4

“PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER TOWARDS LIFE INSURANCE WITH

REFERENCE TO BIRLA SUNLIFE”

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

“A Project Report submitted in
Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Post Graduate Diploma
in Management”

Under the guidance of

Mr. JITENDRA BAPNA
BIRLA SUNLIFE

Submitted By:
KUNAL AGGARWAL
Roll No.: MM1517324
Institute: BIMM
Specialization in Marketing
Session: 2015-17
Date: 30/06/2016
 DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that I have completed this project report entitled
“PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER TOWARDS LIFE INSURANCE WITH
REFERENCE TO BIRLA SUNLIFE” under the guidance and supervision of Mr.
Jitendra bapna of Birla sunlife. I have collected the primary data from various
insurance holding people. I further declare that the dissertation is my own original
work carried out by me during the period from 2nd May to 30th June 2016 and has not
been submitted to any other University or Institute for the award of any
degree/diploma etc.

Date: 30/06/2016

____________________

Signature

Kunal aggarwal

MM1517324

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project bears on imprint of many people, without whom this research project
would not have been successful and I would not forget to thank them.
First of all, I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards
to Mr.Jitendra Bapna, my project mentor, for his exemplary guidance, monitoring
and constant encouragement throughout the course of this project. His constant
support has been very much appreciated in finalizing this dissertation with the
limited time frame.
Secondly, I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Institute
mentor Dr. Suraj Kamble for his immense guidance and support.
My project work is supported by unparallel help & guidance from respected persons
with whom I have been acquainted with in the course of the project. I feel extremely
satisfied to be able to acknowledge their help & support in completion of my project
work. My deepest thanks and appreciation also goes to all the employees of the
company who have provided valuable information regarding the dissertation, giving
me such attention and time and for willingly helping me out with their attributes.
I would also like to express my special thanks of gratitude to our Executive Director,
Dr.(Col) A. Balasubramanian and Director-In-Charge, Dr. Archana Shrivastava for
their moral support.
My sincere thanks also go to the Internal CPS Team of BIMM who have worked
really hard to invite various companies for summer projects for all the students.

Kunal Aggarwal

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COMPANY CERTIFICATE

113
 COLLEGE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Kunal Aggarwal bearing registration number MM1517324,
student of Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Sales & Marketing from Balaji
Institute of Modern Management (BIMM) has completed the project work and has
submitted the report for the same in partial fulfillment of requirement of the course
by Balaji Institute of Modern Management for the year 2015-17 on the topic
“PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER TOWARDS INSURANCE COMPANIES WITH
REFERENCE TO BIRLA SUNLIFE” in Pune for the company Birla Sunlife. The
student has worked under our guidance as directed.

Dr. Archama Shrivastav Dr. Suraj Kamble

Institute Director Internal Mentor

114
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In today’s world, every individual wants to secure his future and one of the way is
investment. While investing their money they expect capital appreciation along with
security and minimum risk involved in it.

Some investment avenues involve huge risk and some less risk. Depending on the
changing risk environment and emerging investment opportunities, investments need
to be evaluated on a regular basis and form strategies which will help in minimizing
the risk and maximizing the returns to the investor.

For a vast country like India, There are two aspects which are most important for a
company’s progress. First is the customer & second is the way in which company
reaches the customer. Company may make the best products but it’s useless if it
doesn’t have the capacity to distribute it to the customers.

In this project, I am studying about the Perception of Customer towards Life

Insurance with special reference to Birla SunLife. I have taken surveys to see what a
customer looks for before buying a Life Insurance Policy.

115
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction to industry 1
1.2 Company profile 4
1.3 Products by Birla sunlife 7
1.4 Needs of the study 10
1.5 Objectives of the study 10
1.6 Limitations of the study 11
1.7 Research Methodology 12
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 15
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 18
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 30
CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 31
CHAPTER 6: BIBLIOGRAPHY 32
CHAPTER 7: APPENDIX 33

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 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

Insurance

Today insurance is a tool for investing money that provides an assurance of security
with attractive returns. Insurance is a risk transfer tool. Insurance means “it covers all
uncertain risk of financial assets” .as we know that assets have some economic value.
Same that concept is followed on the human being. Insurance protect the economic
value of all financial assets.

