A PROJECT REPORT ON

“HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

IN CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR IN LIFE INSURANCE
INDUSTRY”

SUBMITTED TO
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune
Autonomous (Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF. REKHA KANKARIYA

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION
(T.Y.B.B.A 2021-22) SEMESTER - VI

BY: SIMRAN MALIK KHOJA (21974 / B191043)

 DECLARATION

This is a declaration stating that the project report is done by

Miss Simran Malik Khoja submitted to Mrs Rekha Kankariya for
the third year of bachelors of business administration for finance
project.
I declare that the work hereby submitted is my own original work
and all the other sources (either from a printed source, Internet
or any other source) used in this work is appropriately
acknowledged.

PLACE: PUNE NAME: SIMRAN

KHOJA
ROLL NO: 21974
SIGNATURE
SEAT NO: B191043
 SADHU VASWANI MISSION’S
St. Mira’s College For Girls, Pune
Autonomous (Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University)
Reaccredited by NAAC- A Grade, cycle 3
[ARTS, COMMERCE, SCIENCE, BSc (Computer Science), BBA, BBA (CA)]
6, Koregaon Road, Pune-411001. [INDIA]

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms. Simran Malik Khoja (Roll no: 21974 / Seat
no: B191043) has successfully completed in Project titled “HDFC
Standard Life Insurance Company Limited in Customer Buying
Behaviour in Life Insurance Industry” in specialization – Finance.
The same constitutes a part of T.Y.B.B.A curriculum for the academic
year 2021-22.

-------------------- --------------------- ----------------------

Project Guide Course Coordinator External Examiner
(Internal Examiner) (Mrs. Rekha Kankariya)

-------------------
Student Sign
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our principal
without whose support this finance report would not be possible. Thank
you Dr. Jaya Rajagopalan for giving me this opportunity to explore the
subject of finance which enhanced my exposure and knowledge in the
subject field.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all those who gave
me the possibility to complete this finance report. Special thanks is due to
my internal guide Mrs. Rekha Kankariya whose help, stimulating
suggestions and encouragement helped me in all time of the report
establishment and in completing this report.
I would like to thank my external resource guide Mrs. Barkha who helped
me in collecting the primary data from the banks with the help of her
strong network which profound the actual base for my report.
LETTER FROM THE COMPANY
 INDEX

SR.NO PARTICULARS PAGE

NO.

CHAPTER 1

1. INTRODUCTION

2. 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 9

3. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 10

4. 1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 11

5. 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12-13

6. 1.5 METHODS AND ASSUMPTIONS 14

7. 1.6 LIMITATIONS 15

8. CHAPTER 2

9. INDUSTRY AND COMPANY PROFILE

10. 2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE 17

11. 2.2 COMPANY PROFILE 18

12. 2.3 SWOT ANALYSIS 19-20

13. 2.4 CORPORATE OBJECTIVES 21

14. 2.5 PRODUCT PROFILE 22-23

15. CHAPTER 3
16. 3.1 EXECUTIVE THEORY 25-26

17. 3.2 LIFE AND GENERAL INSURANCE 27

18. CHAPTER 4

19. 4.1 MAJOR PLAYERS IN INSURANCE INDUSTRY 28-30

20. 4.2 CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR CONCEPT 31-32

21. CHAPTER 5

22. 5.1 DATA ANALYSIS 34-48

23. 5.2 ANNEXURE OF DATA ANALYSIS 49-50

24. CONCLUSION 52

25. RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS 54

26. BIBLIOGRAPHY 56

28. PLAGIARISM REPORT 57-60

29. PROGRESS REPORT 1 AND 2 61-63

30. REPORT CD
CHAPTER 1
 INTRODUCTION

Customer is the king and it is the customer who decides what a business is and therefore a
sound marketing programme starts with a careful analysis of habits, attitudes, motives and
needs of the customers. Life is full of risks. Being a social animal and risk reverse, man
always tries to reduce risk. An age- old method of sharing of risk through economic
cooperation led to the development of the concept of “insurance”. Insurance may be
described as a social device to reduce or eliminate risk of loss to life and property. Insurance
is collective bearing of risk. The risks, which can be insured against, include fire, perils of
sea, death, accidents and burglary.

Insurance can be defined as a legal contract between two parties where one party called
insurer undertakes to pay a fixed amount of money on the happening of a particular
event which may be certain or uncertain. The other party called insured pays in exchange a
fixed sum known as premium. The insurer and the insured are also known as “Assuror and
Assured”.

