Contents Sr. No. 1. Subjects Covered Project Proposed 1.1 Objective of the project 1.2 Methodology 1.

3 Sampling 1.4 Limitations 2. Introduction 2.1 Definition of insurance 2.2 Functions of insurance 2.3 Definitions of life insurance 2.4 Role of life insurance 2.5 Importance of life insurance 3. Agency business model 3.1 Insurance agencies 3.2 Functions of agency manager 3.3 Operational work of insurance agency 4. Indian insurance industry 4.1 History 4.2 IRDA 4.3 Changing perception of customers 4.4 Changing face of Indian life insurance industry 4.5 Possibilities 5. 6. Global insurance industry Functioning of insurance industry 6.1 Insurers business model 28 - 29 30 - 36 20 - 27 17 - 19 12 - 16 Pages 9 - 11

6.2 Investment management 6.3 Key ratios and terms 6.4 Requirements of an insurance risk 6.5 Various types of insurance products 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Insurance and economy SBI Life insurance company Distribution of insurance product Effective marketing strategies for insurance companies Competitors of SBI Life Comparison of ULIP products Questioner Conclusions and findings Recommendations 37 - 39 40 - 42 43 - 46 47 - 52 53 - 62 63 - 69 70 - 71 72 - 91 92

1. INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE
The story of insurance is probably as old as the story of mankind. Tendency of a human being to secure themselves against loss and disaster has been from the starting of world. They sought to avert the evil consequences of fire and flood and loss of life and were willing to make some sort of sacrifice in order to achieve security. Though the concept of insurance is largely a development of the recent past, particularly after the industrial era past few centuries yet its beginnings date back almost 6000 years as per records.

Insurance business is divided into four classes: Life Insurance Fire Marine Miscellaneous Insurance.

Insurance provides: Protection to investor. Accumulation of savings. Channeling these savings into sectors needing huge long term investment.

Functions of insurance: Provide protection: The primary function of insurance is to provide protection against future risk, accidents and uncertainty. Insurance cannot check the happening of the risk, but can certainly provide for the losses of risk. Insurance is actually a protection against economic loss, by sharing the risk with others. Collective bearing of risk: Insurance is an instrument to share the financial loss of few among many others. Insurance is a mean by which few losses are shared among larger number of people. All the insured contribute the premiums towards a fund and out of which the persons exposed to a particular risk is paid. Assessment of risk: Insurance determines the probable volume of risk by evaluating various factors that give rise to risk. Risk is the basis for determining the premium rate also. Provide certainty: Insurance is a device, which helps to change from uncertainty to certainty. Insurance is device whereby the uncertain risks may be made more certain. Small capital to cover larger risk:

Insurance relieves the

businessmen from security investments, by paying small amount of premium against larger risks and uncertainty.

 Contributes towards the development of industries:

Insurance

provides development opportunity to those larger industries having more risks in their setting up. Even the financial institutions may be prepared to give credit to sick industrial units which have insured their assets including plant and machinery. Means of savings and investment: Insurance serves as savings and investment, insurance is a compulsory way of savings and it restricts the unnecessary expenses by the insured's For the purpose of availing income-tax exemptions also, people invest in insurance. Source of earning foreign exchange: Insurance is an international business. The country can earn foreign exchange by way of issue of marine insurance policies and various other ways. Risk free trade: Insurance promotes exports insurance, which makes the foreign trade risk free with the help of different types of policies under marine insurance cover.

Life insurance: Life insurance is a contract under which the insurer (Insurance Company) in Consideration of a premium paid undertakes to pay a fixed sum of money on The death of the insured or on the expiry of a specified period of time Whichever is earlier. In case of life insurance, the payment for life insurance policy is certain. The Event insured against is sure to happen only the time of its happening is not known. So life insurance is known as Life Assurance. The subject matter of insurance is life of human being. Life
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insurance provides risk coverage to the life of a person. On death of the person insurance offers protection against loss of income and compensate the titleholders of the policy.

Roles of life insurance: Life insurance as an investment: - Insurance products yield more than any other investment instruments and it also provides added incentives or bonus offered by insurance companies. Life insurance as risk cover: - Insurance is all about risk cover and protection of life. Insurance provides a unique sense of security that no other form of invest can provide. Life insurance as tax planning: - Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too.

