Sandy summer training_project_report_final

1
A
Project Study Report
On
“Awareness of Life Insurance Products in Indian Market.”
At
HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the Award of degree of
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
(2011-2013)
Submitted BY:- Submitted To:-
Aarti mourya Dr. Sunita Agrawal
MBA 3rd
sem Professor
ADVENT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES UDAIPUR

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PREFACE
All the learning in our M.B.A course is practice oriented. However, hands-on experience in
the corporate world during our course is very necessary to be able to test the ability and
extent of learning of the student before fully entering the corporate world.
The six week training which I underwent at HDFC-SL INSURANCE LTD, Panipat was a
wonderful learning experience. I was assigned the project “Awareness of Life Insurance
Products in Indian Market.”
With the guidance and suggestions provided by Mr. (Deepak Shrama), my Industry Guide. I
started first phase of my Research i.e. to identify which type of insurance plans HDFC-SL
should market to particular market segments in India. A survey was undertaken to
understand the preferences of Indian consumers with respect to insurance. While marketing
policies the sole duty of an advisor/ agent is to provide insurance plans as per customer
requirements.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I express my sincere thanks to Dr. R.K. Balyan, Director, Advent institute of Management
studies and my project guide Dr., Sunita Agrawal, Professor, Deptt AIMS, for guiding me
right from the inception till the successful completion of the project. I sincerely acknowledge
her for extending their valuable guidance, support for literature, critical reviews of project
and the report and above all the moral support she had provided to me with all stages of
this project.
I would also like to thank the supporting staff of Advent institute of management studies and
cooperation throughout our project.
(Signature of the student)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The insurance is primarily a social device adopted by civilized society for mitigating the
incidence of loss of income to families by unforeseen contingencies. In India, when life
insurance companies started operating in the middle of 20th century the Evil play natural to
all business had its sway. There was a lot of cut throat competition as well as profiteering.
The avowed social objective of insurance had been totally relegated to background. As a
result Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) came into existence on 1st September,
1956 after nationalization of all the 245 companies engaged in life insurance business.
From its very inception, the Corporation has made impressive growth always striving for
further improvement. However, Government made a paradigm shift in the economic policy
by adopting the process of liberalization, privatization and globalization at the end of
previous decade. Consequently a committee was set up under the chairmanship of Mr.
Malholtra, Ex-governor of RBI for undertaking various reforms in the insurance sector in the
light of new economic policy. The Committee which submitted his report in 1993
recommended the establishment of a special regulatory agency along the lines of SEBI and
opening of insurance industry for private sector. This was aggressively opposed by the
various trade unions of then operating insurance companies which led to some delay in
implementation of Malhotra Committee‘s recommendations. However, the Government
passed Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act in 1999 and
established IRDA to regulate the insurance business in the country. As a result, private
sector was allowed entry both in general and life insurance sector in India. IRDA also
allowed foreign participation up to 26 per cent in equity shareholding of private companies.
As a result many companies (both in general and life insurance) got themselves registered
with IRDA to operate in India. This project was to understand the different marketing
strategies adopted by the companies to increase their market share and along with it
meeting their own targets to achieve the position of no.1 in respective field or segment of
the market.Summer training learning helped a lot to complete this project in order to learn a
lot of things of the corporate. As a project trainee the first task given to me was to
understand the basic behavior of the consumer in order to manipulate the market according
to the target competition. For this developed a questionnaire and I did this survey in
Panipat.

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Table of contents
Sr.
No:-
Chapter Name of content Page
no
1. Introduction 1.1 An overview 1-15
1.2 Profile of company 16-
2. Research methodology 2.1 Title of the study 30
2.2 Duration of the project 32
2.3 Objective of the study 34
2.4 Simple size &method 36
2.5 Scope of the study 37
2.6 Limitation of the study 41
3. Findings & Recommendations 3.1 Findings 45
4. Data Analysis 60
5. SWOT analysis of the company 62
6. Conclusion 63
7. Suggestions&Recommendations 64
8. Appendix 65
9. Bibliography 67

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Chapter 1
Introduction to the industry

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INTRODUCTION
AN OVERVIEW
In today‘s emerging Indian economy the role and scope of Insurance companies has
increased manifold and hence this sector has seen tremendous growth and competition
over the years. With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world,
Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. It‘s a business growing at the rate of
15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 450 billion. Together with
banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the country‘s GDP. Gross premium collection
is nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8 per cent of
GDP. Yet, nearly 80 per cent of Indian population is without life insurance cover while
health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. And
this part of the population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with
hardly any old age income security. This it is an indicator that growth potential for the
insurance sector is immense. A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for
economic development as it provides long term funds for infrastructure development and at
the same time strengthens the risk taking ability. It is estimated that over the next ten years
India Would require investments of the order of one trillion US dollar. The Insurance sector,
to some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure development to sustain economic
growth of the country. Insurance is a federal subject in India. There are two legislations that
govern the sector- The Insurance Act- 1938 and the IRDA Act- 1999. 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. One of the
premium sectors showing upward growth is insurance, which is a US$ 41-billion industry in
India. India is the fifth largest life insurance market in the emerging insurance economies
globally and is growing at 32-34 per cent annually. With increasing competitiveness
amongst these, the players are bringing out newer products to attract more customers into
their kitty. Foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per cent is permitted under the
automatic route subject to obtain a license from the official regulator, Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority (IRDA). The total number of life insurance companies operating
in India is currently 22. Two major factors impacting the general insurance segment are the

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Detariffing of interest rates by Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), which
gave autonomy to insurers in pricing insurance policies and has created a competitive field
in general insurance business, the second being the financial meltdown, which has also
made Since the entry of private sector, the Indian life insurance sector has changed
dramatically to offer a variety of life insurance solutions through a distribution network
spread across the country. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
have played an important role in providing direction to the industry. The initial phase of the
life insurance industry experienced high growth fuelled by a buoyant economy. As the
industry moved from its infancy towards maturity, the regulatory architecture played an
important role by guiding and steering the industry on the right track. It has helped in
building a robust insurance industry and made favorable initiatives to give the industry an
additional boost.
Segment wise splits of weighted new business premium collected during April to December
2010

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Segment wise splits of weighted new business premium collected during April to December
2011
Life Insurance Industry in India
Insurance is a contract between the insurance company (insurer) and the policyholder
(insured). In return for a consideration (the premium), the insurance company promises to
pay a specified amount to the in secured on the happening of a specific event. Insurance is
a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent,
uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one
entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer, or insurance carrier, is a company
selling the insurance; the insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the
insurance policy. The amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage is
called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has
evolved as a discrete field of study and practice. With the largest number of life insurance
policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. It‘s a
business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs
450 billion (for the financial year 2004 – 2005). Together with banking services, it adds
about 7% to the country‘s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The gross premium collection is
nearly 2% of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8% of the GDP.