The concept of insurance is believed to have emerged almost 4500 years ago in the ancient
land of Babylonia where traders are used to bear risk of the caravan by giving loans, which
were later repaid with interest when the goods arrived at safely. The first insurance contract
was entered into by European maritime nation in 1347 to accept marine insurance as a
practice.
The oldest life insurance company in existence today is the society for the equitable
assurance of lives and Survivorship, known as “old Equitable”. It was established in England
in 1756.So before discussing more about this topic I would like to explain what is Insurance?

Life Insurance: Life insurance is a guarantee that your family will receive financial support,
even in your absence. Put simply, life insurance provides your family with a sum of money
should something happen to you. It thus permanently protects your family from financial
crises.
In addition to serving as a protective cover, life insurance acts as a flexible money-saving
scheme, which empowers you to accumulate wealth-to buy a new car, get your children
married and even retire comfortably. Life insurance also triples up as an ideal tax-saving
scheme.
The opening up of insurance sector was a part of the ongoing liberalization in the financial
sector of India. The changing face of the financial segment and his entry of several
companies in the field of life and non-life insurance segment are one of the key results of
these liberalization efforts. Insurance business by way of generating premium income adds
significantly to the GDP.

Over the past three-year, more than companies have expressed interest in doing business in
India. The IRDA is the regulatory authority, which looks over all related aspects of the
insurance business. The provisions of the IRDA bill acknowledge many issues related to
insurance sector. The IRDA bill provides guidance for three levels of players’ insurance
companies, insurance brokers and insurance agent. Life insurance sector is one of the key
areas where enormous business potential exists. In India currently the life insurance premium
as a percentage of GDP

1
 The huge potential of the Indian insurance market is up for the taking. We can understand the
importance of the life insurance sector for India from following facts:
 The fifth largest insurance market in Asia.
 The third largest emerging market in the world today
 Insurance sector accounting for3% of GDP and we have a population of more than one
billion.
OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
 To determine reasons behind opting for an insurance.
 To determine customers buying behaviour towards private insurance companies and
their expectation form private insurance companies.
 To determine the feedback on services provided by any other insurance agent.
 To study the types of benefits provided by insurance services.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
 To know whether the service offered by the company has satisfied the needs of all
groups of people.
 To find out the benefits preferred by the customers.
 To know about their views about the company and to assess to their views.

2
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

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. However understanding the market, consumer
preference and introducing new products to suit different tastes and at the same time offering
a value product would be the key steps to fight competition.

Marketing is an important activity in any organization’s sales strategy. Marketing helps in

promoting the products in the targeted market and create a recall value and branding to the
products. Marketing department perform the initial market study for the suitability of the
product launches; study the market requirements in the existing markets to further strengthen
the market capitalization identity the feature needed for a longevity of a product. 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.

With largest number of the life insurance policies in force in the world, insurance happens to
be a mega opportunity in India. It is a business growing at the fast rate of 15-20 per cent
annually and presently is of the order of Rs. 450 billion. Together with banking services, it
ends about 2 percent of GDP and funds available with LIC for investment are 8 percent of
GDP.
The 12 private insurers in the life insurance market have already grabbed nearly 9 percent of
the market in terms of premium income. The growing popularity of the private insurers
shows in other ways. They are coining money in new niches that they have introduced. And
in the popular unit linked insurance schemes they have a virtual monopoly, with over 90
percent of the customer.
Thus, it becomes all the more significant to study the market share and the trends in insurance
sector and to compare static and growth ratios of different insurance companies to have a
clear ideas of the potential of growth of this industry in a largely populated country of India.

3
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Marketing research can be defined as the systematic design, collection, analysis, and
reporting of the data and finding relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the
company. Research design is the basic plan which guides the researchers in the collection and
analysis of data required for practicing the research product. In fact the research design is the
conceptual structure with which research is conducted. It consist the blue print for the
collection, measurement and analysis of the data that was followed completing the study to
ensure that study is relevant to the problem and will follow the predetermined and set data.
The main data feature of “Research Design” is that it specifies population to be studied. The
main them of the chapter is to know the source of the data the researcher has collected. Data
are raw facts of observation, typically about physical phenomenon.

Descriptive research: The research design selected for this research is descriptive research
design.

METHODOLOGY:

Collection of the data for the study can be drawn from following methods for study.

Sources of the data:

After determining the objectives of study and research design, the next important step is data
is step collection method. The information has to be collected from the relatives working in
the HDFC and DCB Bank. During the process of the study the data is collected from the
target segment that is customers, dealers and distributors with help of a structured well
designed questionnaire.

