. Part II Project Overview

(a) Introduction

(b) Objectives & scope

(c) Research Methodology

(d) Data Analysis

(e) Conclusions

(f) Limitations

(g) Recommendations and Observations

4. Part III

(a) Appendix

(b) Bibliography

(c) References

(d) Glossary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In today’s corporate and competitive world, I find that insurance sector has the maximum

growth and potential as compared to the other sectors. Insurance has the maximum growth

rate of 70- 80% while as FMCG sector has maximum 12-15% of growth rate. This growth

potential attracts me to enter in this sector and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company

Ltd has given me the opportunity to work and get experience in highly competitive and

enhancing sector. The success story of good market share of different market organizations

depends upon the availability of the product and services near to the customer, which can

be distributed through a distribution channel. In Insurance sector, distribution channel

includes only agents or agency holders of the company. If companies like RELIANCE

LIFE INSURANCE, TATA AIG, MAX etc have adequate agents in the market they can

capture big market as compared to the other companies. Agents are the only way for a

company of Insurance sector through which policies and benefits of the company can be

explained to the customer.

HDFC Standard Life insurance is the oldest life insurance company in the world. It is the

largest insurer in the UK and is the 28th largest company in the world. In India, the

company is marketing life insurance products and unit linked investment plans. From my

research at HDFC SLIC, I found that the company has a lot of competition from other

private insurers like ICICI, Aviva, Birla Sun Life and Tata AIG. It also faces competition

from LIC.

On the whole HDFC standard life insurance is a good place to work at. Every new recruit

is provided with extensive training on unit linked funds, financial instruments and the

products of HDFC. This training enables an advisor/sales manager to market the policies

better. HDFC was ranked 13 in the Best Places to Work survey. The company should try to

create awareness about itself in India. In the global market it is already very popular. With

an improvement in the sales techniques used, a fair bit of advertising and modifications to
the existing product portfolio, HDFC would be all set to capture the insurance market in

India as it has around the globe

INTRODUCTION:
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited is one of India's 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), India's leading housing finance institution and a Group Company of the Standard
Life Plc, UK. As on February 28, 2009 HDFC Ltd. holds 72.43% and Standard Life
(Mauritius Holding) 2006, Ltd. holds 26.00% of equity in the joint venture, while the rest
is held by others.

OBJECTIVES:

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

 To study about the awareness among the people for joining as agent in Life
Insurance Companies.

 To know the role and scope of Financial Consultant in Life Insurance Companies.

 To have a complete understanding of Recruitment and Selection process of FC’s in

HDFC Standard Life.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

 To do SWOT analysis of HDFC Standard Life.

 To know about different products provide by HDFC Standard Life.

LIMITATIONS:
Some of the main problems in marketing the policies are:

 Large amount of competition.

 Other brands are well advertised and have higher recall value.
 LIC is considered a safer option.
 Face competition from banks and mutual funds.
 High premium policies are difficult to market.
 Incorrect perception about insurance.
 Short term plans are available only at large premium.
 Customers do not have risk appetite to invest in shares.
 Consumers don’t want to undertake medical examinations.
 Customers do not like their money locked up for many years.
 No money back plan present in the product portfolio.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

 To compete effectively HDFC SLIC could launch cheaper and more reasonable
products with small premiums and short policy terms (the number of year’s
premium is to be paid).
 The ideal premium would be between Rs. 5000 – Rs. 25000 and an ideal policy
term would be 10 – 20 years.
 HDFC must advertise regularly and create brand value for its products and services.
Most of its competitors like Aviva, ICICI, Max, Reliance and LIC use television
advertisements to promote their products.
 The Indian consumer has a false perception about insurance – they feel that it
would not benefit them if they do not live through the policy term.
 Nowadays however, most policies are unit linked plans where a customer is
benefited even if their death does not occur during the policy term.
 This message should be conveyed to potential customers so that they readily invest
in insurance.
 Family responsibilities and high returns are the two main reasons people invest in
insurance.
 Optimum returns of 16 – 20 % must be provided to consumers to keep them
interested in purchasing insurance.
Part I Company Profile:
BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY:

HDFC Standard Life believes that establishing a strong and ethical foundation is an
essential prerequisite for long-term sustainable growth. To ensure this, we have
concentrated our focus on expansion of branch network, organizing an efficient and well
trained sales force, and setting up appropriate systems and processes with optimum use of
technology. As all these areas form the basic infrastructure for establishing the highest
possible customer service standards

Our core values are drilled down to all levels of employees, as these are inviolable. We
continue to promote high integrity in business practices and shun short cuts and unethical
practices, as we wish to be perceived as an institution with high moral standing. Since our
inception in 2000, when the Indian insurance space was opened for private participation,
we 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, our differentiators are:

STRONG PROMOTER:

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

PREFERRED AND TRUSTED BRAND:

Our brand has managed to set a new standard in the Indian life insurance communication
space. We were the first private life insurer to break the ice using the idea of self-respect
instead of ‘death’ to convey our brand proposition (Sar Utha Ke Jiyo). Today, we are one
of the few brands that customers recognize, like and prefer to do business. Moreover, our
brand thought, Sar Utha Ke Jiyo, is the most recalled campaign in its category.
INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY:

We follow a conservative investment management philosophy to ensure that our

customer’s money is looked after well. The investment policies 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, we understand that
customers have invested their savings with us for the long term, with specific objectives in
mind. Thus, our investment focus is based on the primary objective of protecting and
generating good, consistent, and stable investment returns to match the investor’s long-
term objective and return expectations, irrespective of the market condition.

NEED BASED SELLING APPROACH:

Despite the criticality of life insurance, sales in the industry have been characterized by
over reliance on tax benefits and limited advice-based selling. Our 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 Standard 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:

Focus on long term value

Transparent dealing

Strict Compliance with Regulations

Diversified Product Portfolio

HDFC Standard Life’s wide and diversified product portfolio help individuals meet their
various needs, they are:
  Protection: Need for a sound income protection in case of your unfortunate demise
 Investment: Need to ensure long-term real growth of your money
 Savings: Save for the milestones and protect your savings too
 Pension: Need to save for a comfortable life post retirement
 Health: Cover for health related exigencies

ONE-STOP SHOP FOR EMPLOYEE- BENEFIT SOLUTIONS:

HDFC Standard Life has the most comprehensive list of products for progressive
employers who wish to provide the best and most innovative employee benefit solutions to
their employees. We offer different products for different needs of employers ranging from
term insurance plans for pure protection to voluntary plans such as superannuation and
leave encashment.

When you choose HDFC Standard Life, you choose growth for your investments and
security for your employees

THEY ASSURE YOU OF:

 Choice of different funds
 Transparent fund management
 Market linked returns
 Low fund management charges
 Easy administration
 Speedy claim settlements( as per agreed service standards)

THE GROUP PRODUCTS OFFERED TO THEIR ESTEEMED

CORPORATE CLIENTS:
 Group Term Insurance
 Group Variable Term Insurance
 Group Unit-Linked Plan - An investment solution that provides funding vehicle to
manage corpuses with Gratuity, Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution
Superannuation or Leave Encashment schemes of your company Also suitable for
other employee benefit schemes such as salary saving schemes and wealth
management schemes
PARENTAGE
HDFC Limited
HDFC Limited, India’s 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
NRI’s and PIO’s 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.

Standard Life Group (Standard Life plc and its

subsidiaries)

The Standard 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 Standard & Poor's as 'strong' with a rating of
A+ and as 'good' with a rating of A1 by Moody's. Standard 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 pension’s provider at the Financial Adviser Service Awards
for the last 10 years running. The '5 Star' accolade has also been awarded to Standard Life
Investments for the last 10 years, and to Standard Life Bank since its inception in 1998.
Standard Life Bank was awarded the 'Best Flexible Mortgage Lender' at the Mortgage
Magazine Awards in 2006.
 Founded in 1875, company supporting generation for last 179 years.
 Currently over 5 m. Policy holders benefiting from the services offered.
 Europe’s largest mutual life insurer.
JOINT VENTURE:
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited was one of the first companies to be
granted license by the IRDA to operate in life insurance sector. Reach of the JV player is
highly rated and been conferred with many awards. HDFC is rated ‘AAA’ by both CRISIL
and ICRA. Similarly, Standard Life is rated ‘AAA’ both by Moody’s and Standard and
Poor’s. These reflect the efficiency with which HDFC and Standard Life manage their
asset base of Rs. 15,000 Cr and Rs. 600,000 Cr. Respectively.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd was incorporated on 14th August 2000.
HDFC is the majority stakeholder in the insurance JV with 81.4 %stale and Standard: of as
a staple pf 18.6% Mr. Deepak Satwalekar is the MD and CEO of the venture.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. Is one of India’s leading Private Life
Insurance Companies., which offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It
is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC
Ltd.) India’s leading housing finance institution and the Standard Life Assurance
Company, a leading provider of financial services from the United Kingdom. Both the
promoters are well known for their ethical dealings and financial strength and are thus
committed to being a long-term player in the life insurance industry- all important factors
to consider when choosing your insurer.

VISION STATEMENT:
The most successful and admired life insurance company, which mean that we are the most
trusted company, the easiest to deal with, offer the best value for money, and set the
standards in the industry. In short-"The most obvious choice for all". 