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Even so nearly 80% of the Indian population is without life insurance cover while health
insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. A large part
of our population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly
any old age income security. This in itself is an indicator that growth potential for the
insurance sector in India is immense.
Growth in HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited
Twelve months ended March 2010-11
Premium Income:
• A robust 17% growth in individual new business (regular premium)
• Focus on single premium polices in H2 results in growth of 120%
• High quality of existing business & continued focus on persistency led to 36% increase in
renewal premium
• A growth of 29% in total premium

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Growth:
•New ULIP regulations have impacted growth in H2 FY11
•In H2 we have grown 1.6%, while private industry de-grew by 40.7%
•One of the very few private insurers to achieve positive growth in FY11
•We are fastest growing amongst the top 15 private players
•Since last 3 years grown faster than private industry

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Market Share
•Have adapted well to post September 1, 2010 regime. Ranked # 1 in H2 FY 11 amongst
private insurance companies.
Ranked # 3 in private sector for the full year; # 5 during same period last year
•Highest market share gain of 4.2% in private space in FY11 over same period last year

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Distribution & Product Mix:
• Ban assurance mix has improved in FY11
• We have initiated tied agency transformation program, which focuses on unique agent
value proposition
• Renewed focus on direct distribution has led to growth of 111%.

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Commission Ratio:
•Total commission rates (new business plus renewal) are also reducing as a proportion of
total premium
•Post September 1, 2010, first year commissions have reduced

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Operating Expenses:
•Management action on cost containment and productivity enhancement programmes has
seen operating expense ratio reduce over the last 3 years
•Operating expenses have increased marginally by 4% against individual new business
growth of 27%
Total Capital:
•Capital infusion by promoters has scaled down over the last 3 financial years
•Generation of surplus on existing policies has reduced the need for capital draw-down
•Out of the capital infusion of `1.9 bn promoters brought in `1.7 bn
•Solvency Ratio as at 31st Mar 2011 was 172% as against regulatory requirement of 150%

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Importance of Life Insurance
Life insurance‘s death benefit feature and, when it is a permanent policy, its cash value,
make it a unique, versatile financial planning product.
Financial Security in the Earning Years
During your productive earning years, your ability to generate a salary may be your greatest
asset. But if you die prematurely, your loved ones may not have the assets necessary to
meet those needs. Life insurance death benefits can help secure your family‘s finances in
the event of your untimely death. Here‘s a list of financial needs life insurance can help
meet in the event of premature death.
• Final expenses: The need for immediate cash at death is universal. Final expenses
typically include the cost of a last illness — which could span days, weeks or longer —
along with funeral and burial expenses. Death can also create a tax liability requiring
immediate payment.

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• Outstanding debt: Charge card balances, auto and school loans, home equity loans
and other installment accounts that were formerly paid when your steady, ongoing income
was available, still need to be paid.
• Housing expenses: Survivors need money for mortgage or rent payments. Ideally,
funds should be earmarked to pay off a mortgage or make rental payments for a number of
years.
• Family income: The need to find replacement income is usually the largest and most
important consideration. Even when there is more than one breadwinner, the loss of one
income can be financially devastating.
• Education fund: For a young family, an especially critical need is money to pay for a
dependent child‘s education — something a parent‘s continuing income was expected to
provide.
• Social Security “blackout” period: Generally, a surviving spouse with young
children receives Social Security benefits until the youngest child reaches age 16. At that
point the spouse‘s benefit stops until age 60, at which point a widow‘s or widower‘s benefits
become payable. Funds may be needed to fill in the income void during this period. 2
• Special needs: Providing for children with special needs presents its own challenges.
While life insurance may be a cost-effective way to help provide for monetary needs, careful
planning is nonetheless required. To avoid unintended consequences, it is a good idea to
work closely with a qualified attorney.
Estate Cash and Income Needs: When we reach the end of our working years, or
are near retirement, there‘s still a need to protect the assets we‘ve accumulated over the
years and also to prevent needless estate shrinkage. Life insurance can help here also.
• A need for cash: Once an estate has reached a respectable size — thanks to
increasing income, savings, successful investing and similar wealth-building activities —
there can still be a need for cash at the estate owner‘s death. This is especially true when
the property consists of non-liquid assets such as real estate, a business, or other property
that cannot quickly be converted to cash.
The other point is that estate taxes cannot be ignored. Depending on the size of the estate,
federal estate and income taxes, state taxes and other levies can dramatically shrink
assets, particularly retirement plan money. To compound the problem, estate taxes are
typically payable in cash at the time of death, or shortly afterward.

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• A need for income: Immediate cash needs aside, a surviving spouse may need
additional income if, for example, Social Security or pension benefits are lost or reduced at
a spouse‘s death. And, depending on whether adequate retirement planning was actually
done, there may also be a need for supplemental retirement income, whether or not the
estate owner dies.
Estate Distribution Needs:
A different type of estate planning need is created by assets that are no longer necessary to
provide for the individuals who amassed them. Orderly asset distribution plans must be in
place to make sure the people and institutions who are supposed to receive the money
actually do.
• Family members: An important consideration is how to treat family members equitably
and fairly when distributing estate assets. Proper planning can go a long way in preserving
family harmony. Consider the example of the daughter and her siblings — she is in line to
assume ownership and control of the family business. If the business assets pass to her,
her siblings may feel shortchanged, unless other assets are available to provide equitable
estate distribution. Once again, life insurance can help with this type of planning.
• Charitable giving: An estate owner who provides funds and other support to one or
more favorite charities may want to ensure that this support continues after he or she
passes. Earmarking estate assets for charitable giving is one way to accomplish this, but
thoughtful plans need to be made well in advance, and sufficient assets have to be in place
to fulfill all the estate obligations.

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The history of life insurance in India dates back to 1818 when it was conceived as a means
to provide for English Widows. Interestingly in those days a higher premium was charged
for Indian lives than the non - Indian lives, as Indian lives were considered more risky to
cover. The Bombay Mutual Life Insurance Society started its business in 1870. It was the
first company to charge the same premium for both Indian and non-Indian lives.
The Oriental Assurance Company was established in 1880. The General insurance
business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to Triton Insurance Company
Limited, the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the
British. Till the end of the nineteenth century insurance business was almost entirely in the
hands of overseas companies.
Insurance regulation formally began in India with the passing of the Life Insurance
Companies Act of 1912 and the Provident Fund Act of 1912. Several frauds during the
1920's and 1930's sullied insurance business in India. By 1938 there were 176 insurance
companies.
The first comprehensive legislation was introduced with the Insurance Act of 1938 that
provided strict State Control over the insurance business. The insurance business grew at a
faster pace after independence. Indian companies strengthened their hold on this business
but despite the growth that was witnessed, insurance remained an urban phenomenon.
The Government of India in 1956, brought together over 240 private life insurers and
provident societies under one nationalized monopoly corporation and Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) was born. Nationalization was justified on the grounds that it would create
the much needed funds for rapid industrialization. This was in conformity with the
Government's chosen path of State led planning and development.
The non-life insurance business continued to thrive with the private sector till 1972. Their
operations were restricted to organized trade and industry in large cities. The general
insurance industry was nationalized in 1972. With this, nearly 107 insurers were
amalgamated and grouped into four companies- National Insurance Company, New India

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Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company.
These were subsidiaries of the General Insurance Company (GIC).
Industry Reforms
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. Since being set up as an independent statutory body the
IRDA has put in a framework of globally compatible regulations.
The other decision taken simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the insurance
sector and in particular the life insurance companies was the launch of the IRDA 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.