4
Data is collected from

• Primary data

• Secondary data

Primary data
It was collected through questionnaire prepared contains relevant questions that are both
close ended and opened. Individual and group interviews also under taken with difference
consumers, I have collected mainly the Primary Data for my study by utilizing the
questionnaire and interview methods. Also Mrs Barkha (DCB bank associate) helped me
getting the deep insight of the knowledge regarding the policies provided by HDFC and DCB
bank as a third party supplier and how the choices for a particular insurance policy differ
from person to person.

Secondary data
These data are collected from published sources such as Magazines, NEWS papers, several
books, and also from the help of web site www.hdfcsl.com.

5
 METHODS AND ASSUMPTIONS OF THE REPORT

Cost

All benefit payments and expenses associated with issuing and maintaining a company’s
policies, with no explicit provision for profit.

Deferred Policy Acquisition Cost (DPAC)

The unamortized portion of those policy acquisition expenses that vary with, and are
primarily related to, the acquisition of new and renewal insurance contracts and coverage’s.

Gross Premium

Amounts contractually required to be paid or anticipated to be contributed by the

policyholder.

Indeterminate Premium Policies

Life and health insurance policies under which the insurer is obligated to provide coverage
for an extended period of time, and under which premiums may vary at the discretion of the
insurer.

Participating Policy

An insurance or annuity policy under which the policyholder is entitled to participate in the
distributable surplus of the company.

Risk of Adverse Deviation

The risk that actual experience may differ from best estimate assumptions in a manner that
produces costs higher than assumed or revenues less than assumed.

6
 LIMITATIONS OF THE REPORT

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to limit the spread of the disease have
significantly disrupted economic activity in countries around the world, resulting in
significant business interruption losses. The vast majority of these losses are likely to be
absorbed by policyholders as, unless governments (or courts) intervene, few companies have
business interruption coverage that is likely to respond to these types of losses – exposing the
existence of an important protection gap for some pandemic-related business interruption
losses. This note provides an overview of how business interruption insurance against
pandemic risk could be provided with support from governments, and some of the challenges
and considerations necessary for establishing such a programme.

In response to the current crisis, policymakers in a number of jurisdictions are examining

various ways to support commercial policyholders (particularly small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs)) in the context of the uninsured business interruption losses that they have
faced as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers are also beginning to
examine longer-term solutions to address the gap in financial protection for pandemic-related
business interruption that has come to light as a result of the current crisis.

This note provides an overview of the initial responses to the likely business interruption
protection gap for COVID-19 and a discussion of how business interruption insurance against
pandemic risk could be provided with support from governments based on the experience of
other catastrophe risk insurance programmes.

7
CHAPTER 2

8
 COMPANY PROFILE

ABOUT HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. 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 Ltd.), India's
leading housing finance institution and a Group Company of the Standard Life, UK. HDFC
as on December 31, 2007 holds 72.38 Percent of equity in the joint venture.

HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE PARENTAGE

 HDFC is India leading housing finance institution and has helped build more than 23,
00,000 houses since its incorporation in 1977.
 In Financial Year 2003-04 its assets under management crossed Rs. 36,000 Cr.
 As at March 31, 2004, outstanding deposits stood at Rs. 7,840 crores. The depositor
base now stands at around 1 million depositors.
 Rated AAA by CRISIL and ICRA for the 10th consecutive year
 Stable and experienced management
 High service standards
 Awarded The Economic Times Corporate Citizen of the year Award for its long-
standing commitment to community development.
 Presented the Dream Home award for the best housing finance Provider in 2004 at the
third Annual Outlook Money Awards.

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.

9
 KEY
STRENGTHS
1) FINANCIAL EXPERTISE

As a joint venture of financial services groups, HDFC standard life has the financial
expertise required to manage your long-term investments safely and efficiently.

2) RANGE OF SOLUTIONS

We have a range of individual and group solutions, which can be easily customised to
specific needs. Our group solutions have been designed to offer you complete
flexibility combined with a low charging structure.

3) TRACK RECORD SO FAR

Our gross premium income, for the year ending March 31, 2008 stood at Rs.4, 859
crores and new business premium income stood at Rs. 2,685 crores. The company has
covered over 9, 59,000 lives year ending March 31, 2008.

10
SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGHTS:

1.) Domestic image of HDFC supported by Standard Life’s international image is the
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 for 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 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:

11
 1.) Insurable population: According to IRDA only 10% of people are insured. This
suggests that 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.

THREATS:

1.) Other private insurance companies also vying for the same uninsured population.
2.) Competition from public sector insurance companies like LIC, National Insurance
Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Limited, New India Assurance Company
Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited. People trust and go to them
more.
3.) Poaching of customer base by other companies.
4.) Most people don’t understand the need or are not willing to take insurance policies
in general.