Life Insurance

Life insurance is also an attractive financial instrument for the security purpose and
sharing of the uncertain risk. Life insurance may be the other form of saving
investment with safety returns. Like as the following ways:-

 Saving through life insurance guarantee financial protection against risk of

death of policy holder.
 Liquidity means providing loan and conversion of cash easily. When you need
money it will provide in proper way.
 Tax rebate is also another form for saving.
 Providing the full sum assured when any loss of the financial assets.
 Long term savings can be made in a relatively painless manner because of the
easy installment facility.
 Providing all the basic benefits which are coming under the life insurance
plans.
1
BASIC OF INSURANCE:

 Sum Assured (S.A.) – It represents the face value or the insurance contract.
 Premium- It is one of the periodic payments that a policyholder pays for their
benefits through the policy.
 Term- It is the period during which the contract is effective between the
insurers and insured.
 Mode- It is the mode of payment of premium which may be Monthly,
Quarterly, Half Yearly and Yearly.
 Premium paying term (PPT)- It is the number of years, premium payable
under the policy. Under certain plans the PPT is less than the actual term of
the policy.
 Grace Period- Policyholder are expected to pay premium on due date but for
their convenience a period of 15- 30 days is allowed as graces.
 Paid –up-value- According to rules & regulation, once the premium has been
paid on three policy year the policy does not become wholly void even if no
subsequent premium are paid. Such policies are known as paid-up policies.
 Surrender Value- A policy can be surrendered for cash after the policy has
acquired the paid-up value.
 Accident Benefit- It provides payment of an additional benefit equal to the
sum assured investment in case of the death due to accident or investment in
case of permanent disability.
 Term rider- Riders are provided with additional benefits on payment of a
little extra premium. This is an optional benefit.
 Death Benefit
 Maturity Benefit
2
  Switching option

There are various kinds of insurance plans. Some life insurance plans are as
follows.

A) Term insurance plan

B) Whole life insurance plan
C) Endowment insurance plan
D) Pension plan
E) Unit link insurance plan

An Amount of up to Rs. 1 lakh gets deduction in Income Tax which makes these
plans more lucrative then other investment option & when you get approximately
same returns. If the client is in the highest tax bracket, then the customer can save up
to Rs. 33000 by avoiding paying tax

Concept of ULIP:

Unit Linked Insurance Plans are plans which have the combination of Insurance &
Investment. The Customer paying premiums is divided into 2 parts, one goes for
Insurance & the other is invested in the market.

3
1.2 COMPANY PROFILE

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) was established in 2000 as a joint
venture between the Aditya Birla Group, a well-known and trusted name globally
amongst Indian conglomerates and Sun Life Financial Inc, leading international
financial services organization from Canada.

With an experience of over 9 years, BSLI has significantly contributed to the growth
and development of life insurance industry in India. BSLI currently ranks amongst
top 5 private life insurance companies in the country. Known for its innovation and
industry benchmarks, BSLI has several firsts to its credit. BSLI was the first Indian
Insurance Company to introduce “Free Look Period” and the same was made
mandatory by IRDA for all other life insurance companies. In addition to this BSLI
also pioneered the launch of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the private
players in India. To establish creditability and transparency, BSLI enjoys the prestige
to be the originator of practice to disclose portfolio on monthly basis. These
development benefits have helped BSLI be closer to its policy holders’ expectations
which gets further accentuated by the compete bouquet of insurance products (viz.
pure term plan, life stage products, health plan and retirement plans) that the
company offers.