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Chapter 2
Profile of the company

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Profile of Company
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION (HDFC)
The company was incorporated on 14th August 2000 under the name of HDFC Standard
Life Insurance Company Limited. Company‘s ambition from as far back as October 1995,
was to be the first private company to re-enter the life insurance market in India. On the
23rd of October 2000, this ambition was realized when HDFC Standard Life was the only
life company to be granted a certificate of registration. HDFC and Standard Life have a
long and close relationship built upon shared values and trust. The ambition of HDFC
Standard Life is to mirror the success of the parent companies and be the yardstick by
which all other insurance companies in India are measured. Monopoly of LIC has been
broken to make Indian Insurance to change its face and pace to tap the market and to
make the new challenges in it. Insurance in India is not about India only; it is an open sector
for the private players. The names which see in Indian insurance market is something like: -
HDFC (Indian company) + Standard life (foreign player), BAJAJ (Indian company) + Allianz
(foreign player), TATA (Indian company) + Aig (foreign player), and so many like them.
HDFC has its joint venture with standard life. It is a private sector company. The company
was registered on 23/10/2000. 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 one of the
subsidiaries of Standard Life plc, leading providers of financial services in 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. Mumbai based Housing
Development Finance Corporation was incorporated in 1977 by H.T. Parekh, founder
chairman of ICICI which has grown to be India's leading housing finance company. Its
services are aimed at individuals as well as companies availing loans for housing purposes.
It also provides lease finance to companies and to development authorities for financing
infrastructure and other assets along with its property related services.
Companies now are tapping a lot of ways to capture the market and hence adopting
different ways to hold the large portion of the market.

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Figure 1: Share Holding Pattern of HDFC
Figure 2: Loans Approved & Disbursed by HDFC
VISION AND VALUES
77%
12%
5%
4% 2%
SHAREHOLDING PATTERN of
HDFC Ltd
FII & FDI
Individuals
Bamks & Insurance
Companies
Mutual Funds
Companies
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
APPROVED 256.34 333.32 425.2
DISBURSED 206.79 261.78 328.75
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
INbn
LOANS APPROVAL & DISBURSED

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―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‘‖.
HDFC Limited:
HDFC is India‘s leading finance institutions 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. 36000 Cr.
As at March 31, 2004 outstanding deposits stood at Rs 7840 Cr. The depositor base
now stands at around 1 million depositors.
Rated ‗AAA‘ CRISIL and ICRA for the 10th
consecutive year
Stable & experienced management high service standard.
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
third Annual Outlook money Award.
The Partnership:
HDFC is an organization that strives for excellence, with the twin objective of enhancing
customer satisfaction and shareholder value.
The standard life assurance company was present in the Indian life insurance market from
1847 to 1938 when agencies were setup in Kolkata and Mumbai.
Each 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. This reflects the efficiency with which HDFC and standard life
manage their asset base of Rs15000 Cr and Rs600000 Cr respectively.

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COMPANY’S VALUES:
1. INTRGRETY
 Honest and trustful in every action
 Transparency
 Stick to principles irrespective of every action
 Be just fair to every one
2. INNOVATION
 Building a storehouse of treasure through experience.
 Looking at every product and process through fresh eyes every day.
3. CUSTOMER CENTRIC
 Understand his expectations by keeping him as a centric point
 Listen actively
 Understand customer needs and deliver solutions
 Customer interest always supreme
4. 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
 Respect for the time of others
5. TEAM WORK:
 Whole team take the ownership of the deliverables
 Consult or involved, understand and arrive at a common objective
 Cooperate and support across department boundaries

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 Identify strengths and weakness accordingly allocates responsibility to achieve
common objective.
HISTORY OF EVENTS
JANUARY 1995:
HDFC and Standard life first came together for a possible joint venture, to enter the
life insurance market. At the outset it was clear that both co. shared similar values
and beliefs and a strong relationship quickly formed.
OCTOBER 1995:
The companies signed a three year joint venture agreement. Around this time
Standard life purchased a 5% stake in HDFC, further strengthening the relationship.
The next three years were filled with uncertainty due to changes in government and
ongoing delays in getting the IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority) Act passed in parliament.
In October 1998:
The joint venture agreement was renewed and additional resource made available,
around this time standard Life purchased 3% of Infrastructure Development Finance
company Ltd (IDFC) Standard life also started to use the services of the HDFC
Treasury department to advise them upon their investments in India.
End OF 1999
The opening of the market looked very promising and both companies agreed the
time was right to move the operation to the next level.
January 2000:
An expert team form the UK joined a handpicked team from HDFC to form the core
project team, based in Mumbai. Around this time Standard Life purchased a further
5% stake in HDFC and a 5% Stake in HDFC bank. In a further development

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Standard Life agreed to participate in the Asset Management Company promoted by
HDFC to enter the mutual fund market .The Mutual fund was launched on 20th
July.
14th August 2000:
The company was incorporated under the name :HDFC STANDARD LIFE
INSURACE COMPANY LIMITED: their ambition from as far back as October 1995
was to be the first private company to re enter the life insurance market in India
23rd
October 2000:
HDFC Standard Life became the‖ First life insurance company in the private sector:
TO be granted a certificate to Registration by the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority to transact life insurance business in India.
HDFC are the main shareholders in HDFC Standard Life, with81.4%, while standard
Life owns 18.6%. HDFC and Standard Life have a long and close relationship built
Upon shared valued and trust. The ambitions of HDFC Standard life is to mirror the
Success of the parent companies and be the yardstick by which all other insurance
Companies in India are measured. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company has been
Signed on by Blue Star to provide insurance cover to its 1805 employees across India
And overseas.
HDFC Standard life Insurance is one of the leading players in the group insurance
Segment of the life insurance business. Its group business has grown significantly since
Inception and now covers over 25,000 lives across the entire industry spectrum.
USP: Strong Financial History
Segment: Personal and Group Insurance
Target Group: Urban and Rural Investor
Positioning: Complete Insurance and Financial Solution

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 Sales
 Operations
 Finance and accounts
 Information technology