VALUES THAT WILL BE OBSERVED WHILE WE

WORK WITH HDFCSL:
INTEGRITY:-

Honest and Truthful in every action.

TRANSPARENCY:-

Stick to principles irrespective of outcome.

Be just and fair to everyone.

INNOVATION:-

Building a store house of treasures through experiences.

Looking at every product and process through fresh eyes every day.

CUSTOMER CENTRIC:-

Understand his expectations by keeping him as the centre – point.

Listen actively.

Understand customer needs and deliver solutions.

Customer interest always supreme.

PEOPLE CARE:-

Genuinely understanding the people we work with.

Guiding their development through training and support.

Helping them develop requisite skills to reach their true potential.

Know them on a personal front.

Create an environment of trust and openness.

Establish a valuable relationship with them to create a joyful working environment.

Job satisfaction.

TEAM WORK "ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE":-

Whole team takes the ownership of the deliverables.

Consult all involved, understand and arrive at a common objective.

Co-operate and support across departmental boundaries.

Identify strengths and weaknesses accordingly allocate responsibility to achieve common
objectives.

TEAM WORK:-

Together Everyone Achieves More: - TEAM

It adds joy at work place.

Team work generates synergy and provides a focused approach.

An idea or activity performed in a group has greater acceptability

"One for all and all for one".

CUSTOMER SERVICE:
HDFC Standard Life is committed to maintaining the highest level of customer service.
Hence they have tried to provide you with all the information you may want to seek
regarding procedures such as paying your premium, various policy servicing options,
processing a claim and so on.

 MY ACCOUNT- It manages and monitors your HDFCSL policies at click of a

mouse.
 PREMIUM PAYMENT OPTION- Discover 9 hassles free way.
 POLICY SERVING- Need to make any changes in Personal details or policy
details for your existing policy.
 LAPSATION AND REVIVAL - If you wish to revive your policy.
 CLAIMS- A quick guide to the list of documents.
 BONUS- Their 8th Successive bonus declaration.
 CONTACT US- Your feedback/complaints are very valuable to us. Help us serve
you better.
MANAGEMENT TEAM:

Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC
Standard Life

Mr. Paresh Parasnis is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Ms.Vibha Padalkar is the Chief Financial Officer of HDFC Standard Life.

Mr. Ashley Rebello is the Chief Actuary and Appointed Actuary of HDFC Standard Life.

Mr. Rebello is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India and Fellow of The Institute of
Actuaries (UK).

Mr. Sharad Gangal is the General Manager HR and heads the vertical in HDFC Standard
Life.

Mr.Vikram Mehta heads the Sales and Marketing function for HDFC Standard Life.

BOARD MEMBERS:
Mr. H. T. Parekh, Founder-Chairman, HDFC Ltd.

Mr. Deepak S. Parekh is the Chairman of the Company.

Mr. Keki M. Mistry is the Board of Directors of the Company.

Ms. Renu S. Karnad is the Managing Director of HDFC Limited.

Mr. David Nish is Standard Life on 1 November 2006 as Group Finance Director.

Mr. Nathan Parnaby is appointed as the Chief Executive.

Mr. Norman K. Skeoch is currently the Chief Executive in Standard Life Investments
Limited.

Mr. Gautam R. Divan is a practising Chartered Accountant and is a Fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Mr. Ranjan Pant is a global Management Consultant advising CEO/Boards.

ASSOCIATE COMPANIES:

HDFC Limited

HDFC Bank

HDFC Mutual Fund

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

BANC ASSURANCE PARTNERS:

HDFC Bank

Saraswat Bank

Indian Bank
PRODUCT(S):

 HDFC Unit Linked Young Star II , Young Star Plus II ,

YoungStar Champion , HDFC YoungStar Super , HDFC YoungStar Supreme ,
 HDFC YoungStar Super Suvidha , HDFC YoungStar Supreme Suvidha & HDFC
SL YoungStar
Champion Suvidha
 HDFC Unit Linked Endowment II , Endowment Plus II ,
Endowment Winner , HDFC Endowment Super , HDFC Endowment Supreme
 HDFC Endowment Super Suvidha , HDFC Endowment Supreme Suvidha &
HDFC SL Endowment Champion Suvidha
 HDFC Unit Linked Enhanced Life Protection II
 HDFC SimpliLife
 HDFC Group Unit Linked Plan - Version II - Option A
 & B - Non Superannuation Schemes $
 HDFC Unit Linked Wealth Maximiser Plus
 HDFC Unit Linked Wealth Multiplier
 HDFC Unit Linked Endowment & Endowment Plus
 HDFC Unit Linked Young Star & Young Star Plus
 HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Suvidha & Endowment Suvidha Plus
 HDFC Unit Linked Young Star Suvidha & Young Star Suvidha Plus
 HDFC Group Unit Linked Plan - Option A & B - Non Superannuation Schemes
 HDFC Unit Linked Pension & Pension Plus
 HDFC Group Unit Linked Plan - Option A & B - Superannuation Schemes
 HDFC Group Unit Linked Plan - For Gratuity & Leave Encashment Schemes
 HDFC Group Unit Linked Plan - For Defined Benefit Superannuation Schemes @

ACCOLADES AND AWARDS:

 Received CIO 'The Ingenius 100 2009' Award.