In addition to this, the extensive reach through its network of 600 branches and 1,
75,000 empanelled advisors. The impressive combination of domain expertise,
product range, reach and ears on ground, helped BSLI cover more than 2 million
lives since it commenced operations and establish a customer base spread across
more than 1500 towns and cities in India. To ensure that customers have an
impeccable experience, BSLI ensured lowest outstanding claims ratio of 0.00% for

4
FY 2008-09. BSLI also has the best Turn Around Time according to
LOMA on all claim Parameters. Such services are well supported by
sound financials that BSLI has. The AUM of BSLI stood at Rs. 8165 crores as on
February 28, 2009, while as on March 31, 2009, the company has a robust capital
base of Rs. 2000 crores.

Philosophy

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company follows a long-term, fundamental

research based approach to investment. The approach is to identify companies, which
have excellent growth prospects and strong fundamentals. The fundamentals include
the quality of the company’s management, sustainability of its business model and its
competitive position, amongst other factors.

Vision:

To be a leader and role model in a broad based and integrated financial services
business.

Mission:

To consistently pursue investor's wealth optimization by:

 Achieving superior and consistent investment results.

 Creating a conducive environment to hone and retain talent.

 Providing customer delight.

 Institutionalizing system-approach in all aspects of functioning.

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  Upholding highest standards of ethical values at all times.

Values

 Integrity

 Commitment

 Passion

 Seamlessness

HIGHER COMMITTEE OF BIRLA SUNLIFE

Mr. Donald joined Sun Life Financial in 1969 in London, England, and qualified as
a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1972. In 1974, he left the company to pursue
a career in benefits counselling, ultimately joining William M. Mercer in Toronto.

Mr. Stewart re-joined Sun Life Financial in 1980 with overall responsibility for the
Canadian pension division, where he led six years of rapid growth. From 1992-
1995, Mr. Stewart restored profitability via re-structuring and re-engineering as
Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Financials trust operations. In May 1995, Mr.
Stewart was appointed Senior Vice- President and Chief Actuary followed by his
appointment as President and Chief Operating Officer followed in 1996.In April
1998;

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Mr. Birla is a Chartered Accountant and has also earned an MBA from London
Business School, London. He is also a Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, which is

6
among India’s largest business houses. Its JV operations include Birla
Sun Life Asset Management Company, Birla Life Distribution Co.
Ltd and Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Limited. Business World ranked him among
the top 10 of India’s most admired and respected CEOs and the top CEO of coming
millennium.

1.3 PRODUCTS BY BIRLA SUN LIFE

There are many products and solutions offered by BSLI such as Individual Solutions,
Group Solutions, Rural Solutions and NRI Solutions. I have done my research on
Individual Solutions some of which are as follows.

 Wealth with protection Solutions

Everyone has dreams for their lives- the dream house, the luxury car, the
holiday abroad and many more. In order to achieve these dreams, it is
important to have a financial goal in mind and work towards achieving it.
Birla Sun Life Insurance Wealth with Protection not only provides life cover
but also encourages people to save regularly, by offering flexible plans to suit
every individual’s needs. There are three plans under this category-
1. BSLI Dream Endowment Plan
2. BSLI Classic Endowment Plan
3. BSLI Platinum Advantage Plan
 Protection Solutions
People spend their working life striving to fulfil the big dreams for their
families. However, in an increasingly uncertain world, everyone needs to
ensure that their family is free from any financial burden in case of any
unfortunate events. This is where life insurance comes in, as one’s assurance

7
 of full financial security for their family. Birla Sun Life
Insurance Protection Solutions helps to meet the need for
financial security for one’s loved ones. The plans are designed to give an
individual a life cover as per their need at a reasonable premium. Some of the
protection solution plans are as follows
1. BSLI Term Plan
2. BSLI Premium Back Term
3. BSLI High Net Worth Term Plan