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Plans
Insurance plans can be categorized under three major categories according to their
purpose and functionality as Shown in the following fig.
Products
Each of us leads a unique life and so has unique needs as per our life styles. HDFC
Standard Life offers a range of products and invites to choose the one that suits the best.
Our product mix covers all the life stage needs of our customers. At a broad level our major
―lines of business‖ catering to unique customer needs are life and pensions. We introduced
a few traditional products during this period though our major focus was on revamping the
unit linked portfolio in view of new regulations issued by IRDA. During the first half there
was a skew towards unit linked pension products as in the new regime pension products
would have limited flexibility.
Traditional plans
Traditional insurance plans, which include term, endowment and whole life policies, offer
multiple benefits in terms of risk cover, return, safety and tax benefit. Traditional policies are
considered risk-free, as they provide fixed income returns in case of death or maturity of the
policy. Investment guidelines also ensure safety of funds with a cap on equity investment.
Insurance Plans
Traditional
Plans ULIP Protection
Plans

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Here are some of the reasons why traditional life insurance plans are the answer to the
apprehensions and challenges faced by consumers and the Life Insurance industry.
1. The interest of the company and the customer are aligned: In participating products the
life insurance company can make margins only when the customer makes margins and to
that extent the interest of the company and the customer are aligned. As per the insurance
law, the company can retain only 1/10th of the profits with 9/10th of the profits shared with
the customers. This is colloquially known as the ―90/10‖ rule in the industry. Put simply if the
company makes Rs 100 as profits, Rs 90 (approximately) has to be given to the customer
first.
2. Investment risk is managed better in Traditional products: In Unit Linked products the
investment risk lies with the customer. But most customers do not fully appreciate the risks
involved in such products. In traditional participating products the investments are managed
by the company in a prudent manner. This works out to the advantage of a passive investor
as there are investment guarantees built into the product design. Not only are investments
done in a more conservative manner, the dividends are also 'smoothed' and declared in a
steady fashion.
Unit Linked Insurance Plans
Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) is a life insurance policy which provides a combination of
risk cover and investment. The dynamics of the capital market have a direct bearing on the
performance of the ULIPs.
In a Unit Linked Policy, the investment risk is generally borne by the investor. Investment
returns from ULIP may not be guaranteed
Protection plans
Protection plans are Term Plans which provide only life cover. These plans can help get
adequately covered and secure our family financially in case of unfortunate event. These
are low cost life insurance plans. What‘s more, depending on person‘s future
responsibilities and financial commitments Increasing and Decreasing Term Plans offers
the flexibility to increase or decrease the sum assured in systematic manner.

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An important aspect of our product offerings is our range of protection products within the
life segment which provide income protection for the family in the unfortunate event of
death or critical illness. These include our term assurance plans, home loan protection
plans and health plans besides the riders available along with our savings products.
Plans:
The major categorized plans can be further classified as under
SAVING PLANS
INVESTMENT PLANS
PROTECTION PLANS
RETIREMENT PLANS
Saving plans
Children’s plan:
The HDFC Children‘s plan is designed to secure our child‘s future by giving (the
beneficiary) a guaranteed lumps sum, on maturity or in case of your unfortunate demise,
early in the policy term. The premiums, paid by person, are invested by the company to
give a good long term returns.
The plan receives simple Reversionary Bonuses, which are usually added annually.
At the end of the term an additional Terminal Bonus may be paid depending on the
performance of the underlying investment.
The HDFC Children’s plan gives:
Invaluable financial support to person‘s child
A choice to customize an ideal plan for person‘s child
Multiple options for multiple benefits

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ELIGIBILITY
The age and term limit for the insured parents for taking out the HDFC Children‘s plan are
as show below:
TERM PERIOD (Yrs.) AGE AT ENTRY (Yrs.) MAXIMUM AGE AT
MATURITY (Yrs)
Minimum Maximum Maximum Maximum
10 25 18 60
75
BONUSES:
The Reversionary Bonus is usually declared annually as a percentage of the basic Sum
Assured of this policy. Once added to a policy, the bonus is guaranteed to be payable either
on death or maturity. The Reversionary Bonus is declared keeping in mind a long-term view
of investment returns, expenses, mortality, and other experiences.
Beneficiaries:
The beneficiaries are the sole person it receive the benefit under the policy. At where the
beneficiary is less than 18 year of age, the benefit will be paid to the appointee.
TAX BENEFITS (Based on current tax lows):
Premiums paid are eligible for tax benefits under Sections 80C and Sections 10 (10 D) of
the income Tax Act, 1961, subject to provisions contained therein.
Under Sections 80C, a person can save up to 30900 Rs. From the tax each year as
premiums up to 1, 00,000 Rs. Are allowed as a deduction from person‘s taxable
income.
Under Sections 10(10D), the benefits received from this policy are exempt from tax.
MONEY BACK PLAN:
HDFC SL New money back plan is a ―with profit‖ plan that offers.

33
A proportion of Sum Assured as cash payout at regular 4 year intervals during the
policy term.
A lump sum payment on survival up to Maturity date.
Valuable financial protection to the family.
BONUSES
The Reversionary bonus as a percentage of the sun Assured would be declared at the end
of the financial year. Once added to the policy, the bonus is guaranteed to be payable on
the earlier death or on maturity.
The terminal Bonus is sometimes added to policy on maturity and enables the company to
pay a fair share of surplus at the end, based on the actual experience over the policy term
and allowing for the reversionary bonus already attached.
BENEFITS
a) Money back: On completion of every 4 years.
POLICY
TERM
(Yrs.)
SURVIVAL BENEFIT AS A % OF SUM ASSURED (MONEY BACK PAYOUT)
4th
yr 8th
yr 12th
yr 16th
yr 20th
yr 24th
yr
12 25% 25% 50%+attaching
bonus
- - -
16 25% 25% 25% 25%+attaching
bonus
- -
20 20% 20% 20% 20% 20%+attaching
bonus
-
24 15% 15% 15% 15% 15% 25%+attaching
bonus
b) Maturity Benefits: On maturity, A person will receive survival benefits due at that
point along with attaching bonuses on the full Sum Assured.

34
c) Death Benefits: On unfortunate death of life assured during the policy term, we
would pay the Sum Assured plus attaching bonuses to the nominee. There would be no
deduction for any of the money back payouts made prior to the unfortunate death of the life
Assured.
ELEGIBILITY
TERM (YRS) ENTRY AGE (YRS.) MAXIMUM
MATURITY AGE (YRS.)
MINIMUM MAXIUM
12,16,20 or 24 14 53 65
TAX BENEFITS
Premiums paid are eligible for tax benefits under Sections 80C and Sections 10(10D) of the
Income Tax Act1961.
Under Sections 80C, a person can save up to 30900 Rs. From tax each year as
premiums up to 1, 00,000 Rs. Are allowed as a deduction from person‘s taxable
income.
Unit linked youngster plus plan
The HDFC Youngster plan gives.
Valuable financial protection for child.
Yearly payments to the family in case of person unfortunate demise.
Flexible Benefits Payment preferences-Save-n-Gain Benefit.
An outstanding investment opportunity by providing a choice of selected
investments.