12
 COPORATE OBJECTIVES

COMPANY’S VISION

'The most successful and admired life insurance company, which means that we are
the most trusted company, the easiest to deal with, offer the best value for money, and
set the standards in the industry'. 'The most obvious choice for all'.

COMPANY’S VALUE

Values that we observe while we work

• Integrity
• Innovation
• Customer centric
• People Care One for all and all for ones
• Teamwork
• Joy and Simplicity

13
PRODUCT PROFILE

Individual product:

We at HDFC Standard Life realize that not everyone has the same kind of needs. Keeping
this in mind, we have a varied range of Products that you can choose from to suit all your
needs. These will help secure your future as well as the future of your family.

Protection Plans

You can protect your family against the loss of your income or the burden of a loan in the
event of your unfortunate demise, disability or sickness. These plans offer valuable peace of
mind at a small price.

• Term Assurance Plan

• Loan Cover Term

• Assurance Plan

Investment Plans

Our investment products are well suited to meet your long-term needs.

• Single Premium Whole Life Plan

Pension Plans

Our Pension Plans help you secure your financial independence even after retirement.

• Personal Pension Plan

• Unit Linked Pension Plan

• Unit Linked Pension

Plus Our Immediate Annuity plan will aid you in receiving income post retirement and
securing you financial independence.

Savings Plans
14
Our Savings Plans offer you flexible options to build savings for your future needs such as
buying a dream home or fulfilling your children’s immediate and future needs.

• Endowment Assurance Plan

• Unit Linked Endowment

• Unit Linked Endowment Plus

• Money Back Plan

• Children's Plan

• Unit Linked Young star

• Unit Linked Young star Plus

Health Plans

Our health plans provides you with timely support in case of any health related emergencies
and helps you and your family to remain financially independent in difficult times

• Critical care plan and Surqi care plan

15
CHAPTER 3

16
 EXECUTIVE THEORY

LIFE INSURANCE
In 1818 the British established the first insurance company in India in Calcutta, the Oriental
Life Insurance Company. First attempts at regulation of the industry were made with the
introduction of the Indian Life Assurance Companies Act in 1912. A number of amendments
to this Act were made until the Insurance Act was drawn up in 1938. Noteworthy features in
the Act were the power given to the Government to collect statistical information about the
insured and the high level of protection the Act gave to the public through regulation and
control. When the Act was changed in 1950, this meant far reaching changes in the industry.
The extra requirements included a statutory requirement of a certain level of equity capital, a
ceiling on share holdings in such companies to prevent dominant control (to protect the
public from any adversarial policies from one single party), stricter control on investments
and, generally, much tighter control. In 1956, the market contained 154 Indian and 16 foreign
life insurance companies. Business was heavily concentrated in urban areas and targeted the
higher echelons of society. “Unethical practices adopted by some of the players against the
interests of the consumers” then led the Indian government to nationalize the industry. In
September 1956, nationalization was completed, merging all these companies into the so-
called Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). It was felt that “nationalization has lent the industry
fairness, solidity, growth and reach.”
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: The market contained 154 Indian and 16 foreign life insurance companies.

17
GENERAL INSURANCE
The General Insurance industry in India dates back to the Industrial Revolution and the
subsequent increase in trade across the oceans in the 17th century. As for Life Insurance, the
British brought General Insurance to India, and a similar path was followed in the
development of this industry. A number of private companies were in existence for years and
years until, in 1971, the Indian Government decided that the public interest would be served
by nationalizing the industry, merging all the 107 companies into four companies, depending
on the sort of business transacted (Marine, Fire, Miscellaneous). These were the National
Insurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance
Company Ltd., and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. located in Calcutta, New Delhi,
Bombay and Madras respectively. The General Insurance Corporation (GIC) was set up in
1972 as a ‘holding’ company, having these four companies as its subsidiaries.

Some of the important milestones in the general insurance business in India are:
1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all classes of
general insurance business.
1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a
code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.
1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency
margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.
1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalize the general
insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973. 107 insurers amalgamated and
grouped into four company’s viz. the National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India
Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. and the United India
Insurance Company Ltd. GIC incorporated as a company.
This section evaluates the economic significance of insurers’ financial statement line items
using annual common-size analyses. The analyses are conducted with aggregate data (for all
insurers) as well as sub-industry data, for each of the years 1999 through 2009. The tables
reported below provide the time-series averages of the corresponding annual common-size
analyses. Common size statistics are calculated using the aggregate values of the numerator
and denominator for the relevant group.
ALL LH PC ML RE IB