Importance of life insurance: Protection against untimely death: - Life insurance provides protection to the dependents of the life insured and the family of the assured in case of his untimely death. The dependents or family members get a fixed sum of money in case of death of the assured. Saving for old age: - After retirement the earning capacity of a person reduces. Life insurance enables a person to enjoy peace of mind and a sense of security in his/her old age.

 Promotion of savings: - Life insurance encourages people to save money compulsorily. When life policy is taken, the assured is to pay premiums regularly to keep the policy in force and he cannot get back the premiums, only surrender value can be returned to him. In case of surrender of policy, the policyholder gets the surrendered value only after the expiry of duration of the policy. Initiates investments: - Life Insurance Corporation encourages and mobilizes the public savings and canalizes the same in various investments for the economic development of the country. Life insurance is an important tool for the mobilization and investment of small savings. Credit worthiness: - Life insurance policy can be used as a security to raise loans. It improves the credit worthiness of business. Social Security: - Life insurance is important for the society as a whole also. Life insurance enables a person to provide for education and marriage of children and for construction of house. It helps a person to make financial base for future. Tax Benefit: - Under the Income Tax Act, premium paid is allowed as a deduction from the total income under section 80C. Channelization of insurance product In India insurance is sold through mainly four channels. Through branch Through agency Through financial institution Through banks

2. INDIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY

History: Life insurance came to India from England in 1818 when oriental life insurance company started in Calcutta by Europeans. After this many insurance companies had been started in India. But these companies were looking after only the needs of European community established in India. Indian people were not being insured by these companies. First Indian life insurance company came as Bombay mutual life insurance assurance. Second company was Bharat insurance company came in 1896. After this the united India in madras, national Indian and national insurance in Calcutta and the co-operative assurance in Lahore were established in 1906. To regulate Indian insurance business first insurance act came in 1912 as life insurance company act and provident fund act. These acts consist of premium rates tables and periodical valuations of companies. In the first two decade of 20th century many life insurance companies were started. So the insurance act came in 1938 to governing life and non life insurance companies and to provide strict state control. In 1956 the life insurance business in India was nationalized. In 1956 life insurance corporation of India (LIC) was created to spreading life insurance much more widely particularly in rural areas. In that year LIC had 5 zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices. In 1957 the business of LIC of sum assured of 200crores, 1000crores in 1970, and 7000crores in 1986.

Indian regulatory development authority: In 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of policyholders interests.

Role of IRDA: Protecting the interests of policyholders. Establishing guidelines for the operations of insurers, and brokers. Specifying the code of conduct, qualifications, and training for insurance intermediaries and agents. Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business. Regulating the investment of funds by insurance companies. Specifying the percentage of business to be written by insurers in rural sectors. Handling disputes between insurers and insurance intermediaries.

Changing perception of Indian customers: Indian Insurance consumers are like Indian Voters, they are soft but when time is right and ripe, they demand and seek necessary changes. De-tariff of many Insurance Products are the reflection of changing aspirations and growing demand of Indian consumers.

For historical years, Indian consumers were at receiving end. Insurance Product was underwritten and was practically forced onto consumers on a Take-it-As-it-basis. All that got changed with passage of IRDA act in 1999. New insurance companies have come into existence leading to open competition and hence better products for customers.

Indian customers have become very sensitive to Coverage / Premium as well as the Products (read Risk Solution), that is given to them. There are not ready to accept any product, no matter even if that is coming from the market leader, should that product is not serving the purpose. A case in point is ULIP Product / Group Life and Credit Life in Life Insurance segment and Travel / Family Floater Health and Liability Insurance in the Non-life segment are new age Avatar. The new products are constantly being demanded by Indian consumers, which is putting huge pressures on Insurance companies (Read Risk Under-writers) and Brokers to respond.

Customers are looking at Insurance for covering Pure Risk now which I have covered in my next section. Another good reason why we are seeing quick changes in the buying behavior of Insurance from mere Investment to

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risk mitigation is the cost of Replacement of Goods (ROG) or Cost of Services (COS). Now Indian customers are aware of insurance industry and insurance products provided by companies. They have become more sensitive. They would not accept any type of insurance product unless it fulfills their requirements and needs. In historic days customers looking at insurance products as a life cover which can provide security against any unacceptable events, but now customers look at insurance products as an investment as well as life cover. So todays customers wants good return from the insurance companies. The Indian customers forms the pivot of each companys strategy.