35
ALL UNITS LINKED LIFE INSURANCE PLANS ARE DIFFERENT FORM TRADITIONAL
INSURANCE PLANS AND ARE SUBJECT TO DIFFERENT RISK FACTORS.
BENEFITS:
Save Benefit:
We will pay the sum Assured to the beneficiary.
Need not pay any further premiums, we will pay 100% of all the future regular
premiums, at the original level, towards the policy and all risk covers will cease.
On Maturity, We will pay the fund value to the beneficiary.
Save –n-Gain Benefit:
We will pay the sum Assured to the beneficiary.
Need not pay any further premiums, we will pay 50%of all the future premiums
towards the policy and 50% of the premiums will be paid to the beneficiary and when
due, on an annual basis and all risk covers will cease.
On Maturity, We will pay the fund value to the beneficiary.
ELEGIBILITY
ELEGIBILITY LIFE OPTION LIFE & HEALTH OPTION
MINIMUM ENTRY AGE 18 Years
MINIMUM ENTRY AGE 65 Years 55 Years
MAXIMUM MATURITY AGE 75 years 65 Years
MINIMUM POLICY TERM 10Years
MAXIMUM POLICY TERM 20 Years

36
TAX BENEFITS
Premiums paid are eligible for tax benefits under Sections 80C and Sections 10(10D) of the
Income Tax Act1961.
Under Sections 80C, you can save up to 30900 Rs. From your tax each year as
premiums up to 1, 00,000 Rs. Are allowed as a deduction from your taxable income.
Unit link pension plan:
Our primary responsibility towards our customers in the Indian life insurance market is to
ensure that they have adequate life cover in the event of unforeseen circumstances. While
our pure protection products do that exclusively, our savings products also have an inbuilt
life cover.
The table below shows the in force sum assured and death benefit as on September, 30
2010 across all individual and group unit linked products.

37
Various plans with their benefits can be shown as under:
PLAN BENEFIT
SAVING PLANS
Endowment Assurance Plan Life Insurance with savings
Unit linked endowment plan Life insurance and saving with
Choice of investment funds
Children‘s plan Financial security for your child
Unit linked youngster plus plan Financial security for your child with
Choice of investment funds
Money back plan Life insurance with savings.
INVESTMENT PLANS
Single premium whole of life plan Investment with life insurance
PROTECTION PLANS
Term assurance plan Life insurance at an affordable price
Loan cover term assurance plan Life insurance customized for home loans
RETIREMENT PLANS
Personal pension plan Saving for retirement
Unit link pension plan Retirement saving with a choice of investment funds.

38
COMPETITORS:
In presently there are 46 life insurance corporation companies are working and performing
in India. So definitely HDFC Standard life has good competition with other. The main
competitors are as following.
LIFE Insurance Corporation.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
BAJAJ Allianz.
SBI Life Insurance.
BIRLA Sun Life.
AVIVA.
TATA AIG.
Various Other Competitors In The Market
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
ING Vysya Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Life Insurance Corporation Of India
Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Met Life India Insurance Co. Ltd.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.
SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Tata AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

39
Chapter 3
Research Methodology

41
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research is defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a
specific topic. The function of a marketing research is to provide information, which assist
marketer in recognizing and reacting to marketing opportunities and problems. In essence/
researchers mix managers to take the better decision.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study was undertaken to identify which type of insurance plans HDFC-SL should
market to particular market segments in India. A survey was undertaken to understand the
preferences of Indian consumers with respect to insurance. While marketing policies the
sole duty of an advisor/ agent is to provide insurance plans as per customer requirements.
In effect plans (insurance products) should be flexible to suit individual requirements. This
research tries to analyze some key factors which influence the purchase of insurance like
the term of the policy, the type of company, the amount of annual premium payable
(capacity and willingness to spend), risk taking ability and the influence of advertising.
Solutions and recommendations are made based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of
the data.
TITLE OF THE STUDY
“Awareness of Life Insurance Products in Indian Market. (With
respect to HDFCSL) ”
DURATION OF THE PROJECT
The duration of the project is 45 days
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
 To explore the awareness of life insurance product in Indian Market

42
 To know the consumers‘ willingness to spend on life insurance
 To identify the factors that motivate purchase of insurance policies
 To understand the type of company preferred for investment and awareness level of
consumers about unit linked insurance plans(ULIP‘s)
SAMPLE SIZE
A sample of 130 people will be taken for the survey. The required data collected through
questionnaire.
SAMPLING AREA
The sampling unit may be a Geographical one such as state, District, Village etc., The
geographical sampling unit under study has covered the area of Sonipat ,Panipat ,Rohtak .
SAMPLING DESIGN
A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers
to the techniques or procedures the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the
sample.
METHODOLOGY APPROACH
 The primary data was collected by using structured questionnaire. . Getting
questionnaire filled up by respondents picked up spontaneously by simple random
sampling and face-to-face interview was conducted to collect the data
 Developing questionnaire to conduct a survey: A questionnaire was developed
to gauge
Awareness of various private insurance companies
Types of plans sold in the market

43
Purpose for buying insurance policies
Awareness of life insurance & its products with emergence of private players
in the market.
 Secondary Data: Secondary data is that data which somebody else had collected
and which had already been passed through the statistical process. The indirect
information of data from sources containing past and present information is collected
from newspapers, journals, business manuals, magazines, pamphlets etc.
DATA COLLECTION
The information required for our project was collect mainly from the primary sources and
even from secondary sources. The primary source consists of the data analyzed from
questionnaire and interaction with the user at that time only. And internet is used as
secondary source.
Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is
interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the
sample is selected because they are convenient. This non probability method is often used
during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring
the cost or time required to select a random sample.
SCOPE OF STUDY
Through This project it‘s trying to give an in depth analysis on the same scarping on the
growth and emergence of new companies in the turf which was predominated by
government backed companies. This study relates to evaluate various insurance
companies in terms of products, revenue, sales, and human resources on the basis of
consumer awareness about their products. It also covers emergence and growth of new
insurance companies in India. In this study will go through the customers of various
insurance companies and evaluate their awareness and satisfaction level with HDFCSLIC
products so that company can easily improve their productivity and boost their sales. In this
study a research will be conducted by using a structured questionnaire to compare the

44
awareness about various products and thus find out market share of various insurance
companies. It also helps in knowing customers needs which is very beneficial for company
to increase productivity and boost sales. It is also helpful to understand various marketing
strategies adopted by various insurance companies so that company can increase their
market share by modifying marketing strategies and can better serve the customers‘ needs.
I am also collecting information from the company, websites, journals, magazines and
unpublished data available at company to compare various insurance companies. I have
also done a certification of IRDA to get a financial advisor license. I have also gone through
compliance sales training (CST) so that I can get better knowledge of existing products of
HDFCSLIC and it is also helpful in comparing with other companies products. A sample of
130 people will be taken to collect data by using structured and unbiased questionnaire and
probability sampling technique will be used to select sample of 130 people from whole
population and a convenience sample will be selected.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 The study was limited only to a few areas.
 The study was conducted only for a short period of two month.
 The study is based on the assumption that information provided by the respondents
is true.
 Respondents want to hide some information.
.