 Children’s Future Solution

A child is a source of joy for every parent. Everyone works towards ensuring
that they have the means to meet the big future expenses of your child, be it
for higher education, marriage or any other dreams that you have for your
child. Birla SunLife Insurance Children’s Future Solutions are designed to
help one build a corpus that allows him to meet the major expenses of your
child in future. Besides providing life cover to ensure that child’s dream is also
secured.
 Health and Wellness Solutions
With medical costs increasing considerably, many people find themselves
unprepared for sudden medical emergencies. Birla Sun Life Insurance Health
& Wellness Solutions ensures that an individual never lack the funds to go in
for quality treatment in case of medical emergencies. The plan helps to insure
oneself and his family for an adequate sum, against major illnesses and
injuries. BSLI also provides plans that offer the cashless facility. Some of the
health and wellness solution plans are as follows:
1. BSLI Universal Health
2. BSLI Health Plan
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 Retirement Solutions
During retirement, income stops but the expenses don’t. With inflation
increasing the cost of basic essentials, savings today might not suffice meeting
the cost of necessities throughout the retired life. It is therefore important to
start saving early and in a planned manner for a comfortable, stress-free retired
life. What is also important is to determine the goal for the retirement corpus
basis your projected needs during retired life. Birla Sun Life Insurance
Retirement Solutions ensure that an individual enjoy a secure and happy
retired life. Retirement plans will help to build a corpus that lasts throughout
the retired life.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION

 Birla Sun Life Insurance have won ‘Good Corporate Citizen Award’ for 2009-
10
 ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Awarded a Silver Shield
in the Insurance category by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
(ICAI) for the financial year ended 31st March, 2009.
 Recruiting and Staffing Best in Class Awards.
 Outlook Money Awards 2004 BSLI - Best Life Insurer (Runner Up) 2004
TROPHY.
 Outlook Money Awards 2004 BSLI - Best Life Insurer (Runner Up) 2004
CERTIFICATE.
 The 8th Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2004 - Birla Sun Life Insurance was
among the top five nominees in the category.
 The Indo-Canadian Business Chamber- BSLI awarded for its 'Successful
Performance' for 4 years April 2005.

9
  Birla Sun Life Insurance was presented 'The Hewitt Best
Employers In India Awards 2004' Trophy.
 Birla Sun Life Insurance was awarded 'The Great Place to Work Seminar
Series 2007’ Presented by Anil Sachdev (Chairman & MD of Grow Talent
Company Ltd) Robert Levering (Co-founder Great Place to Work Institute)
and Jehangir Pocha (Business World Magazine).
1.4 NEED OF THE STUDY

Birla SunLife Insurance Company Ltd is a Birla Sun Life Insurance Company
Limited (BSLI) is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life
Financial Inc., a leading international financial services organization. The local
knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of Sun Life
Financial Inc., offers a formidable value proposition to customers.

The vision of Birla SunLife is “To be a leader and role model in a broad based and
integrated financial services business.”

To achieve this vision, the company has to understand what Insurance Advisor &
Customer perception and accordingly make necessary changes to make the whole
experience of connecting with Birla SunLife a good one for both the Insurance
advisor & Customers.

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

1. To study the motive behind people buying life insurance.

2. To study difference in investment pattern of public and private sector
employees towards life insurance.
3. To study the difference in opinion of investors towards private and public
sector insurance companies.
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1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1. It was difficult to find respondent as they were busy & collection of data was
difficult. Therefore, the study is carried out based on the availability of the
respondents.
2. Some people were hesitant to opt for insurance policy from Birla SunLife as
they were keener towards insurance policies offered by LIC of India. Some
respondent’s behaviour and attitude was not satisfactory.
3. Some of the customer data is been taken through customer coming in the
branch, which may give biased results towards Birla SunLife.
4. Duration of study was restricted to two months.

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1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research can be defined as systematized efforts to gain knowledge. A research is

carried out by different methodologies, which have their own pros and cons.

Research methodology is a way to solve research problem along with the logic
behind them. First of all it is necessary to create research design.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

Basically there are three of approaches

Exploratory

Descriptive

Experimental

I have used descriptive research. Descriptive research includes surveys and fact
finding enquire of all kinds.