Investment of Indian household savings (as a % in different sector)

BANK DEPOSITS CORP. BANKS SHARES AND DEBENTURES MUTUAL FUNDS NBFCS GOVT. BONDS INSURANCE PF/ RETIRE FUNDS CURRENCY

39% 2% 1% 2% 3% 13% 13% 21% 6%

Changing face of Indian insurance industry:

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After the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act have been passed there has been establishment of many private insurance companies in India. Previously there was a monopoly business for Life Insurance Corporation of India (L.I.C.) who was the only life-insurance company for the people till 2000. L.I.C. still holds 60 % of the market share in 2012. But after the introduction of private life insurance companies there is a great competition in Indian market now. Everyone is trying to capture the fresh market here and penetrate it with aggressive marketing strategies. Today life-insurance is not only limited up to just life risk cover and maturity period bonuses but changed to greater return from the investments. With the introduction of the unit linked insurance policies these companies are investing the money in different investment instruments like shares, bonds, debentures, government and other securities. People are demanding for higher returns with the life risk cover and private companies are giving 30-40% average growth per annum. These life-insurance companies have every kind of policies suiting every need right from financial needs of, marriage, giving birth and rearing up a child, his education, meeting daily financial needs of life, pension solutions after retirement. These companies have every aspects and needs of our life covered along with the deathbenefit. In India only 25% of the population has life insurance. So Indian lifeinsurance market is the target market of all the companies who either want to extend or diversify their business. To tap the Indian market there has been tie-ups between the major Indian companies with other International insurance companies to start up their business. The government of India has set up rules that no foreign insurance company can set up their business

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individually here and they have to tie up with an Indian company and this foreign insurance company can have an investment of only 26% of the total start-up investment. Indian insurance industry can be featured by: Low market penetration. Ever growing middle class component in population. Growth of customers interest with an increasing demand for better insurance products. Application of information technology for business. Rebate from government in the form of tax incentives to be insured. Today, the Indian life insurance industry has a dozen private players, each of which are making strides in raising awareness levels, introducing innovative products and increasing the penetration of life insurance in the vastly underinsured country. Several of private insurers have introduced attractive products to meet the needs of their target customers and in line with their business objectives. The success of their effort is that they have captured over 28% of premium income in five years. The biggest beneficiary of the competition among life insurers has been the customer. A wide range of products, customer focused service and professional advice has become the mainstay of the industry, and the Indian customers forms the pivot of each companys strategy. Penetration

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of life insurance is beginning to cut across socio-economic classes and attract people who have never purchased insurance before. Life insurance is also now being regarded as a versatile financial planning tool. Apart from the traditional term and saving insurance policies, industry has seen the entry and growth of unit linked products. This provides market linked returns and is among the most flexible policies available today for investment. Now products are priced, flexible, and realistic and sustain so people in better position to understand the risk and benefits of the product and they are accepting these innovative products. So it is clear that the face of life insurance in India is changing, but with the changes come a host of challenges and it is only the credible players with a long term vision and a robust business strategy that will survive. Whatever the developments, the future and the opportunities in this industry will surely be exciting. There are 12 private players in Indian life insurance market. 6 bank owned insurers: - HDFC standard life, ICICI prudential, ING Vysya, MetLife, OM Kotak, SBI life. 6 independent insurers: - Aviva, ANP sanmar, Birla sun life, Bajaj Allianz, Max New York life, Tata AIG. Major international insurers are- Prudential and Standard life from UK, Sun life of Canada, AIG, MetLife and New York life of the US.

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Possibilities for insurance companies in India: Further deregulation of the market. Greater concern for the customers. Newer products and services. Competition and quality consciousness. Cost effective operations. Restructuring of the public sector. Consolidation of domestic insurance markets. Technology driven shift in product design. Actual operations and distribution. Convergence of financial services.

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3. GLOBAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY

Globally, insurers increasingly are pressured by the demands of their clients. The development of global insurance industry over the past few years was influenced by booming stock markets which enabled considerable capital gains to be made in non life business. Increase in insurers equity capital increased underwriting capacity, while demand did not develop at the same pace, resulting in decrease in insurance policies prices. The stock market boom of the past few years led to demand for unit linked insurance products. The global insurance industry is growing at rapid pace. Most of the markets are undergoing globalization. Lot of mergers and acquisition are taking place in the insurance world. The rapidity in the industry, technological improvement has resulted in pressures on a few economic parameters. The world insurance industry is at peak of its globalization process. Global insurance market is increasing by an average of six percent per year since 1990. Insurance companies have collected $2443.7 billion premium world wide according to the global development of premium volume in 144 countries in 2005. $1521.3 has been generated as life insurance premium and $922.7 as non life insurance premium. The US accounted for 35% of global life and non life premium, Japan had global share of 21%, and UK was having 10% of global share.