Cash 2% 2% 3% 1% 4% 2%

18
Investment Assets 56% 57% 62% 44% 70% 26%
(including ST)

Accounts Receivables 3% 1% 6% 2% 5% 37%

(including premium)
Reinsurance Assets 5% 2% 9% 7% 11% 0%

Intangible Assets 2% 1% 4% 1% 0% 20%

Deferred Policy 4% 4% 2% 4% 4% 3%
Acquisition Cost

Separate Account 20% 28% 2% 35% 0% 0%

Assets

Other Assets 7% 5% 12% 5% 5% 12%

Total Assets 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

This format reveals interesting asset composition differences across the sub-industries. In
particular, for LH insurers, investment assets constitute almost 80% of adjusted assets, and
deferred policy acquisition costs (DAC) constitute 6%. In contrast, for PC insurers,
investments account for only 63% of adjusted assets, and DAC constitute a mere 2%. Instead,
PC insurers have substantial reinsurance assets, receivables, and other assets.

19
CHAPTER 4

20
MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA (LIC)

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was established on 1 September 1956 to spread the
message of life insurance in the country and mobilise people’s savings for nation building
activities. LIC with its central office in Mumbai and seven zonal offices at Mumbai, Calcutta,
Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Bhopal, operates through 100 divisional offices in
important cities and 2,048 branch offices. LIC has 5.59 lakh active agents spread over the
country.
The Corporation also transacts business abroad and has offices in Fiji, Mauritius and United
Kingdom. LIC is associated with joint ventures abroad in the field of insurance, namely, Ken-
India Assurance Company Limited, Nairobi; United Oriental Assurance Company Limited,
Kuala Lumpur; and Life Insurance Corporation (International), E.C. Bahrain. It has also
entered into an agreement with the Sun Life (UK) for marketing unit linked life insurance and
pension policies in U.K. In 1995-96, LIC had a total income from premium and investments
of $ 5 Billion while GIC recorded a net premium of $ 1.3 Billion. During the last 15 years,
LIC's income grew at a healthy average of 10 per cent as against the industry's 6.7 per cent
growth in the rest of Asia (3.4 per cent in Europe, 1.4 per cent in the US).
LIC has even provided insurance cover to five million people living below the poverty line,
with 50 per cent subsidy in the premium rates. LIC's claims settlement ratio at 95 per cent
and GIC's at 74 per cent are higher than that of global average of 40 per cent. Compounded
annual growth rate for Life insurance business has been 19.22 per cent per annum.

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC)

The general insurance industry in India was nationalized and a government company known
as General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed by the Central Government in
November 1972. With effect from 1 January 1973 the erstwhile 107 Indian and foreign
insurers which were operating in the country prior to nationalization, were grouped into four
operating companies, namely,

 National Insurance Company Limited;

 New India Assurance Company Limited;
 Oriental Insurance Company Limited; and
 United India Insurance Company Limited.

21
(However, with effect from Dec'2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from the parent
company and made as independent insurance companies).
All the above four subsidiaries of GIC operate all over the country competing with one
another and underwriting various classes of general insurance business except for aviation
insurance of national airlines and crop insurance which is handled by the GIC. Besides the
domestic market, the industry is presently operating in 17 countries directly through branches
or agencies and in 14 countries through subsidiary and associate companies. Besides the
domestic market, the industry is presently operating in 17 countries directly through branches
or agencies and in 14 countries through subsidiary and associate companies.

22
BUYING BEHAVIOUR CONCEPT

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using
products.

Customer buying behaviour:

Customer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate end user i.e. the
customer. A firm needs to analyse the buying behaviour for:
 Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firm’s
success
 The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a marketing mix that satisfies
a customer and therefore need to analyse the what, where, when and how the
customers buy.
 Marketers can better predict how customers will respond to marketing strategies.

How Consumer Buy:

1. Need/Want/Desire is recognized:
In the first step the customer has determined that for some reason he/she is not satisfied (i.e.
customer’s perceived actual condition) and wants to improve his/her situation. External
factors can also trigger the customer’s needs. Marketers are particularly good at this through
advertising, in-store displays etc.
2. Search for information:
Assuming that customers are motivated to satisfy his/her need they will undertake a search
for information on possible solutions. The sources may be simple like the past experience or
the customer may expend considerable effort to locate information from outside sources
(internet, etc.). How much effort the customer directs towards searching depends on factors
such as:
 The importance of satisfying the need
 Familiarity with available sources
 The amount of time available for search

3. Evaluate options:

23
 Customers search efforts may result in set of options from which a choice can be
made. It should be noted that there may be two levels to this stage. At level one
the customer may create a set of possible solutions to their solution while at level
two the customer may be evaluating particular products within each solution.