Research Instrument: Survey Method

SAMPLING:

We can say that sampling is the collection of information about an entire population
through examining a part of it. This is the best way for getting information which
going to help me to analysis the product performance and current market position of
the company.

TYPES OF SAMPLING:

1) Probability Sampling
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 2) Non- Probability Sampling

I have used non probability sampling. Under this I have chosen convenience
sampling.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION:

While deciding about the method of data collection to be used for the study, there are
only two types of data –

 Primary Data
 Secondary Data

REASONS FOR SELECTING PRIMARY DATA:

In terms of primary data a structured questionnaire was prepared to interview

the potential advisor of Birla SunLife & those who have at least one Life Insurance
policy.

SECONDARY SOURCE:

 Internet (Google . com &Ask . com)

 Various journals reports, magazine etc was used.
 Reports of the financial institute providing financial services.
 Interacting with the sales department heads of SMC.

There are two types of modes to collect the data.

1. Observation Method
2. Survey Method

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As far as the data collection method is concerned, designing the data
collection for Survey method is applicable to the project. A survey
can be conducted by PERSONAL INTERVIEW, TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW, E-
MAIL, POST

Amongst the above, I had conducted Personal interview.

SAMPLE UNIVERSE & UNIT:

My sample is not restricted by any boundation and respondents taken were those
who have at least one insurance policy.

SAMPLE SIZE: A total number of 100 people were interviewed.

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 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the review of literature relating to the study undertaken. A brief
review of literature would be of immense help to the researcher in gaining an insight
into the selected problem. It would help in gaining good knowledge of the area under
study. This study is the first of its category in the way as it attempts to compile the
views given by expert commissions, research bodies and individual researchers with
reference to private life insurance, people perception of life insurance, awareness and
LIC. The reviews presented below are based on internet search, perusal of related
literature available in libraries and from various publications of books, newspapers,
journals, magazines and research studies made on this topic. TO LIFE
INSURANCE POLICY HOLDERS AWARENESS Chaudhary (2012) explained
that today India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. The Insurance
Industry contributes to the financial sector of an economy and also provides social
security to the people of a country. The income earning capacity and increasing rate
of literacy are the key factors of the growth of the Insurance industry. This sector
provides for the long term contractual savings and security. The investors in life
insurance are looking for both good return and life risk coverage. This study is
conducted in to check the perception of insurance buyers/ consumers towards life
insurance. To achieve these objectives, a questionnaire is designed to collect the
data.

Choudhuri (2014) analyzed that the customers are very much conscious about their
needs and requirements towards insurance. Based on the several factors, customers
are now selecting different kinds of products in their life where their awareness about
the several existing life insurance products varies situation wise, culture wise, nation
wise, sector wise, industry wise and obviously over times. On the other hand, like

15
any other company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) is
adopting various strategies to develop customers’ awareness about the
various products as well as

involving in the fulfillment of various needs and requirements of the customers

through their selection of different life insurance policies available in the market.

Dhanabhakyam and Anitha (2011) explained that the insurance sector, along with
other elements of marketing, as well as financial infrastructure have been touched
and influenced by the process of liberalization and globalization in India. The
customer is the king in the market. Life insurance companies deal in intangible
products. With the entry of private players, the competition is becoming intense. In
order to satisfy the customers, every company is trying to implement new creations
and innovative product characteristics to attract customers. Keeping this in mind, the
present study is designed to analyze the innovation in Life insurance sector in India.