 Received Diamond EDGE Award 2009.
 Received 2008 CIO Bold 100 and CIO Security Awards.
 Received PCQuest Best IT Implementation Award 2008.
 Received Silver Abby at Goafest 2008.
  Received Unit Linked Savings Plan Tops Mint Best TV Ads Survey-Mar 2008.
 Received Deepak M Satwalekar Awarded QIMPRO Gold Standard Award 2007.
 Received for quote- “Sar Utha Ke Jiyo” Among India’s 60 Glorious Advertising
Moments-Jan2008.

WHY HDFC IS BETTER?

 INVESTMENT RETURNS:
Investment returns and business growth provided by HDFC is validated by Bajaj
Capital. HDFC pacify the need of investors up to healthy level and make the strong
relationship with them.
 FINANCIAL BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE:
HDFC existing in the market since 1977. It has a very handsome experience in the
field of finance because it completely involved in finance Sector only where as the
others are running in many other field also like Reliance (Petroleum, Textile,
Telecom etc.)
 ETHICS AND VALUES:
HDFC is an ethical and cultural organization which prevents the false selling and
prohibits the false commitment to the customer.

 SALES FORCE:
Properly trend licensed and Educated People are the strength of the company. So
that they could give the best customer service.
 Huge branch network HDFC is having 450 branches in all over the country.
 ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY:
It makes the process faster and makes the customer delighted.
COMPETITORS OF HDFC STANDARD LIFE:

LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India):

LIC has an excellent money back policy which provides for periodic payments of partial
survival benefits as long as the policy holder is alive.20% of the sum assured is payable
after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years and the balance 40% is payable at the 20th year along with
accrued bonus.

ICICI PRUDENTIAL:

ICICI Prudential is a stiff competitor for HDFC SLIC. 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 Prudential plc holding 26%.

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

BIRLA SUNLIFE:

Birla Sun life Insurance Company Limited is the joint venture between the Aditya Birla
Group, one of the largest business houses in India and Sun Life Financial Inc., a leading
International financial services organization. It is combines with the expertise which offers
a formidable protection for your future.
BAJAJ ALLIANZ:

Bajaj Allianz is a joint venture between Allianz AG with over 110 years of experience in
over 70 countries and Bajaj Auto, a trusted automobile manufacturer for over 55 years in
the Indian market. Together they are committed to offering you financial solutions that
provide all the securities you need for your family and yourself.

TATA AIG:

Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIG Life) is a joint venture company,
formed by the Tata Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Tata AIG Life
combines the Tata Group's pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIG's global
presence as one of the world's leading international insurance and financial services
organization. The Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the insurance venture with AIG
holding the balance 26 per cent. Tata AIG Life provides insurance solutions to individuals
and corporate.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF HDFC STANDARD LIFE

INSURANCE:

STRENGTH:

1. Domestic image of HDFC supported by Standard life international image is strength of

the company.
2. Strong and well spread network of qualified intermediaries and sales person.
3. Strong capital and reserve base.
4. The company provides customer service of the highest order.
5. Huge basket of product range which are suitable to all age and income groups.
6. Large pool of technically skilled manpower with in depth knowledge and understanding
of the market.
7. The company also provides innovative products to cater to different needs of different
customers.

WEAKNESS:

1. Heavy management expenses and administrative costs.

2. Low customer confidence on the private players.
3. Vertical hierarchical reporting structure with many designations and cadres leading to
power politics at all levels without any exception.
4. Poor retention percentage of tied up agents.

OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Insurable population –According to ING only 10% of the population is insured, which
represents around 30% of the insurable population. This suggests more than 300m people,
with the potential to buy insurance, remain uninsured.
2. There will be inflow of managerial and financial expertise from the world’s leading
insurance markets. Further the burden of educating consumers will also be shared among
many players.
3. International companies will help in building world class expertise in local market by
introducing the best global practices.
4. Insurance liberalization in India is expected to result in a wider choice of major
commercial insurance covers, such as fire, export credit etc.

THREATS:

1. Other private insurance companies also vying for the same uninsured population.

2. Big public sector insurance companies like LIC, National Insurance Company Ltd.,
Oriental Insurance Ltd., New India Assurance Co Ltd. And United India Insurance Co Ltd.
People trust and go to them more.