4. Purchase:
In many cases the solution chose by the customer is the same as the product whose
evaluation is highest. The intended purchase may be altered at the time of purchase
for many reasons such as the product is out of stock, a competitor offering incentive at
the time of purchase, the customer lacking in necessary of funds.
5. after purchase evaluation:
Once the customer has made the purchase they are faced with the evaluation of the decision.
If the product performs below the customer’s expectation then he/she will re-evaluate the
satisfaction with the decision, which at its extreme might result in the customer returning the
product while in less extreme situations the customer will retain the product but may take a
negative view of the product. Such evaluations might occur in expensive or highly important
purchases. Customer service centre and follow-up market research are useful tools in helping
to address the purchaser’s concern.

24
CHAPTER 5

25
 DATA ANALYSIS

AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS

Age Group No. of respondent Percentage

Below 25 31 31%
25 to 35 39 39%
35 to 45 25 25%
45 and above 5 5%
TOTAL 100 100%

INTERPRETATION:

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The above figure reveals that most of the people 32% are working in government and 29%are
Business sector

OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

WORKING SECTOR NO. OF RESPONDENT PERCENTAGE

Govt. 32 32%
IT 16 16%
Education 6 6%
Finance 13 13%
Business 29 29%
Other 4 4%
TOTAL 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The above figure reveals that most of the people 32% are working in government and 29%are
Business sector

RESPONDENTS AWARENESS OF INVESTMENT OPTION

Awareness No. of respondent Percentage

YES 33 33%
NO 14 14%
Have some knowledge 53 53%
TOTAL 100 100%

INTERPRETATION:

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This graph shows that only 33% of people are aware of the investment option and 53% of
people have some knowledge about it. But 14% of people are not aware of the investment
option available to them.

RESPONDENTS HAVING AN INSURANCE POLICY

Response No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 53 53%
No 47 47%
TOTAL 100 100%

INTERPRETATION:

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This graph shows that 47% of people not having an insurance policy and 53% of people
having an insurance policy.

RESPONDENT INTEREST OF INVESTING OPTIONS

Need for Investment Respondents Percentage

Retirement 28 28%
Tax saving 21 21%
Earnings 33 33%
Liquidity 18 18%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The figure shows 33% of people have insurance for future earnings and 28% are investing for
Retirement.

TERM OF INVESTMENT PREFERRED

Investment Method No .of respondents Percentage

Short Term 32 32%

Medium Term 22 22%
Long Term 46 46%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The above figure shows 46% of respondents prefer long term investment where as 32%
prefer medium term and only 22% prefer short term.

PERCEPTION ABOUT INSURANCE

RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

A saving tool 32 32%
A tax saving device 29 29%
A tool to protect your family 39 39%

INTERPRETATION:
The above figure shows that 32% of the respondents have perception of Insurance being a
saving tool and 29% of the respondents have perception of Insurance being a tax saving
device. But 39% of the respondents are with the view that Insurance is a tool to protect your
family.

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KIND OF BUYING PROCESS PREFERRED

BUYING PROCESS NO. OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

Customer approached 44 44%
Insurance company/Agent
Company/agent approached 56 56%
customer
Total 100 100%

INTERPRETATION:

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• 44% of the respondents approached the Insurance Company / Agent. 55
• Whereas, 56% of the respondents were approached by the Company /Agent.

WHAT PEOPLE LOOK FOR IN INSURANCE COMPANY?

RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

A trusted name 29 29%
Friendly service & 25 25%
responsiveness
Good plans 29 29%
Accessibility 17 17%

INTERPRETATION
• 29% customers look for a trusted name in a company for insurance.

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• 29% customers look for a good plan in a company for insurance.
• Friendly service & responsiveness and Accessibility are also important factors looked by
customers in a company.

FEATURES MADE YOU TO INVEST IN HDFC STANDARD LIFE

INSURANCE

FEATURE NO.OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

Money Back Guarantee 15 15%
Larger Risk Covariance 37 37%
Easy Access to Agents 7 7%
Low Premium 30 30%
Company’s Reputation 11 11%
TOTAL 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
Majority of the respondent (37%) found larger risk covariance as the most attracted feature of
the all.

RESPONDENT PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE HDFC STANDARD

LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

Opinion No .of respondents Percentage

Average 29 29%
Aggressive 21 21%
Excellent 14 14%
Professional 36 36%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The above graph shows that 36% of Respondents believes the operations of the company to
be professional and 29% believe it is Average.

SATISFACTION OF THE RESPONDENTS WITH RESPECT TO

POLICIES OFFERED.

RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

Satisfied 60 60%
Not satisfied 40 40%
Not Responded 0 0%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION
• 60% of the respondents are more or less satisfied with their existing policy.
• 40% of the respondents are not satisfied with their existing policy.
• In this case all of those who have taken a policy have responded.

RESPONDENTS PREFERENCE FOR CLARIFYING ANY QUERY

Services No. of Respondents Percentage

Advisor 39 39%
Company website 16 16%
Customer care 28 28%
Branch manager 17 17%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The above graph shows that 39% people believes in Advisor, 28% of people believes
Customer care while company website and branch Manager People clarify any query first
respectively 16% and 17%.

BENEFITS OF INSURANCE PERCIEVED BY RESPONDENTS

BENEFITS NO.OF RESPONDENTS SHARE (%)

Cover Future Uncertainty 55 55%
Tax Deductions 20 20%
Future Investment 25 25%
TOTAL 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION
55% of the respondents believe that covering future uncertainty is the biggest benefit of an
insurance policy.
Whereas, 20% and 25% of them believe that the other benefits are Tax deduction and future
investments respectively.

SATISFACTION OF CURRENT POLICY

Satisfaction level No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 82 82%
No 18 18%
Total 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:
The above figure shows that 82% of respondents are satisfied with their current policy and
only 18% of people are not happy with their policy.

ANNEXURE OF DATA ANALYSIS

1) What is your name?

(2) Sex:
 [ ]Male
 [ ]Female

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(3) Which age group do you belong to?
 [ ] less than 25years
 [ ] 25 to 35 tears
 [ ] 35 to 45 years
 [ ] above 45years
(4) Which sector are you working in?
 [ ] Education
 [ ] Finance
 [ ] Business
 [ ] Government
 [ ] IT
 [ ] others
(5) Are you aware of the all the Investment options available?
 [ ] Yes
 [ ] No
 [ ] Have some knowledge
(6) Do have any insurance policy?
 [ ] Yes
 [ ] No
(7) Why do you want to invest in to insurance?
 [ ] Retirement
 [ ] Tax saving
 [ ] Earnings
 [ ] Liquidity
(8) Which term of investment preferred?
 [ ] Short term
 [ ] Medium term
 [ ] Long term
(9) What is your perception about insurance?
 [ ] A saving tool
 [ ] A tax saving device
 [ ] A tool to protect your family
(10) What kind of buying process do you prefer?
 [ ]Customer approached Insurance company/Agent
 [ ] Company/agent approached customer
(11) What do you look for in an insurance company?
 [ ] A trusted name

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  [ ] Friendly service & responsiveness
 [ ] Good plans
 [ ] Accessibility
(12) Which features made you to invest in HDFC Standard Life Insurance?
 [ ] Money Back Guarantee
 [ ] Larger Risk Coverance
 [ ] Easy Access to Agents
 [ ] Low Premium
 [ ] Company’s Reputation
(13) What is your opinion towards the services provided by HDFC Standard Life Insurance?
 [ ] Average
 [ ] Aggressive
 [ ] Excellent
 [ ] professional
(14) Are you satisfied with the policies of the insurance provider?
 [ ] Satisfied
 [ ] Not satisfied
 [ ] Not Responded
(15) If you want to clarify any query to whom you consult first?
 [ ] advisor
 [ ] company website
 [ ] customer care
 [ ] branch manager
(16) How do you perceive the benefits of insurance provided?
 [ ] Cover Future Uncertainty
 [ ] Tax Deductions
 [ ] Future Investment
(17) Are you satisfied with your current policy?
 [ ] Yes
 [ ] No

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 CONCLUSION

An insurance policy is an investment oriented plan. As compared to the other

investment plans, the investment portfolio of the Insurance Policy functions like
a mutual fund and other investment. It is invested in a portfolio of debt and
equity instruments, in conformity with the announced investment policy. Hence
it grows or erodes in line with the performance of that portfolio.

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From the study it reveals that the consumer’s attitude towards Insurance Policy
and Insurance Company changed a lot. A years before the consumers and the
general public were not interested to take an Insurance Policy but now a days
there are many options and choices in front of the customers. They are
interested to take high return policies in order to secure their lives. People are
aware of all the benefits and returns of Insurance Policies. As a result of this
new international and domestic companies are coming to the Indian market.

Since there are many players in the Indian Insurance Market the competition
level is very high. So the companies are introducing new schemes. From this it
is found that the HDFC is the major market share holder in the insurance field
incorporated as a third party supplier with many other branches. Even if there
are many players in this field still it is untapped market. Only a few population
of the Indian population is insured.