Sreenivas and Anand (2012) found in the Indian context that the insurance habits
among the general public during the independence decade was rare but there was a
remarkable improvement in the Indian insurance industry soon after the economic
reform era due to healthy competition from many national as well as international
private insurance players. In this study attempt has been made to analyze the
investors’ perceptions towards public and private life insurance companies in India
with special reference to Karnataka. Tiwari and Yadav (2013) determined that the
deregulation of the Indian Insurance market, low insurance market penetration and
the anticipated potential of the Indian insurance industry make it an attractive
opportunity for private entrants. With the progress of IRDA reforms and enactment
of IRDA act 1999, liberalization of the insurance market in India gave entry to many
private insurers, resulting in drastic changes in respect to people’s choice of

16
companies. With the expansion of the market, insurance penetration
and density of the country have been improves, leading to a
competition within the companies in terms of policies sold, collection of premium
income, first premium income, market share, settlement of claims and others. In
India life insurance is regarded as more

than a mere risk cover and is considered an important avenue of investment. Indian
investors therefore, evaluate the past track record and risk potential of an Insurer
before taking a policy investment decision. In this study an attempt has been made to
analyze the investors’ risk perceptions towards public and private life insurance
companies in India.

17
 3.DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. GENDER RATIO

NO OF
GENDER RESPONDENTS
MALE 67
FEMALE 33
TOTAL 100

NO OF RESPONDENTS

33%
MALE
FEMALE
67%

INTERPRETATION

Out of the 100 respondents taken,67 are male & 33 are female.

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 2. MARITAL STATUS

NO OF
MARITAL STATUS RESPONDENTS
MARRIED 68
UNMARRIED 32
DIVORCE 0
TOTAL 100

NO OF RESPONDENTS
0%

32%
MARRIED
UNMARRIED
DIVORCE
68%

INTERPRETATION

From the above data table, it can be inferred that married people buy insurance
policies more than unmarried ones.one of the reasons may be security of their loved
ones.

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3. TOTAL NO OF POLICIES BOUGHT

TOTAL NO OF POLICIES CUSTOMER

BOUGHT RESPONSE
ONE 48
TWO 41
MORE THAN TWO 11
TOTAL 100

TOTAL NO OF POLICIES BOUGHT

11%

ONE
48% TWO

41% MORE THAN TWO

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 4. AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS

NO OF
AGE GROUP RESPONDENTS
BELOW 30 16
31-40 39
41-50 23
51-60 17
60 ABOVE 5
TOTAL 100

NO OF RESPONDENTS

5% 16%
17%
BELOW 30
31-40

23% 41-50
39%
51-60
60 ABOVE

From the above data, it is visible that people realize the importance of insurance as
they get old. Maximum people buy insurance in the age group of 31-40, as they see
insurance as a security, also as an investment, and are more focused in securing their
future.

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5. COMPANY CHOSEN

NO OF
COMPANY NAME CUSTOMERS
BIRLA SUNLIFE 23
LIC 58
BAJAJ ALLIANZ 5
SBI 3
OTHERS 11
TOTAL 100

NO OF CUSTOMERS

3% 11%
23%
5% BIRLA SUNLIFE
LIC
BAJAJ ALLIANZ
OTHERS

58%

Analyzing the data above, it is clear that LIC continues to be the market leader and
the competitors have lot of ground to cover.58 out of 100 respondents were policy
holders of LIC which confirms its dominance.

22
6. OCCUPATION

OCCUPATION NO OF PEOPLE
PUBLIC SECTOR 27
PRIVATE SECTOR 59
SELF EMPLOYED 14
TOTAL 100

14%
27%

PUBLIC SECTOR
PRIVATE SECTOR
SELF EMPLOYED
59%

From the survey undertaken, it is understood that people working in private sector
have higher tendency of buying an insurance policy than that of public sector
employees.

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7. TERM OF INVESTMENT

PEOPLE'S PREFERENCE OF
INVESTMENT NO OF PEOPLE
SHORT TERM 39
LONG TERM 48
BOTH 13
TOTAL 100

PEOPLE'S PREFERENCE OF INVESTMENTT

13%

39% SHORT TERM

LONG TERM
BOTH

48%

The data above shows that a person’s term of investment varies, many prefer long
term investment as the returns are higher while many prefer short term investment as
they need higher liquidity.