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Influence on Indian insurance industry: In this era of globalization, insurance companies face a dynamic global environment. Dramatic changes are taking place owing to the

internationalization of activities, appearance of new risk, new types of covers to match with new risk situations, and unconventional and innovative ideas on customer services. Low growth rates in developed markets, changing customers needs, and the uncertain economic conditions in the developing world are exerting pressure on insurers resources and testing their ability to survive. Now the existing insurers are facing difficulties from non-traditional competitors those are entering the retail market with new approaches and through new channels. India has a rapidly growing middle class and this section can afford to buy insurance products. This shows the attraction that the Indian market holds for foreign insurers who have been putting pressure on developing countries as well as on India to open up its market.

Life insurance penetration as a % of GDP United kingdom Japan Korea United states Malaysia India China Brazil 8.9% 8.3% 7.3% 4.1% 3.6% 3.0% 1.8% 1.3%

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4. INSURANCE AND INDIAN ECONOMY

Indian economy is growing in reference to global market. Business of insurance with its unique features has a special place in Indian economy. It is a highly specialized technical business and customer is the most concern people in this business, therefore this business is able to spur the growth of infrastructure and act as a catalyst in the overall development of Indian economy. The high volumes in the insurance business help spread risk wider, allowing a lowering of the rates of the premium to be charged and in turn, raising profits. When there is a bigger base, the probabilities become more predictable, and with system wide risks balanced out, profits improve. This explains the current scenario of mergers, acquisitions, and globalization of insurance. Insurance is a type of savings. Insurance is not only important for tax benefits, but also for savings and for providing security. It can be serving as an essential service which a welfare state must make available to its people. Insurance play a crucial role in the commercial lives of nations and act as the lubricants of economic activities. Insurance firms help to spread the potentially financial consequences of risk among the large number of entities, to mobilize and distribute savings for productive use, facilitate investment, support and encourage external trade, and protect economic entities against external risk.

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Insurance and economic growth mutually influences each other. As the economy grows, the living standards of people increase. As a consequence, the demand for life insurance increases. As the assets of people and of business enterprises increase in the growth process, the demand for general insurance also increases. In fact, as the economy widens the demand for new types of insurance products emerges. Insurance is no longer confined to product markets; they also cover service industries. It is equally true that growth itself is facilitated by insurance. A well-developed insurance sector promotes economic growth by encouraging risk-taking. Risk is inherent in all economic activities. Without some kind of cover against risk, some of these activities will not be carried out at all. Also insurance and more particularly life insurance is a mobilizer of long term savings and life insurance companies are thus able to support infrastructure projects which require long term funds. There is thus a mutually beneficial interaction between insurance and economic growth. The low income levels of the vast majority of population have been one of the factors inhibiting a faster growth of insurance in India. To some extent this is also compounded by certain attitudes to life. The economy has moved on to a higher growth path. The average rate of growth of the economy in the last three years was 8.1 per cent. This strong growth will bring about significant changes in the insurance industry.

At this point, it is important to note that not all activities can be insured. If that were possible, it would completely negate entrepreneurship. Professor Frank Knight in his celebrated book Risk Uncertainty and Profit emphasized that profit is a consequence of uncertainty. He made a

distinction between quantifiable risk and non-quantifiable risk. According

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to him, it is non-quantifiable risk that leads to profit. He wrote It is a world of change in which we live, and a world of uncertainty. We live only by knowing something about the future; while the problems of life or of conduct at least, arise from the fact that we know so little. This is as true of business as of other spheres of activity. The real management challenges are uninsurable risks. In the case of insurable risks, risk is avoided at a cost.

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5. AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE

Introduction to AVIVA Aviva plc was previously known as CGNU plc. The name change was effected on 1st July 2002. Prior to the re branding, CGNU was using 50 trading names across the world. The decision for the re branding was taken with the objective of creating a strong and powerful international services brand.