45
Chapter 4
Facts and Findings

46
Findings and Recommendations
FINDINGS
 Marketing is a very crucial activity in every business organization. Every product
produced within an industry has to be marketed otherwise it will remain as unsold
stock, which will be of no value.
 In this project we found that the investor in insurance industry are taking interest to
have interest not only for security in a long term policy but also doing investment for
the short term policy which is presently called the ULIPS market.
 ICICI Prudential, TATA AIG have better awareness in the market then HDFC SL in
private companies
 Risk cover remains the most important purpose for buying insurance followed by
option as investment
 Premium income for HDFC SL grows by 132% for financial year 2004-2005. the
company generated new business premium income of Rs.486 crore
 Unit linked products accounted for over 50% of the new business premium
 HDFC Standard Life continues to have one of the widest reaches among new
insurance companies. The company doubled the number of offices to 104 across the
country. Through these offices, the company today services customer needs in over
440 towns. The company also increased its depth in existing markets by increasing
its Financial Consultant strength from 17,000 as on 31st March 2004 to over 23,000
as on 31st March 2005.
 The company expanded its portfolio of products by launching plans to cover
Superannuating and Leave Encashment needs, thereby offering a wide range of
employee benefit solutions to its corporate clients.
 Alternate Channels including bank assurance have recorded an impressive growth of
over 400% to contribute 37% to the Effective Premium Income (EPI).

47
Chapter 5
Analysis and Interpretation

48
Data Analysis:
ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION:
TABLE 1: AGE GROUP OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Age group No. of Respondents
18 - 25 years 62
26 - 35 years 33
36 - 49 years 22
50 - 60 years 12
More than 60 years 2
CHART 1: AGE GROUP OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Interpretations:
47% of the respondents fall in the age group of 18 – 25 years
25% in group of 26 – 35 years and 17% in 36 – 49 years.
Therefore most of the respondents are relatively young (below 26 years of age). These
individuals could be induced to purchase insurance plans on the basis of its tax saving
nature and as an investment opportunity with high returns.
47%
25%
17%
9%
2%
18 - 25 years
26 - 35 years
36 - 49 years
50 - 60 years
More than 60 years

49
TABLE 2: GENDER CLASSIFICATION OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Particulars No. of Respondents
Male 113
Female 17
CHART 2: GENDER CLASSIFICATION OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Interpretation:
Mostly males are aware about the insurance and its various products only a few no. of
women are aware about the insurance sector. In their houses male take care all about their
insurance policy‗s related decisions.
Gender of the respondents
17
113
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Male Female
No.ofrespondents
Male
Female

50
TABLE 3: CUSTOMER PROFILE OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Customer profile No. of respondents
Student 30
Housewife 3
Working Professional 55
Business 24
Self Employed 12
Government service employee 7
CHART 3: CUSTOMER PROFILE OF SURVEYED RESPONDENTS
Interpretation:
From the chart above it can clearly be seen that 43% of the respondents are working
professionals, 23% are students and 18% are into business and only 2% are housewives.
Therefore the target market would be working individuals in the age group of 18 – 25 years
having surplus income, interested in good returns on their investment and saving income
tax.
23%
2%
43%
18%
9%
5%
Student
Housewife
Working Professional
Business
Self Employed
Government service
employee

51
TABLE 4: MARKET SHARE OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES
LIFE INSURER NUMBER OF POLICIES
HDFC STANDARD LIFE 5
BIRLA SUN LIFE 4
AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE 8
BAJAJ ALLIANZ 9
LIC 64
TATA AIG 8
ICICI PRUDENTIAL 14
ING VYSYA 7
BHARTI AXA 3
OTHERS 2
CHART 4: MARKET SHARE OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES
Interpretation:
The largest life insurance company is Life Insurance Corporation of India completely
owned by the Government of India covering 53% of market share.
The largest private insurance company in India is ICICI Prudential covering 11% followed
by Bajaj Allianz with 7% and HDFC is having only 4% of market share.
4%
3%
6%
7%
53%
6%
11%
6%
2% 2%
HDFC STANDARD LIFE
BIRLA SUN LIFE
AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE
BAJAJ ALLIANZ
LIC
TATA AIG
ICICI PRUDENTIAL
ING VYSYA
BHARTI AXA
OTHERS

52
TABLE 5: ANNUAL PREMIUM PAID BY INDIVIDUALS FOR LIFE INSURANCE
Premium paid (p.a.) No. of respondents
Rs. 5000 – Rs. 10000 45
Rs. 10001 - Rs. 15000 29
Rs. 15001 - Rs. 24900 19
Rs. 25000 - Rs. 50000 12
Rs. 50001 - Rs. 60000 5
Rs.60001 – Rs. 80000 2
Rs. 80001 - Rs. 100000 3
CHART 5: ANNUAL PREMIUM PAID BY INDIVIDUALS FOR LIFE INSURANCE
Interpretation:
39% of the respondents pay an annual premium less than Rs. 10001 towards life
insurance. 25% pay less than Rs. 15001 and 17% pay less than Rs. 25000.HDFC-SL
would be able to capture the market better if it introduced products/plans where the
minimum premium starts at Rs. 5000 p.a. They should introduce more products like Easy
Life Plus and Safe Guard where the minimum premium is Rs.6000 p.a. and Rs. 12000 p.a.
respectively.
39%
25%
17%
10%
4% 2% 3%
Rs. 5000 - Rs. 10000
Rs. 10001 - Rs. 15000
Rs. 15001 - Rs. 24900
Rs. 25000 - Rs. 50000
Rs. 50001 - Rs. 60000
Rs.60001 - Rs. 80000
Rs. 80001 - Rs. 100000

53
TABLE 6: POPULAR LIFE INSURANCE PLANS
Type of Plan No. of Respondents
Term Insurance Plans 53
Endowment Plans 62
Pension Plans 8
Child Plans 4
Tax Saving Plans 10
CHART 6: POPULAR LIFE INSURANCE PLANS
Interpretation:
45% of the respondents hold endowment plans and 39% of the respondents hold term
insurance plans.
Endowment plans are very popular and serve two purposes – life cover and savings.
If the policy holder dies during the policy term the nominee gets the death benefit that is,
sum assured and accumulated bonus. On survival the policy holder receives the survival
benefit with a bonus. A term plan is a pure risk cover plan wherein the insured pays a lower
premium for a higher sum assured. Term insurance is the cheapest form of insurance and
helps the policy holder insure himself for a relatively low premium. For the returns sensitive
investor term plans do not find favor as they do not offer a return in case the individual does
not die during the policy term.
39%
45%
6%
3%
7%
Term Insurance Plans
Endow m ent Plans
Pension Plans
Child Plans
Tax Saving Plans