24
8. REASON FOR CHOOSING A COMPANY

REASON FOR CHOOSING A

COMPANY NO OF PEOPLE
COMPANY PROFILE 9
BRAND 24
GRIEVANCES HANDLING 8
FAST CLAIM SETTLEMENT 5
PUBLIC SECTOR 32
ALL OF THE ABOVE 22
TOTAL 100

REASON FOR CHOOSING A COMPANY

35 32
30
24
25
20
15 NO OF PEOPLE
9 8
10
5
5
0
COMPANY PROFILE BRAND
GRIEVANCES HANDLING
FAST CLAIM SETTLEMENT
PUBLIC SECTOR

Analyzing the above data, we see that brand image and public sector are the most
important factors. People feel there many is more secured with government.

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9. Willing to invest in BSL

WILLING TO INVEST IN
BIRLA SUNLIFE NO OF PEOPLE
YES 33
NO 67
TOTAL 100

POTENTIAL CLIENTS FOR BSL

33%
YES
NO

67%

The above data shows that 33 out of 100 respondents said they might invest in BSL
in future while 67 were not willing to invest.

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10. FACTORS RELATING TO BIRLA SUNLIFE

The following data is obtained by using a likert scale (5 pointer scale). A positive
statement was provided for each of the factors and the customers rated the factors
from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. The average is obtained for
each of the factors individually and overall as well. The following table and figure
shows the average rating given to different aspects of Birla sunlife insurance:-

Average rating of Birla sunlife

Average rating
Benefits 2.7
High rate of return 3.18
Agents are helpful 3.52
Customer Feedback 3.56
Agents are more reliable 3.43
Claim settlement process 2.91
Easy process 3.49
Flexible process 3.05
Total (average) 3.23

4 3.52 3.56 3.43 3.49

3.5 3.18 3.05 3.29
3.23 2.91
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

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From the above date, we can infer that agents, customer feedback
system and ease of process are the strongest points of birla sunlife
whereas company needs to look at its claim settlement procedure as people perceive
it as a weak link.

11. WHAT MADE YOU TAKE INSURANCE POLICY

Reason for taking

Policy %

Investment 25 25

Child Education 10 10

Child Marriage 5 5

Protection 11 11

Retirement 4 4

Tax-Benefit 45 45

Reason for taking Policy

Investment
25%
45% Child Education

10% Child Marriage

Protection
11%
Retirement
5%
Tax-Benefit
4%

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INTERPRETATION:
Every respondent was asked to tick 2 points, Surprising many respondents were
taking a Life Insurance not for protection but for tax-saving. People also
concentrated on Child Education & Marriage. Very less respondents had taken
Retirement/Pension plan.

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 3. FINDINGS

• LIC continuos to be the market leader in Life Insurance with approximately

58% market share.

• Private sector employees have higher probability of buying a life insurance

policy than a public sector employee.50% out of total private sector employees
went for life insurance as a mode of investment whereas only 25% public
sector employees preferred life insurance.one of the reasons may be that
public sector employees have higher inclination towards PF and they have a
fixed pension.

• Approx 50% respondents were taking a Life Insurance not for protection but
for tax-saving , followed by Investment , Child Education & Marriage.

• Brand image plays the single most decisive role in a person choosing a private
insurance company. It amounts to 25% weightage among the total factors.

• People were hesitating to buy Private Company’s Insurance Policy. One of the
biggest reason was security and trust which they could associate with public
sector.

• Families are better target clients for a insurance company as compared to

single people(68% respondents were married). The probability of selling an
insurance policy to a family person was twice as more as compared to a single
person.

30
 4. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

5. Birla sunlife inorder to increase the consumer trust & reduce aversion on
other private players should try to increase its awareness by focussing on
its other business towards customers.

6. Focus more on core advantages like higher rate of return and promote
them towards customers.

7. Should conduct promotional events like painting competition for

childrens,which would help in establishing touch point of
communication.

8.

9. Company can look at increasing the no of alternate channels like brokers

to widen its distribution.