3. Most people don’t understand the need or are not willing to take insurance policy in
general.
HISTORY OF THE COMPANY / ORGANIZATION
PROFILE:

INSURANCE:
Insurance can be defined as assurance for uncertainty. Insurance is about something going
wrong. Its’ often about things going right. One of the Wonders of human nature is that we
never believe anything can actually go wrong.

The insurance sector in India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market
to nationalization and back to liberalized market again. Tracking the development in Indian
insurance sector reveals the 360 degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two
centuries.

INSURANCE IN INDIA:

The insurance sector in India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market
to nationalization and back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the
Indian insurance sector reveals the 360 degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two
centuries.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INSURANCE SECTOR:

The business of life insurance in India in its existing form started in India in the year 1818
with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta.

Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India are:

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the
life insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect
statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.

1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the
objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the central
government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act,1956,
with a capital contribution of Rs. 5crores from the Government of India.

The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton
Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company established in the year 1850
in Calcutta by the British.

INSURANCE SECTOR REFORMS

In 1993, Malhotra Committee headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N.
Malhotra was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future
direction.

The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms
initiated in the financial sector.

The reforms were aimed at "creating a more efficient and competitive financial system
suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes
currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall
financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms…"

In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations
included:

1. STRUCTURE

· Government stake in the insurance Companies to be brought down to 50%

· Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that these
subsidiaries can act as independent corporations.

· All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate

2. COMPETITION

· Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be allowed to enter
the industry.

· No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a single entity.
· Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with the
domestic companies.

· Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market.

· Only one State Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate in each state

3. REGULATORY BODY

· The Insurance Act should be changed

· An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up

· Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should be made
independent

4. INVESTMENTS

· Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be reduced from

75% to 50%

· GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company (There current
holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of time)

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE

· LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days

· Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension plans

· Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out in the

Insurance industry

The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer services and increase the
coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up to competition. But at the same
time, the committee felt the need to exercise caution as any failure on the part of new
players could ruin the public confidence in the industry.

Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by stipulating the minimum
capital requirement of Rs.100 crores. The committee felt the need to provide greater
autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their performance and enable them
to act as independent companies with economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed
setting up an independent regulatory body.
THE INSURANCE REGULATORY AND
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (IRDA):
Reforms in the Insurance sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill in
Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a statutory body in
April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of framing regulations and registering the
private sector insurance companies.

The other decisions taken simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the
insurance sector and in particular the life insurance companies were the launch of the
IRDA's online service for issue and renewal of licenses to agents.

The approval of institutions for imparting training to agents has also ensured that the
insurance companies would have a trained workforce of insurance agents in place to sell
their products, which are expected to be introduced by early next year.

Since being set up as an independent statutory body the IRDA has put in a framework of
globally compatible regulations. In the private sector 12 life insurance and 6 general
insurance companies have been registered.

INSURANCE COMPANIES IN INDIA:

· Aviva

· Bajaj Allianz

· Bharti Axa Life

· Birla Sun Life

· Canara HSBC OBC Life

· DLF Pramerica

· Future Generali Life

· HDFC Standard Life

· ICICI Pru

· IDBI Fortis Life

· ING Vysya

· Kotak Life Insurance

· Max New York Life

· Metlife India

· Reliance Life Insurance

· Sahara Life

· SBI Life Insurance

· Shriram Life

· Star Union Dai-ichi Life

· Tata AIG

· Aegon Religare Life

Part II
PROJECT OVERVIEW:

INTRODUCTION

FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS:

The company’s distribution strategy continues to lay emphasis on the development of the
agency channel. The number of licensed Financial Consultants appointed by the company
increased from over 1, 44,000 in the previous year to over 200,000 as of March 31, 2009.
This positions the company well to take advantage of a larger trained sales force in the
coming year. The company provides extensive and thorough training, to not only comply
With the regulatory requirements, but also to equip the financial consultants to
appropriately assess the customer’s insurance needs. Towards improving the quality of
training imparted, the company started an in-house training facility for the mandatory
training and other sales training requirements. The company has received accreditation
from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for 149 training centers housed
in our branches. This initiative has improved the success ratio in licensing of financial
consultants. During the year the company launched ATLAS (Agent’s Training and
Licensing Administration System), a workflow based system, which enables efficient
processing of data for training and licensing of Financial Consultants.

WHO CAN BE THE FINANCIAL CONSULTANT?