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RECOMMENDATION AND
SUGGESTION

With regard to insurance companies, consumers responds at different rates,

depending on the consumers characteristics. Hence Insurance Companies
should try to bring their new product to the attention of potential early adapters.

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Due to the intense competition in the life insurance market, the life insurance
companies have to adopt better strategies to attract more customers.

Keeping the cost, quality and return on investment in tact is necessary in order
to tackle the competition.

Life insurance products are taken mainly by middle and higher income group.
Hence they should be regarded as main targeted income groups. Life insurance
products which are suitable for lower income group should also be released so
that the market share increases.

Return on Investment, company reputation and premium outflow are most

preferred attributes that are expected by the respondents. Hence greater factors
should be given to these attributes.

Private Life Insurance companies should adopt effective promotional strategies

to increase awareness level among the consumers.

Life Insurance companies should ask for their consumer’s feedback to know
whether the consumers are really satisfied or dissatisfied with the service and
product of the companies. If they are dissatisfied, then the reason for
dissatisfaction should be found out and should be corrected in future.

The HDFC Insurance Portfolio has earned a lot of goodwill and enjoys a high
brand equity. As there is intense competition in life insurance market, HDFC
should work hard to maintain its top position and offer better services and
product.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.hdfclife.com
https://onlineinsurance.hdfclife.com/buy_insurance/tax_benefits
Economic Times

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PLAGIARISM REPORT

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 PROGRESS REPORT 1 AND 2

PROGRESS REPORT 1

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY

The Life Insurance Market in India

The Life Insurance Market in India is an underdeveloped market that was only tapped by the
state owned LIC till the entry of private insurers. The penetration of life insurance products
was 19 percent of the total 400 million of the insurable population. The state owned LIC sold
insurance as a tax instrument, not as a product giving protection, with the entry of the private
insurers the rules of the game have changed. Despite its teeming one billion populations,
India still has a low insurance penetration of 1.95 percent, 51st in the world. Despite the fact
that India boasts a saving rate of around 25 percent, less than 5 percent is spent on the
insurance.
Yet, nearly 80 percent of Indian populations are without life insurance cover, health
insurance and non-life insurance continue to be below international standards. And this part
of the population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly old
age income security. This it is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is
immense.
Thus, the main focus of the study will be on the comparison, which will be studied under the
main problems, are the financial position, market share, services, customer satisfactions,
policies benefits, premium, and terms etc., which have created awareness in the minds of
Indian public about the importance of life insurance.

 SWOT Analysis
 Preparation of Questionnaire for Data Analysis
 Product profile
 Research Design

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PROGRESS REPORT 2

Buying Behaviour study

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using
products.

Customer buying behaviour:

Customer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate end user i.e. the
customer. A firm needs to analyse the buying behaviour for:
 Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firm’s
success
 The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a marketing mix that satisfies
a customer and therefore need to analyse the what, where, when and how the
customers buy.
 Marketers can better predict how customers will respond to marketing strategies.

How Consumer Buy:

1. Need/Want/Desire is recognized:
In the first step the customer has determined that for some reason he/she is not satisfied (i.e.
customer’s perceived actual condition) and wants to improve his/her situation. External
factors can also trigger the customer’s needs. Marketers are particularly good at this through
advertising, in-store displays etc.
2. Search for information:
Assuming that customers are motivated to satisfy his/her need they will undertake a search
for information on possible solutions. The sources may be simple like the past experience or
the customer may expend considerable effort to locate information from outside sources
(internet, etc.). How much effort the customer directs towards searching depends on factors
such as:
 The importance of satisfying the need
 Familiarity with available sources
 The amount of time available for search
3. Evaluate options:

55
 Customers search efforts may result in set of options from which a choice can be
made. It should be noted that there may be two levels to this stage. At level one
the customer may create a set of possible solutions to their solution while at level
two the customer may be evaluating particular products within each solution.

4. Purchase:

In many cases the solution chose by the customer is the same as the product whose
evaluation is highest. The intended purchase may be altered at the time of purchase
for many reasons such as the product is out of stock, a competitor offering incentive at
the time of purchase, the customer lacking in necessary of funds.
5. after purchase evaluation:
Once the customer has made the purchase they are faced with the evaluation of the decision.
If the product performs below the customer’s expectation then he/she will re-evaluate the
satisfaction with the decision, which at its extreme might result in the customer returning the
product while in less extreme situations the customer will retain the product but may take a
negative view of the product. Such evaluations might occur in expensive or highly important
purchases. Customer service centre and follow-up market research are useful tools in helping
to address the purchaser’s concern.

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