History of the Aviva Group 1696 The worlds oldest insurance company Hand in Hand formed in London 1797 Norwich Union founded in London 1861 Commercial Union founded in London 1885 General Accident founded in Perth, Scotland 1998 CGNU formed with the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident 2000 CGNU formed with the merger of CGU and Norwich Union 2002 CGNU re - branded as Aviva plc on 1st July, 2002

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Key Points - AVIVA 5th largest insurance group in the world Largest insurer in the United Kingdom 28th largest company in the world Premium income from new business 32 billion USD Total premium income 36 billion pounds Shareholders funds of 14.9 billion Over 35 million satisfied customers worldwide Listed on the London, Paris and Dublin stock exchanges Top five positions in Holland, Ireland, Singapore, Spain, Turkey and Poland Long term savings and asset management account for 71% of premiums

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Key Points - Aviva Life Insurance India Got licensed on 14th May 2002 and started operations on 6th June 2006 Pioneered the concept of indexation Pioneered the concept of unitization Tie - ups with ABM Amro, American Express, Canara Bank & Lakshmi Vilas Bank 26 million customers and over 67734 crores in deposits Paid up capital of Rs.559 crores Profit of 74 crores, 255% up as compared the last year of 29 crores VISION Aviva - Where exceeding expectations through innovative solutions is our way of life

CORE VALUES Passion for winning Integrity Innovation Customer centricity Empowered Team

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES The right investment strategies won't just help plan for a more comfortable tomorrow -- they will help you get Kal Par Control. At Aviva, life insurance plans are created keeping in mind the changing needs of you and your family. Our life insurance plans are designed to provide you with flexible options that meet both protection and savings needs. We offer our customers a full range of transparent, flexible and value for money products. Aviva products are modern and contemporary unitized products that offer unique customer benefits like flexibility to choose cover levels, indexation and partial withdrawals.

INDIVIUVAL Insurance Schemes by Aviva Life Insurance Plans Aviva Young Scholar Advantage Aviva Health Plus Aviva Grameen Suraksha Aviva Dhan Varsha Description An insurance cum investment plan to help secure your child's education. A health-cum-savings insurance plan that gives your premium back A low cost solution to help you financially protect your loved ones. An insurance plan that offers guaranteed additions to help grow your wealth. A plan that ensures that you don't wait till 60 to follow your Heart.

Retirement

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GROUP Insurance Schemes by Aviva Life Insurance Plans Aviva Corporate Life Plus Description Provides life cover for employees / members of an organization to protect their families Aviva Corporate Shield Plus is a term insurance plan in lieu of the EDLI. Provides financial security to employees at the time of retirement along with life cover. A plan designed for Banks and other Financial Institutions offering housing and car loans.

Aviva Corporate Shield Plus

Aviva Group Gratuity Plan

Aviva Group Life Protect

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6. DISTRIBUTION OF INSURANCE PRODUCTS

Insurance has to be sold the world over. The Touch point with the ultimate customer is the distributor or the producer and the role played by them in insurance markets is critical. It is the distributor who makes the difference in terms of the quality of advice for choice of product, servicing of policy post sale and settlement of claims. In the Indian market, with their distinct cultural and social ethics, these conditions will play a major role in shaping the distribution channels and their effectiveness. In today's scenario, insurance companies must move from selling insurance to marketing an essential financial product. The distributors have to become trusted financial advisors for the clients and trusted business associates for the insurance Companies. Challenges for insurance companies and intermediaries in India Building faith about company in the mind of clients. Building personal credibility with the clients.

Different distribution channels in India:A multi-channel strategy is better suited for the Indian market. Indian insurance market is a combination of multiple markets. Each of the markets requires a different approach. Apart from geographical spread the socio-cultural and economic segmentation of the market is very wide, exhibiting different traits and needs. Different multi-distribution channels in India are as follows

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 Agents: Agents are the primary channel for distribution of insurance. The public and private sector insurance companies have their branches in almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their agents. Today's insurance agent has to know which product will appeal to the customer, and also know his competitor's products to be an effective salesman who can sell his company, the product, and himself to the customer. To the average customer, every new company is the same. Perceptions about the public sector companies are also cemented in his mind. So an insurance agent can play an important role to create a good image of company. Banks: Banks in India are all pervasive, especially the public sector banks. Many insurance companies are selling their products through banks. Companies which are bank owned, they are selling their products through their parent bank. The public sector banks, with their vast branch networks, are helpful to insurance companies. This channel of selling insurance is known as Banc assurance.