Section 42(4) of the amended Insurance Act, 1938 states an agent to be one who is not:

 A minor.
 Found to be unsound mind by a court of competition jurisdiction.
 Found guilty of criminal background.
 Found guilty of having knowingly participated in or connived at any fraud
/dishonesty or misrepresentation against an insured.
WORK OF FINANCIAL CONSULTANT:

The FC is the interface between the customer and insurance company. The agent should be
able to accomplish the following service:

 Assessing and analyzing the clients risk profile.

 Finding the best product or products available in the market.
 Negotiating the best deal available.
 Continuity of service throughout the period of insurance.

BENEFITS OF BEING A FINANCIAL CONSULTANT ARE AS FOLLOW:

Financial consultant, the right way to start career:

As a financial consultant the role will be to identify prospective customer. You will make
presentation, as to how you can help analyses their financial needs, provide customize
financial solution to cater to their respective needs and conduct reviews on regular basis to
keep customers on thank.

Easy way to start on career:

Zero investment: There is no start-up capital. Be an own boss with a flexible working
environment, unlimited earning potential and the opportunity to be part of world class sales
team.

Flexible work timings, part time or full time: FCs can work whenever he likes and from
wherever he like, FCs can work full time depending on their convenience it’s like no other
job however, the time.
Strong Partnership:

A powerful brand – HDFC Standard Life Insurance:

We were the first private life insurance company to be granted a license by IRDA.

We have been rated by business world magazine. As Indies most respected private life
insurance company 2004.

We have grown over 130% in the last and more than 8 lakhs policy holder. HDFC standard
life insurance has one of the highest brand recalls of around 80%

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS AND CONTINUID GUIDANCE:

At HDFC standard training is an inherent element of our support system for FCs. Some of
our training and support initiative are as:

IRDA Training: Online training of 100 hrs. Prepares for career as FCs and enables to pass
the IRDA examination. After the IRDA license, first step towards a successful career as a
FC.

Basic Training and Induction: Independence of work experience, this training will give
perfect knowledge about the insurance industry along with comprehensive knowledge
about the insurance along with comprehensive knowledge about HDFC SLIC Product.

Disha training: This is a professional sales skill program eased by us to one selling skills.
Those programs enable to understand customer need and provide need based insurance
solution... A huge step from an amateur to a true finance professional.

Advance Training: Once FC have settled down as a FC professional we will continuously

upgrade capability and knowledge through sophisticated training program, fit for this
dynamic world of financial products and markets.
METHODS TO CREATE PROSPECTING:

1. Cold Calling 

2. References 

3. Family and Friends 

4. Seminar selling 

5. Existing customers

6. Advertising

7. Business Card

SPECIFICATIONS OF FC’s:

 The age of the FC should be in bracket of 30-60 years.

 The family income of the FC should be a min. of Rs.3 Lacs p.a.
 The FC should be a graduate or above by qualification.
 The FC should have spent a min of 2 years in the city of current residence.
 Married.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR FC’S RECRUITMENT:

 Exam fees 825 for Online, 925 for offline and 400 for Re-appearing.
 PAN Card.
 Age proof and ID Proof.
 Address Proof.
 Education Proof.
 6 color passport photos.
 NEFT form.
 Agency Application form.
  KYC Addendum.
 VA form.
 Approval from RM –
 If the FC is of 30 or above 30 and Under Graduate, then approval is required.
 If the FC is below 30 and Graduate, then also approval is required.
 Additional detail format.
 1 Mail ID & Pin code is mandatory.
 First to approach my personal network, like all my and family contact person.

PEOPLE WHOM TO APPROACH:

 House –wives
 Pensioners (Retired Employee)
 CA
 Stock Broker
 Tax Consultant
 Post office Agents
 RCM
 Amway People
 Sahara
 LIC Agents
 Mutual Fund Agents
 Doctors
OBJECTIVE:

Recruitment of Financial consultant (FCs) of an excellent profile and their retention

strategies and what are their benefits that company going to provided for retention of their
FCs.

What type of people are we looking for?

 Committed people who have the drive, determination and ability to become
professional financial consultants.
 Ability to sell a range of financial products.
What do We Expect from financial Consultant?
 Devote a time and energy during training.
 Sell at least 5 policies each month once after licensed with company.
 We look forward to a long term mutually beneficial relationship.
Why should financial consultant choose HDFC standard life?
 Brand value and the reputation of the partners (HDFC Limited) Market leader in
housing finance:

STRATEGIES:
Strategies Employed to achieve the target are as follows:-

 Telecalling
 Contacting the person directly (interview).
 Collect references.
SOME IMPORTANT STEPS TO MAKE EFFECTIVE
TELECALLING:

 Open the call in a friendly and positive way.

 State the name, position and company name.

 Check the prospect has time to speak.

 State the reason for the call.

 Clearly succinctly explain how the meeting will be benefiting the prospect.