10.Company should give timely intimation to Advisor & Customer Relating

to Policy document, Policy statements, New Programmes, plans &
Contests through mail/mobile.

11.

31
 12.Company should concentrate on making Birla Sun Life a
positive & a secure brand. These could be done by
conducting regular investor seminars, that would help in giving
knowledge about the products and procedure which in turn would help in
resolving security concerns.

7. APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

A Study on Customer’s Perception towards BIRLA SUNLIFE

Name:

Gender Male Female

Contact No.

1. Age Group

a) Below 30 b) 31 – 40 years

c) 41 – 50 years d) 51 – 60 years

e) 60 years and above

2. Marital Status

a) Married

b) Unmarried

c) Divorce
32
3. Total number of policies bought

a) One

b) Two

c) More than two

4. Which companies’ policy do you have

a) BIRLA SUNLIFE

b) LIC

c) BAJAJ ALLIANZ

d) SBI

e) OTHER

5.What made you buy an insurance policy?

O Investment O Tax benefit O Insurance

O Child Education O Child Marriage O Retirement

6. Mode of Payment a) Monthly

b) Quarterly

c) Half-Yearly d) Yearly

7. Educational Qualification a) Undergraduate

b) Graduate
33
c) Post Graduate

d) Doctorate

8. OCCUPATION

a. Public Sector

b. Private sector

c. Self Employed

9. Annual Income

a) Below 1 Lac

b) 1 Lac – 5Lac

c) 5 Lac – 10Lac

d) Above 10Lac

10. What Percentage of Monthly Salary do you save

a) Up to 10 %

b) 11 – 20 %

c) 21 – 30 %

d) Above 30 %

11. What Kind of Investment do you prefer?

a) Short Term(0-3 years)

34
 b) Long Term (more than 10 years)

c) Both

12.What parameters you have looked into at the time of buying policy

Parameters considered Highly Important Neutral Least Not

Premium Important Important Important

Policy Term
Rider Benefits
Bonus and Interests
Pre & Post Services
Company Image

13. Give reasons for insuring with your company

a) Company Profile

b) Brand

c) Grievances Handling

d) Fast claim settlement

e) Public Sector

f) All of the above

14. If you buy a new policy would you like to go for Birla sun life?

a) Yes b) No

15. What would you like more in Insurance Policies of Birla sun life?

35
a) More benefits

b) More security

c) Others, Please specify

16. FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE REALTED TO BIRLA SUNLIFE

PARAMETE STRONGL AGRE NEITHER DISAGRE STRONGL

RS Y AGREE E AGREE E Y
CONSIDERE NOR DISAGRE
D DISAGRE E
E

BENEFITS
ARE HIGH
AS
COMPARE
TO OTHER
COMPANIES
HIGH RATE
OF RETURN

AGENTS
ARE
HELPFUL
SOUND
CUSTOMER
FEEDBACK
SYSTEM
AGENTS
ARE MORE
RELIABLE
CLAIM
SETTLEMEN
T PROCESS
IS FAST
EASY
PROCESS
FLEXIBLE
36
PREMIUM

17. Where do you invest your money?

1. FIXED DEPOSIT
2. MUTUAL FUND
3. PPF
4. LIFE INSURANCE
5. OTHERS

18. FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE REALTED TO BIRLA SUNLIFE

PARAMETE STRONGL AGRE NEITHER DISAGRE STRONGL

RS Y AGREE E AGREE E Y
CONSIDERE NOR DISAGRE
D DISAGRE E
E

BENEFITS
ARE HIGH
AS
COMPARE
TO OTHER
COMPANIES
HIGH RATE
OF RETURN

AGENTS
ARE
HELPFUL
SOUND
CUSTOMER
FEEDBACK
SYSTEM
AGENTS
ARE MORE
37
RELIABLE
CLAIM
SETTLEMEN
T PROCESS
IS FAST
EASY
PROCESS
FLEXIBLE
PREMIUM

38