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INSURANCE COMPANY ICICI prudential

ASSOCIATE BANKS ICICI bank, bank of India, Citibank, Allahabad bank, Federal bank, south Indian bank, Punjab and Maharashtra cooperative bank

SBI life Birla sun life

State bank of India Deutsche bank, Citibank, bank of Rajasthan, Andhra bank

ING Vysya bank Aviva life insurance HDFC standard life Met life

Vysya bank ABN amro bank, canara bank Union bank, Indian bank Karnataka bank, j&k bank

Source: - Hindu Business Line, January 08, 2007 Brokers: Now a days different financial institution are selling

insurance. These financial institutions are known as brokers. They are taking some underwriting charges from the insurance companies to sell their insurance products. Corporate agents: Corporate agency is a cross selling type of channel. Insurance companies tie-up with business houses in other industries to sell insurance either to their employees or their customers. Insurance industry, during the past 2 years has witnessed a number of such strategic tie-ups and alliances. Corporate agents have become a major force to reckon with in distributing insurance products. Such as- Bajaj Allianz tied up with Maruti Udyog and Ford for auto insurance and Tata AIG life has tied up with Tata tea,

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khaitans Williamson major and bridge foundation for selling rural policies. Internet: In this technological world internet is also a channel of selling insurance. This can be as direct marketing.

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7. EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES

Now the Indian consumer is knowledgeable and sensitive. Consumers are increasingly more aware and are actively managing their financial affairs. People are increasingly looking not just at products, but at integrated financial solutions that can offer stability of returns along with total protection. In view of this, the insurance managers need to understand more about the details that go into the introduction of insurance products to make it attractive in this competitive market. So now days an insurance manager requires leadership, commitment, creativity, and flexibility. "Every family in every village in the country should feel safe and secure". This vision alone will help to bring the new ideas to the insurance manager. Financial, marketing and human resource polices of the corporations influence the unit mangers to make decisions. Performance of insurance company depends on the effectiveness of such policies. Insurance corporations formulate and revise these policies from time to time to ensure that the performance of the managers is best for the organization. In the competitive market, insurance companies are being forced to adopt a strictly professional approach in marketing. The insurance companies face the challenge of changing the uninspiring public image of the industry. Some of the important marketing elements are Marketing mix. The importance of relationship. Positioning. Value addition. Segmentation.

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 Branding. Insuring service quality. Effective pricing. Customer satisfaction research.

The growth of insurance sector is governed largely by factors external to it. The following factors influence the market and demand of product Government policies. Growth in population. Changing age profile. Income wise distribution of the population. Level of insurance awareness. The pricing of the policies. The economic climate of the country. The aversion to risk. Social and political features of the country. Growth scenario in the world.

Different companies adopt different approaches in their marketing strategies. One approach is focus upon product quality which can give confidence in the mind of customers that they are offered by best featured products. And other approach is focusing on customers needs, which involve a heavy investment in developing relationships with policyholders. Under this approach customer can expect a range of products and service offered to him. Third approach is market segmentation under which the population can be divided into several homogeneous products and groups, the effort should

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be tie clients to the company by customized combination of coverage, easy payment plans, risk management advice, and convenient and quick claim handling.

An insurance product can be classified in three phases: Core product: In insurance industry the core product is the policy that provides protection to the customers.

Expected product: Because of competition customers start to expect more from an insurance product. Then insurance companies provide some tangible attributes in their product to differentiate from competitors, such as Brand Some additional features in existing product By providing instruction manual with the policy.

Augmented product: An insurance company can provide different types of services to differentiate their products Post sales services. Branches in different places for customers. Customer complaint management. Payment option convenient to customers. The entry of private players and their foreign partners has given domestic players a tough time, because the opening up of the sector has not brought in only foreign players, but also professional techniques and technologies. The present scene in India is such that everyone is trying to put in the best efforts. There are marketing strategies more for survival
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than growth. But the most important gift of privatization is the introduction of customer-oriented services. Utmost care is being taken to maximize customer satisfaction.

Success of an insurance company depends on four important functions: Identification of markets: Identification of markets means need to understand the trends in culture and businesses constantly, through conducting research and analysis. Insurance companies can take this job on their own or assign it to an external agency. Relying on an external agency can be risky due to the questionable loyalty of the agents. Assessment of risks (of the insured and the insurance corporation) and estimation of losses: Efficiency of actuaries and assessors of the insurance policies in fixing premiums and settling claims is foremost an important area for achieving overall efficiency in operations. The quality of assessing the risk and estimation of losses has the largest claim on the performance of an insurance company. Well trained, experienced and expert hands are needed for the operations. Penetration into and exploitation of markets: Market penetration or exploitation of a company can be identified with the growth in number of policies in each type of insurance, growth rate in earnings or turnover, companys market share, increase in number of branches and divisions etc. Efforts of the company as a whole and that of the divisions and branches are assessed to measure the effectiveness.