54
TABLE 7: AWARENESS OF UNIT LINKED INSURANCE PLANS
Awareness of Unit Linked Plans No. of Respondents
Yes 74
No 56
CHART 7: AWARENESS OF UNIT LINKED INSURANCE PLANS
Interpretation:
57% of the respondents are aware of unit linked life insurance plans and 43% are not
aware of such plans.
Unit – linked plans are those where the benefits are expressed in terms of number of units
and unit price. They can be viewed as a combination of insurance and mutual funds. The
number of units a customer would get would depend on the unit price when they pay the
premium.
When the policy matures the individual gets his fund value. The value of his fund is
calculated by multiplying the net asset value and number of units held by them on that day.
57%
43%
Yes
No

55
TABLE 8: CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO SPEND ON LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUM
Willingness to spend on
premium
No. of
respondents Percentage
Less than Rs. 6000 20 15%
Rs. 6001 - Rs. 10000 35 27%
Rs. 10001 - Rs. 25000 54 41%
Rs. 25001 - Rs. 50000 20 15%
Rs. 50001 - Rs. 100000 2 2%
CHART 8: CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO SPEND ON LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUM
Interpretation:
41% of the respondents are willing to spend between Rs. 10001 – Rs. 25000 for life
insurance. 27 % to spend between Rs. 6001 – Rs. 10000 per annum. Only 15% would be
willing to spend more than Rs. 25000 per annum as life insurance premium.
We could say that the maximum premium payable by most consumers is less than Rs.
25000 p.a. This is further reduced as most customers have already invested with LIC, ICICI
Prudential, Birla Sun Life, Bajaj Allianz etc.
HDFC-SL is faced with a large amount of competition. Hence to capture a larger part of the
market the company could introduce more reasonable plans with lesser premium payable
per annum.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Less than Rs.
6000
Rs. 6001 - Rs.
10000
Rs. 10001 - Rs.
25000
Rs. 25001 - Rs.
50000
Rs. 50001 - Rs.
100000

56
TABLE 9: CHART SHOWING IDEAL POLICY TERM
Ideal policy term No. of respondents
3 - 5 years 25
6 - 9 years 20
10 – 15 years 46
16 – 20 years 18
21 – 25 years 12
26 – 30 years 2
More than 30 years 1
Whole life Policy 6
CHART 9: CHART SHOWING IDEAL POLICY TERM
Interpretation:
From the chart given above it can be seen that 35% of the respondents prefer a policy term
of 10 – 15 years, 19% prefer a term of 3 – 5 years and 15% prefer a term of 6 – 9 years.
This means that HDFC-SL could introduce more plans wherein the premium paying term is
less than 15 years.
19%
15%
35%
14%
9%
2%
1%
5%
3 - 5 years
6 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 20 years
21 - 25 years
26 - 30 years
More than 30 years
Whole life Policy

57
The outlook of insurance as a product should be changed from something which you pay
for your whole life (whole life policy) and do not receive any benefit (the nominee only
receives the benefit in case of your death) to an extremely useful investment opportunity
with the prospects of good returns on savings, tax saving opportunities as well as providing
for every milestone in your life like marriage, education, children and retirement.

58
10: FACTORS THAT MOTIVATE RESPONDENTS TO PURCHASE INSURANCE
Parameter No. of Respondents
Advertisements 17
High returns 42
Advice from friends 23
Family responsibilities 45
Others 3
CHART 10:
Interpretation:
From the chart above it can be seen that 33% of the respondents purchase life insurance to
secure their families, 33% take life insurance to get high returns, 17% purchase insurance
on the advice of their friends and 13% purchase insurance because of the influence of
advertisements.
The main purpose of insurance is to cover the financial or economic loss that occurs to the
family in case of the uncertain death of the policy holder. But nowadays this trend is
changing. Along with protection (life cover), a savings element is being added to insurance.
With the introduction of the new unit linked plans in the market, policy holders get the option
to choose where their money will be invested. They can invest their money in the equity
market, debt market, money market or a combination of these. The debt and money
markets usually have low risk attached whereas the equity market is a high risk investment
option.
13%
31%
17%
33%
6%
Advertisements
High returns
Advice from friends
Family responsibilities
Others

59
TABLE 11: PREFERRED COMPANY TYPE OF THE RESPONDENTS
Type of Company No. of Respondents Percentage
Government Owned
Company 67 47%
Public Limited Company 33 23%
Private Company 26 18%
Foreign Company 4 12%
CHART 11: PREFERRED COMPANY TYPE OF THE RESPONDENTS
Interpretation:
From the graph above we find that 47% of the respondents preferred to purchase insurance
from a government owned company, 23% of the respondents preferred to purchase
insurance from a public limited company and only 12% of the respondents preferred a
foreign based company. HDFC-SL could be promoted as an essentially ―Indian‖ company
with a foreign tie up. Its tie up with HDFC, a trusted name in an Indian industry, could be
used to give a ―push‖ to its products/ services.
Heavy advertising through television, newspapers, magazines and radio is required. Very
few people know that HDFC-SL is one of the trusted insurance companies in the world.
These facts would surely increase the customer base it currently possesses and thereby
increase sales of HDFC-SL products in the Indian insurance market.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Government Owned
Company
Public Limited
Company
Private Company Foreign Company

60
TABLE 12: MINIMUM EXPECTED RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Expected Returns No. of respondents
Less than 5% 3
5% - 10% 20
11% - 15% 22
16% - 20% 23
21% - 25% 22
26% - 30% 12
31% - 40% 11
41% - 50% 7
More than 50% 10
CHART 12: MINIMUM EXPECTED RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Interpretation:
2%
15%
17%
18%
17%
10%
8%
5%
8%
Less than 5%
5% - 10%
11% - 15%
16% - 20%
21% - 25%
26% - 30%
31% - 40%
41% - 50%
More than 50%

61
From the chart above it can clearly been seen that 18% of the respondents would like 16 –
20% returns, 17% would like returns between 21 – 25% and 17% would like returns of 11 –
15% on their investments. Therefore the average return on investment should be at least 16
– 20 %.
Most consumers are willing to adapt to some amount of risk but still want some guaranteed
returns. Therefore the bulk of investment should be made in the balanced fund with 50%
debt and 50% equity. The returns on the Secure Fund are guaranteed as these involve
investment is government securities and the debt market. But the returns on these
instruments are low (8 – 10%). If the company invests in shares, returns are higher (39%)
but correspondingly risk borne by the policy holder is also higher. Therefore a good
combination of the two instruments is often a wise choice.
.

63
SWOT ANALYSIS OF HDFC SL
SSTTRREENNGGTTHHSS::
HDFC SL‘s strengths are many, to mention a few:
a) Global Presence
Its collaborations and joint ventures with international companies such as Standard life, and
partnership with chub, enable it to bring the best service available worldwide to its
consumers.
b) Fast paced and flexible work culture, which provides its employees autonomy to
accomplish the task without much pressure from the higher authorities. Thus,
employees are motivated to give their best to the organization. The core strength of
HDFC SL is the talent and innovativeness of its people, which enables it to provide the
―right solution at the right time.‖
c) The mass markets handled through a chain of financial consultants usage closer to the
individual. It has very strong distribution network.
d) Its pool of competencies: mutual funds, sum assured, etc
e) Ability to understand customer's business and offer right technology.
f) Long-standing relationship with customers.
g) support & service infrastructure.
h) Best-value-for-money offerings.
WEAKNESSES:
a) HDFC SL Could not able to match LIC in remote area services.
b) Always emphasizes on numbers and fast results.
c) After sales service.
d) Less promotional campaigns.

64
OOPPPPOORRTTUUNNIITTIIEESS::
a) Increasing consumer awareness about Insurance and its use.
b) Tremendous untapped potential of Insurance products in India.
c) Increasing competition.
d) Tie-ups with various MNC‘s enable to extract their core competencies.
e) Insurance industry booming at a rate of 45% every year.
TTHHRREEAATTSS::
a) New private players are coming in the market e.g. RELIANCE Insurance.
b) Entry of MNC‘s giving direct competition.
c) Govt. instability has a long-term repercussion affecting company‘s policies & its
growth.

65
LIMITATIONS
Though every effort was put in to make this report authentic in every respect,
there were few uncontrollable factors that might have had their influence on the
final report. The various limiting factors are:-
While making this report few typing and compilation result may have crept in
which have not been able to get rectified. Also the major part of the data
collect is primary in nature and hence the data may be subject to some human
errors.
The study was mainly conducted in the region of Sonipat, Panipat and few from
Rohtak. It has not have included relevant respondents in other areas in the
sample size.
The information about some scheme differs from one source to another.
As I was a trainee in the company the many secrets and the important facts,
figures and information has not been provided.

67
Conclusion
The 6 weeks summer practical training undertaken at HDFC BANK was completed with a
great enthusiasm and success.
The main aim of having introduced to a totally new office environment and to learn stunning
new things in life was covered in the training period.
During my training period I come to know about the various perspectives of life
insurance .I learnt how to persuade the customer emotionally for buying insurance
policy. I interacted nearly 150 persons some of them have don‘t the insurance
policy.
The problem is faced by us is that today also people considered insurance as a
negative product and they don‘t want to buy it.
As a whole mostly people are aware about the various insurance providers and
their products through advertisement and reference of their relatives or friends.
Emotional appeal plays a very important role in the insurance sector.

69
SSUUGGGGEESSTTIIOONNSS && RREECCOOMMMMEENNDDAATTIIOONNSS
 HDFC SL is having large number of channel partners but it is not supporting & taking
care all of them equally which results in increasing discontentment among new channel
partners because it‘s not possible for company to support all of them equally. Company
should take some positive action against it.
 Company executive should visit customer on regular basis.
 They should pay proper attention towards checking of various components of insurance
before end user delivery. Otherwise it tends towards defame of brand name in
comparison to rivals.
 Need to expend customer care center as the consumer base of HDFC SL is increasing
with tremendously fast pace.
 Proper attention should be paid for advertisement planning otherwise it may lead to
problem for customer as well as for company.
 Company should tie up with some event management company to organize various
promotional activities like canopy, Carnival.
 Company should make policy for fixed end user price for all customers so that fair game
will be played & customer would not to compromise on their margin.

71
APPENDIX
Questionnaires
1. Do you own a life insurance policy/ investment plan in your name?
Yes No
2. If yes which company/ company’s insurance policies do you hold?
HDFC Standard Life Birla Sun Life
Aviva Life Insurance Bajaj Allianz
LIC Tata AIG
ICICI Prudential ING Vysya
Bharti AXA
Others (specify name)
3. What is the approximate premium paid by you annually (in Rupees)?
Rs. 5000 – Rs. 10000 Rs. 10001 – Rs. 15000
Rs. 15001 – Rs. 24900 Rs. 25000 – Rs. 50000
Rs. 50001 – Rs. 60000 Rs. 60001 – Rs. 80000
Rs. 80001 – Rs. 100000
More than Rs. 100000 (specify premium)
4. What kind of insurance policy would suit you best in your current stage of life?
Life Insurance Life Insurance and Investment Plans
Pension Plans Child Plans
Tax saving plans
5.Are you aware of the new unit linked insurance plans in the market?
Yes No

72
6.How much would you be willing to spend per annum if you were to go for an
investment/ insurance plan?
Less than Rs. 6000 Rs. 6001 – Rs. 10000
Rs. 10001 – Rs. 25000 Rs. 25001 – Rs. 50000
Rs. 50000 – Rs. 100000 More than Rs. 100000
7. Which according to you is an ideal policy term? (Number of years you would be
willing to pay premium)
3 to 5 years 6 to 9 years
More than 30 years Whole life policy
8. What motivates you to purchase insurance/ investment plans?
Advertisements
High Returns
Advice from friends
Family responsibilities
Others (specify)
9. In which kind of company would you prefer to make a purchase of insurance?
Government owned company
Public Limited Company
Private Company

73
Foreign based company
10. Typically what kind of returns would you look at from your investments? (Please
note: Higher returns involve greater risk)
Less than 5%
5% - 10 %
11% - 15 %
16% - 20 %
21% - 25%
26% - 30%
31% - 40%
41% - 50%
More than 50%
11. Personal Details:
Name:
Phone:
Gender:
Male
Female
Age group:
18 – 25 years

74
26 – 35 years
36 – 49 years
50 – 60 years
Above 60 years
Profile of respondent:
Student
Housewife
Working Professional
Business
Self – Employed
Government Service employee

76
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
“Products and Services.” HDFC-SL. <http://www.hdfcinsurance.com>.
“Historical perspective.” <http://www.wikipedia.com>.
““Reforms." Wikipedia. <http://www.wikipedia.com>.
“Unit Linked Plans." Life insurance Corporation of India.
<http://www.lic.com>.
“Unit Linked Plans." Tata aig. <http://www.tataaig.com>.
“Life Insurance." Bajaj allianz. <http://www.bajajallianz.com/
“Convenience Sampling.” Statpac. <http://www.statpac.com>.
“Various private sectors companies in India.< <
www.hdfcstandardlife.com
www.irda.gov.in
www.legalpundits.com
BOOKS
Business research by C.R. Kothari
IC-33 LIFE INSURANCE (Revised) by INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF INDIA
Indian Financial System by P.N. Varshney & D.K. Mittal
NEWSPAPERS
Economic times
The Times of India

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