PROCESS OF RECRUITMENT TO FC IS THE FOLLOWING:

1. Data Collection from Primary as well as Secondary Market as explained above.

2. FC Recruitment through cold calling.
3. Identifying whether the prospect fits our profile of “Likely Financial Consultant”-
By administering Questionnaire.
4. Determining whether prospect who fit our profile are interested in becoming a FC-
By pitching to him about “becoming an FC”.
5. Ensuring that the prospects who are interested are given to the branch to convert.
6. Prospect can be said to fit our profile of “Likely Financial Consultant” if:
 He/she matches Target Segment.
 He/she satisfies all Mandatory Parameters.
 He/she satisfies at least 1 out of 3 Optional Parameters defined.
7. Recruitment Questionnaire have to be filled by the selected people in which
following question is asked:
 Small Introduction
 Name
 Age
 Address
 Education Qualification
 Current Occupation
 Telephone numbers
 Number of family members
C
T
E
G
L
N
D
O
R
M
A
IX
S8. Judging the effectiveness of recruitment and selection of sales force is a very
critical as every company needs quality FC to increase the profitable of the
Organization.
9. After that form fill up procedure takes place then it goes to the branch office then to
the head office and finally to the IRDA.
10. IRDA issued the date of training and examination of the candidates.
11. Training is being done with the help of the trainees. The training is of 7 days that is
50 hrs.
12. Then the Company issued the training certificate to the people who have attended
the training.
13. After training the following candidates appears in the examination and have clear
it.
14. FC is selected after this and they get the license from the Company.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

PROJECT DESIGN:
PRIMARY SOURCE:

 Direct personal interview and an objectively framed questionnaire.

SECONDARY SOURCE:

 Data is taken from published articles, papers, books and organization websites.

1. DATA COLLECTION FROM PRIMARY MARKET:

 First leverage my natural market- immediate contacts: friends/relatives/neighbors.

 Then list down names of at least 50 people or more, whom I can approach directly.
 Telecalling one by one all of them and take an appointment from them.
 Making at least 10 calls per day and meeting 4-5 people.

2. DATA COLLECTION FROM SECONDARY MARKET:

 Target the key (high density) locations in city.

 Like in Pvt. Organization, Cultural Societies, Cafeterias, Banks.
 Prepare the Questionnaire and distribute it to them to reveal the information.

Questionnaire:

1. Age: Minimum 25 to 60 years. Y/N

2. Married Y/N
3. Income>Rs 3 lakhs p.a Y/N
4. Graduate or Higher Y/N
5. Has Spent >3 years in city of
Current residence Y/N

Total “Y” answers=

Approval Signature by TM (In case QSCORE<3)

  Find out from the data, person’s income, and willingness to earn extra income.
 Filter that data and find out the person who is suitable to work for the financial
consultants.
 Telecalling from the filtered people and get appointment.
 Meeting them and explaining them the procedure of how to be a FC.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. Name of the respondent:

2. Occupation:

3. Age:

4. Address:

5. Contact No.:

Q1: Do you know about HDFC Standard Life?

Yes or No

Q2: Are you aware about the career in Insurance Sector?

Yes or No

Q3: Do you know about the working of Financial Consultant of “HDFC Standard Life”?

Yes or No

Q4: Do you have an idea about financial market?

Yes or No

Q5: Do you have any sales experience if yes how many years?

Yes or No

Q6: Have you been informed about the IRDA training details?
Yes or No

Q7: Are you aware of the commission structure of HDFC Standard Life?

Yes or No

Q8: Are you aware of the documents required to join as a FC?

Yes or No

Q9: Are you willing to take up the ‘Art of Financial Consulting’?

Yes or No

Thanks for giving your precious time.

SAMPLING:

Data has been collected by surveying the people like professional, unemployed students,
housewives, investment consultant, post office agents etc.

LITERATURE COLLECTED:

1. Pamphlet for recruitment of FC.

2. Primary and secondary data for calling.

3. FC Forms to be filled by FC.

4. Policy Brochure for various Plans.

5. Mandatory documents for becoming an FC.

SAMPLE SIZE:

The sample size of my project is limited to 87 only.

SAMPLE DESIGN:
Data has been presented with the help of pie charts.

DATA ANALYSIS:

WILLINGNESS TO BE FC FOR HDFC:

Yes No Total

Working employees 3 27 30

House wives 2 18 20

Students 2 13 15

Post office agents 1 11 12

Others - - 10

Total 8 87
Working Employees

yes
no

House wives

yes
no
 Student

yes
no

Post office agents

yes
no
 Total

Working Employees
House wives
Students
Post office agents

INTERPRETATION:

 It has been seen through the data analysis that willingness to be FC in case of
Working Employees, House wives, Students and Post office agents is very less.
 But there are the people who are tend to do this work as a part time job.
 This is the part time job so people think a little to be a FC in any Company.