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 Control over investment and operating costs:

Control over

resources such as men, machines, and materials at each level of the organization provides measures of efficiency of a unit as well as the organization. Investment control and expense control are dealt separately and the effectiveness of managements decisions at various levels is to be assessed separately

To find best prospects: Allocating marketing strategies against market potential. Estimating potential for specific products within local markets. Identifying high opportunity areas. Measuring agency performance relative to market potential. Optimizing your agency network against market potential.

Attributes to develop marketing strategies: Channel data: - Useful to know future buying preferences, learning about products and purchase channels. Consumer attitudes. Consumption data: - Useful to evaluate annual premiums, number of annuities owned, value of annuities, and with which company the current policy is held.

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Effective strategies for insurance agents: Learn how to construct a mental image for success. Learn how to find a proper perspective and how to turn off all the signals that cause people not to buy from you. Learn how to get and set more appointments. Learn how to convert a new lead into sales. Learn how to act when you meet a client for the first time. Learn how the order in which you explain the types of policies can double your income. Take Easy steps to avoid delays in issuing policies.

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8. COMPETITORS OF AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE

ICICI prudential: ICICI prudential insurance is a joint venture of ICICI bank and prudential plc a leading financial service group in the UK. Total capital stands for Rs. 37.72 billion, with ICICI Bank holding a stake of 74% and Prudential plc holding 26%. ICICI begin their operations in December 2000 after receiving approval from IRDA. Now ICICI prudential is having over 1000 offices, over 270000 advisors and 21bancassurance partners. ICICI Prudential was the first life insurer in India to receive a National Insurer Financial Strength rating of AAA from Fitch ratings. ICICI prudential is working on the base of five core values Integrity Customer first Boundary less Ownership Passion Key features: Understanding the needs of customers and offering them superior products and service. Leveraging technology to service customers quickly, efficiently and conveniently. Developing and implementing superior risk management and investment strategies to offer sustainable and stable returns to policyholders.

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HDFC standard life insurance: HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. is one of India's leading private insurance companies. It is a joint venture of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, India's leading housing finance institution and a Group Company of the Standard Life in UK. HDFC as on March 31, 2007 holds 81.9 per cent of equity venture. Gross premium income of the HDFC for the year ending March 31, 2007 was Rs. 2, 856 crores and new business premium income was Rs. 1,624 crores. The company has covered over 8, 77,000 lives year ending March 31, 2007. HDFC standard is having 1000 advisors in 11 towns. Key features: Creating corporate agents through HDFC bank in India. Creating agents to provide total financial consultancy. Introducing low cost group schemes for companies and NGOs. Reliance life insurance: Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited is a part of Reliance Capital Ltd. of the Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Capital is one of Indias leading private sector financial services companies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking companies, in terms of net worth. Reliance Capital has interests in asset management and mutual funds, stock broking, life and general insurance, proprietary investments, private equity and other activities in financial services. Reliance Capital Limited (RCL) is a NonBanking Financial Company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India under section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

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MetLife insurance: MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

is an

affiliate of MetLife, Inc. and was incorporated as a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings, Inc. and The Jammu and Kashmir Bank, M. Pallonji and Co. Private Limited and other private investors. MetLife is one of the fastest growing life insurance companies in the country. It offers a range of innovative products to individuals and group customers at more than 600 locations through its bank partners and company-owned offices. MetLife has more than 32,000 Financial Advisors. It has approximately 70 million customers all over world. MetLife is working on the base of six core values Innovation Long term relationship Customer centered and result focused vision Creating high performance organization Working with integrity, fairness and financial prudence Partnering with internal and external customers Max New York life insurance: Max New York Life Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture between New York Life, a Fortune 100 company and Max India Limited, one of India's leading multi-business corporations The Company's paid up capital is Rs. 907.4 crore. Max New York life is working on the base of six core values Excellence, Honesty, Knowledge, Integrity
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The Company practices a lot of importance on its selection process of insurance advisors which comprises four stages - screening, psychometric test, career seminar and final interview. 337 agent advisors have qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) membership in 2007 and Max New York Life has moved up to 21st rank in MDRT global list. Key features: Max New York Life has adopted prudent financial practices to ensure safety of policyholder's funds. Investing significantly in its training programme and each agent is trained for 152 hours as opposed to the mandatory 100 hours stipulated by the IRDA before beginning to sell in the marketplace. Using a five-pronged strategy to pursue alternative channels of distribution which include the franchisee model, rural business, direct sales force involving group insurance and telemarketing opportunities, banc assurance and corporate alliances. Bharti Axa life insurance: Bharti Axa life insurance is a joint venture between Bharti, one of Indias leading business groups with interests in telecom, agri business and retail, and Axa world leader in financial protection and wealth management. The joint venture company has a 74% stake from Bharti and 26% stake of Axa. The company started its operations in December 2006. Now company is having over 5200 employees across over 12 states in the country.

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Company is working on the base of five core values Professionalism Innovation Team Spirit Pragmatism Integrity Key features: Using multi-distribution, multi product platform techniques. Adapting AXA's best practices as a sound platform for profitable growth. Leveraging Bharti's local knowledge, infrastructure and customer base. Delivering high levels of shareholder return. Building long term value with business partners by enhancing the proposition to their customers. Retaining the best talent in India. Tata AIG life insurance: Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIG Life) is a joint venture company of the Tata Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). The Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the insurance venture with AIG holding the balance 26 percent. Tata AIG Life provides insurance solutions to individuals and corporate. Tata AIG Life Insurance Company started to operate its business in India on April 1, 2001. Tata AIG is having 3000 advisors all over India.

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Key features: Establishing direct mailers; call-centers in 60 centers. Creating awareness workshops in housing societies. 15-day trial period with refund, premium payment through credit card. Bajaj Allianz life insurance: Bajaj Allianz life insurance company ltd. Is a joint venture of Allianz AG, one of the worlds largest insurance companies and Bajaj auto, one of the biggest two and three wheeler manufacturing companies in the world. Company is having over 440000 satisfied customers in India. Company is having 550 branches across the country and over 60000 advisors. Key features: Tying up with seven regional rural banks sponsored by Syndicate Bank to tap the rural market. Introducing micro-insurance products and coming out with a new capital guarantee product. Expanding its agency force from 1.60 lakh to 2 lakh and the branch network will also be increased from 900 to 1400. Birla sun life insurance: Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

(BSLI) is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and the Sun Life Financial Services of Canada. It started operations in March 2001 after receiving its registration license from IRDA in January 2001. Company is having more than 45 branches across India. Key features:

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 Focus on unit linked insurance products supported with protection products to maintain leadership in product innovation. Use of multi distribution channels- Direct Sales Force, Alternate Channels and offering convenient channels of purchase to customers. Web-enabled IT systems for superior customer services and issuing policies on the internet. High degree of transparency in all business practices and procedures. Working on operational Business Continuity Plan. Market share of different insurance companies:
Market Share of all Life Insurance Companies in India at the end of March-2012 / FY 2012

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10. CONCLUSION
Insurance companies are recruiting their advisors mainly through personal reference, through advertisement, and through walk in interviews. None of the company is recruiting their advisors through placement agencies. But some companies have started recruiting their advisors through placement agencies as a trial basis. Those advisors who are recruited through personal references need more training session and company has to put effort to make them active. Most of the companies are giving training session to advisors to make them active. Only one or two companies are providing higher channel position and increasing incentives to make them active. Most of the insurance companies have started recruiting agency manager and high posted people from professional colleges to improve efficiency of the insurance company. Insurance companies have forgotten their traditional products. Companies are totally concentrating on selling ULIP products. Now insurance companies are selling their products as an investment product not as life insurance products. Insurance companies are deploying their products mostly based on customer needs and demands. Insurance companies are not doing enough market researches to know the potential of the market. Most of the insurance companies are differentiating themselves from the competitors by providing better service quality. Some companies are differentiating themselves providing better pricing of the product. Branch managers of most of the companies think that providing better service quality is the best tool to compete in the market. Better service quality may be in the form1. Issuing policy in time. 2. Providing claims in time. 3. Making customers aware about their status of policy.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Magazines Business world News papers Economic Times Internet Websites of different insurance companies www. avivaindia.com www.indianinsuranceresearch.com www.irdaindia.org

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