CONCLUSIONS:
After collection of data interpretation is done on that basis conclusion is drawn. Conclusion
prefers government insurance company other than private insurance companies due to its
reliability. Customers are more brand oriented rather than product oriented. Customers are
less aware about the private insurance companies. Private Players in order to encase
maximum number of customers are introducing new and innovative scheme for their FC.
Customers do not feel secure with private insurance companies. Customers don’t want
commission base job.

The central problem with the insurance companies is having that they are trying to
convince customers for a product which do not have any present relevance, i.e. each
policy which the customer is going to purchase will have a future set of action and
benefits. Due to which most of the people like to invest in those securities or investment,
which will give them a fruitful return in short period of time.

Life insurance Corporation has completed more than three decades and that’s where
counts, inters of brand name, different number of policies for differed class and age group
of customers.

The Private players are on the way, but they need a lot of time investment for creating a
favorable brand image.

LIMITATIONS:

 Large amount of competition.

 Other brands are well advertised and have higher recall value.
 LIC is considered a safer option.
 Face competition from banks and mutual funds.
 High premium policies are difficult to market.
 Incorrect perception about insurance.
 Interested prospects might have a lack of time and postpone Investments.
 Customers get defensive if you cold call.
 Short term plans are available only at large premium.
 Customers do not have risk appetite to invest in shares.
 Some prospects have already invested and are not interested in further investments.
 Consumers don’t want to undertake medical examinations.
  Large amount of documentation.
 Customers do not like their money locked up for many years.
 Lack of awareness about the unit linked funds in the market.
 No money back plan present in the product portfolio.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

 Customers should be made aware of the brand name of Insurance Company

through advertisement.
 The fear in the customer mind should be removed by company.
 The insurance companies should try to nurture their brand name timely and
attractive facility provide to customer.
 Advertise about the company and its products – it motivates individuals to
purchase insurance.
 Create a positive perception about insurance.
 Speak about the good features a plan offers like high returns, life cover, tax
benefits, indexation, and accident cover while prospecting customers.
 Try to sell the product/plan which the consumer requires and not the plan where
the advisors benefit is higher.
 Improve the efficiency in operations.
 Bring out policies with small premiums payable for short periods of time – Rs.
5000 – Rs. 10000 per annum for 10 years.
 Attract the youth of India with higher returns on investment as returns are the
Motivating factor which influence purchase of insurance.
 Promote insurance in colleges and corporate houses.
 Promote HDFC SLIC as an Indian Company to build trust.
 HDFC SLIC could have a brand ambassador or a mascot to promote its services.
 Should have partial withdrawals from the first year onwards.
 Tap the rural market where there is large potential.
 Diversify product portfolio.
 Make products more straight forward – reduce complexities.

OBSERVATIONS:
  Customers are less aware about the private insurance company in market.
 Some customers are like to join HDFC as FCs because it is a Part-time.
 Many professions like CA, tax planner want a corporate agency rather than to be a
financial consultant.
 HDFC is too selective in making a FC rather than to appoint any one like LIC.
 Customers don’t want to join as financial consultant because it’s on commission
basis they want job on salary basis.
 Educated customers are now vending towards private insurance Companies, due to
the attractive packages and services provided by various new insurance companies.
 LIC has created a brand image in 3-4 decades, due to which new insurance
companies are facing trouble in capturing market share.
 If the customers are joining HDFC the segment is more of tax consultant,
investment for consultant and other people who are engaged in investment business
that is because they want to diversify their portfolio.
 HDFC SLIC is having good retention strategies for their financial consultant.
 Reason for not joining HDFC SLIC.
 Associated with another company.
 Do not have time.
 Low sales.
 Private Player.
 Lack of awareness.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

 Recruited eight financial consultants for company.

 Increase in confidence level.
  Got the knowledge about, how to differentiate our product form that of LIC.
 Made more and more people aware about my company’s Products (Policies).
 Taken some appointments for FC and got positive response with the help of my
BDM.

Part III

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Websites referred:
 www.cifainsurance.com
 www.moneyoutlook.com
 www.insurance.ind.com
 www.hdfcinsurance.com
 www.google.com
 Wikipedia

REFERENCES:
To obtain more information regarding present study and to subordinate it with theoretical
proof following references were made:

Books Referred:

 Book of license training programme for insurance advisers by IC-33.

GLOSSARY:

 HDFC- Housing Development Finance Corporation.

 SLIC- Standard Life Insurance Company.
 FC- Financial Consultant.
 IRDA-Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.
 SDM- Sales Development Manager.
 BDM- Business Development Manager

ANNEXURE: