“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with
Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”
SUBMITTED BY
GAURAV SHARMA
Enrollment no.-07919201709
STUDENT OF
LINGAYA’S LALITA DEVI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & SCIENCES
MANDI ROAD, NEW DELHI-110047
FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
BACHELOR IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
UNDER THE SUPERVISIONOF
Mr. DEEPAK LALCHADANI
SUBMITTED TO
GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPASTHA UNIVERSITY DELHI, INDIA
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CERTIFICATE
Certified that this project report “A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life” is the bonafide work of “Gaurav Sharma”who carried out the project work under the supervision of Mr.Deepak Lalchandani
<<Signature of the Head of the Department>> <<Signature of the Class Incharge>> SIGNATURE SIGNATURE
DR. Rakesh Gupta Mr.Deepak Lalchandani
(HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT) (Project Incharge)
B.B.A-3RD SEM.
Lingya’s lalita devi institute of management and science
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Particular Page no.
• Acknowledgement 04 • Preface 06• Executive Summary 07• Research Objectives 08• Research Methodology 08• Research Design 09• Sampling Methodology 09• Sampling Size 10• Limitation 10• Introduction 11• Company Profile 16• Organization Members 20• Products 22• SWOT Analysis 41• Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) 43• Competitors 45• Data Analysis & Interpretation 50• Finding & Suggestions 56• Conclusion 57• Bibliography 58• Questionnaire (Annexure 1) 59
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this report. My deepest thanks to Lecturer, Mr.Deepak Lalchandani (the Guide of the project for guiding) for correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. He has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed. I express my thanks to the hod of, B.B.A Deparment for extending his support. My deep sense of gratitude to Mr.Jayant Dua (Managing Director of Birla Sun Life Insurance Head Office – MUMBAI) support and guidance. Thanks and appreciation to the helpful people at Mr. Saurov Ghosh is Head & Senior Vice President - Human Resources MUMBAI, for their support. I would also like to thank my Institute and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality.
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled ““A comparative
study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with Max New York Life &
HDFC Standard Life”submitted to the Guru gobind singh
indraprastha university, is a record of an original work done by me
under the guidance of Mr.Deeepak Lalchandani, Faculty Member,
(Lingya’s lalita devi institute of management and science),and this
project work has not performed the basis for the award of any
Degree to the best of my knowledge.
NAME: - Gaurav Sharma
ENROLMENT NO: - 07919201709
[SIGNATURE OF STUDENT]
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PREFACE
Insurance is very important in today’s world as it provides the measure for
reducing the exposure to risk. There are different types of insurance policies
and the person can take them on the basis of their need. Insurance covers
you not only when you are alive but also after your death in the terms of
benefit which accrues to your family members.
The concept of insurance is not the new one. The insurance is
prevalent all over the world from the very beginning either in the form of
traditional or the reciprocal insurance. Mainly insurance have been
categorized into two parts 1. Life Insurance, 2. General Insurance. Life
insurance mainly covers the health related issues and the general insurance
covers the other aspects. Insurance helps in pooling the losses and also leads
to the transfer of losses. It makes the person on the same position as he was
before loss. The investment in insurance is also eligible for tax deductions.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project has been a great learning experience for me, at the same time it
gave me enough scope to implement my analytical ability.
The first part gives an insight about the Insurance. It is purely based on
whatever I learned at Birla Sun Life. One can have a brief knowledge about
Insurance and all its basics through the project. Other than that the real
servings come when one moves ahead.
At BIRLA SUN LIFE, initially the trainees were imparted process and
product knowledge. They were given sufficient time to know about the
products and also about sales and distribution channel. They had to work
with sales representative of the distributor and think of ways of improving
the sales and distribution channel and implementing them. The main aim
was to increase sales and for this different ways were tried and implemented.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES :
To analyze Birla Sun Life Insurance strategy against its competitors.
Understanding in detail about Birla Sun Life Insurance.
To study the customer servicing strategy of Birla Sun Life Insurance.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
While making a study we very often look for what type of research
methodology is to be used in this type of study. For implementation of a
proper research methodology we have to first understand the meaning of
research.
Research is a process with the help of which new concepts arises. It is the
increase in the actual knowledge stock. It can be called as movement from
known to unknown and vice-versa. It is also a continuous process. It is a
scientific as well as systematic process, which includes defining and
redefining the problem to develop hypothesis, to collect and define the
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information/data, to analysis the information and bring out the mother of
Discovery.
Source of data: Primary Data, Secondary Data
Nature of Research: Analytical
Universe: Market Representative, Common
Citizen, Market
Tools of Techniques: Quantitative as will as Qualitative
Observation
Quantitative: Percentage Method
RESEARCH DESIGN
To Achieve our objective a survey is being conducted in public to
understand what does a customer think about the services of BIRLA SUN
LIFE and to comparison with MAX NEW YORK LIFE & HDFC
STANDARD LIFE product and service.
Analytical search with quantitative approach has been done in which the
description of Birla Sun Life Insurance is presented value here the sampling
which is used to analyze random sampling which are conducted in Bhopal
city.
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY
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Initially, a rough draft of questionnaire was prepared keeping in mind the
objective of the research. A pilot study was done in order to know the
accuracy of the Questionnaire. The final Questionnaire was arrived only
after certain important changes were done. Thus my sampling comes out to
be judgmental and convenient.
Sample Size
We have met 50 people for survey, out of which response was received from
25 People who submitted us the duly filled questionnaire.
LIMITATIONS
Time was the major constraint.
Some of the respondents were not cooperative.
Some respondents were hesitating to give business details.
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INTRODUCTION
Life Insurance
Life insurance (Life Assurance in British English) is a type of insurance. As
in all insurance, the insured transfers a risk to the insurer. The insured pays a
premium and receives a policy in exchange. The risk assumed by the insurer
is the risk of death of the insured.
How life insurance works
There are three parties in a life insurance transaction; the insurer, the
insured, and the owner of the policy (policyholder), although the owner and
the insured are often the same person. For example, if John Smith buys a
policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Mary
Smith, his wife, buys a policy on John's life, she is the owner and he is the
insured. The owner of the policy is called the grantee (he or she will be the
person who will pay for the policy). Another important person involved is
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the beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person or persons who will receive the
policy proceeds upon the death of the insured. The beneficiary is not a party
to the policy, but is designated by the owner, who may change the
beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation.
With an irrevocable beneficiary, that beneficiary must agree to changes in
beneficiary, policy assignment, or borrowing of cash value.
The policy, like all insurance policies, is a legal contract specifying the
terms and conditions of the risk assumed. Special provisions apply,
including a suicide clause wherein the policy becomes null if the insured
commits suicide within a specified time for the policy date (usually two
years). Any misrepresentation by the owner or insured on the application is
also grounds for nullification. Most contracts have a contestability period,
also usually a two-year period; if the insured dies within this period, the
insurer has a legal right to contest the claim and request additional
information before deciding to pay or deny the claim.
The face amount of the policy is normally the amount paid when the policy
matures, although policies can provide for greater or lesser amounts. The
policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age. The most
common reason to buy a life insurance policy is to protect the financial
interests of the owner of the policy in the event of the insured's demise. The
insurance proceeds would pay for funeral and other death costs or be
invested to provide income replacing the deceased's wages. Other reasons
include estate planning and retirement. The owner (if not the insured) must
have an insurable interest in the insured, i.e. a legitimate reason for insuring
another person’s life. The insurer (the life insurance company) calculates the
policy prices with an intent to recover claims to be paid and administrative
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costs, and to make a profit. The cost of insurance is determined using
mortality tables calculated by actuaries. Actuaries are professionals who use
actuarial science which is based in mathematics (primarily probability and
statistics). Mortality tables are statistically based tables showing average life
expectancies. The three main variables in a mortality table are age, gender,
and use of tobacco. The mortality tables provide a baseline for the cost of
insurance. In practice, these mortality tables are used in conjunction with the
health and family history of the individual applying for a policy in order to
determine premiums and insurability. The current mortality table being used
by life insurance companies in the United States and their regulators was
calculated during the 1980s. There is currently a measure being pushed to
update the mortality tables by 2008.
Many companies use four general health categories for those evaluated for a
life insurance policy. These categories are Preferred Best, Preferred,
Standard, and Tobacco. Preferred Best means that the proposed insured has
no adverse medical history, is not under medication for any condition, and
his family (immediate and extended) have no history of early cancer,
diabetes, or other conditions. Preferred is like Preferred Best, but it allows
that the proposed insured is currently under medication for the condition and
may have some family history. Most people are in the Standard category.
Profession, travel, and lifestyle also factor into not only which category the
proposed insured falls, but also whether the proposed insured will be denied
a policy. For example, a person who would otherwise be in the Preferred
Best category will be denied a policy if he or she travels to a high risk
country.
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Upon the death of the insured, the insurer will require acceptable proof of
death before paying the claim. The normal minimum proof is a death
certificate and the insurer's claim form completed, signed, and often
notarized. If the insured's death was suspicious and the policy amount
warrants it, the insurer may investigate the circumstances surrounding the
death, before deciding whether there is a legal obligation to pay the claim.
Proceeds from the policy may be paid in a lump sum or as an annuity paid
over time in regular recurring payments for either for the life of a specified
person or a specified time period.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH INSURANCE
CUSTOMERS
While making cold calls, we need to have:
Good communication skills (voice quality is clear and accurate).
Persistent and able to bounce back from rejection.
Good organizational skills.
Ability to project a telephone personality (Enthusiasm, Friendliness).
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Flexibility: can adapt to different types of clients and new situation.
Using a good database is very essential:
“80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers” is a frequent
statement at any sales convention. There’s hardly a sales executive who is
not aware of the 80/20 rule.
Insurance customer sales cycle
Service
Follow-Up
Close sale- Purchase
Proposal
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Sales desire-Response
Information
Inquiry
Awareness
COMPANY PROFILE
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.
Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets
worldwide, including India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom,
Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, China and Bermuda. Sun Life
Financial Inc. had assets under management of over US$ 386.82 billion, as
on 31 March 2007. Sun Life Financial Inc. is a leading performer in the life
insurance market in Canada.
BSLI in its five successful years of operations has contributed significantly
to the growth and development of the life insurance industry in India. It
16
pioneered the launch of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the
private players in India. It was the first player in the industry to sell its
policies through the Bank assurance route and through the internet. It was
also the first private sector player to introduce a pure term plan in the Indian
market. This was supported by sales practices, which brought a degree of
transparency that was entirely new to the market. The process of getting
sales illustrations signed by customers, offering a free look period on all
policies, which are now industry standards were introduced by BSLI.
Being a customer centric company, BSLI has invested heavily in technology
to build world class processing capabilities. BSLI has covered more than one
and a half million lives since inception and its customer base is spread across
100 cities in India. All this has assisted the company in cementing its place
amongst the leaders in the industry in terms of new business premium
income. Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), one of the leading private life
insurers in India today announced the inimitable achiever, cricketer Kapil
Dev as their corporate brand ambassador. The cricketing supremo will be
endorsing BSLI in all its marketing initiatives. Birla Sun Life Insurance is a
value-driven brand which has a national brand recall of 70 per cent. The
objective of appointing a brand ambassador is to grow its brand recall as it
goes national in its distribution reach and fuel business growth. As a brand
ambassador, Kapil Dev will play a key role in the brand and product
marketing and promotional activities. BSLI has always used an integrated
marketing approach, which will be strengthened further.
Commenting on the association with Kapil Dev, Mr. S. K. Mitra, Director,
Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group and currently in charge of BSLI
expressed, "The Birla Sun Life Insurance business distribution network is
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national in nature covering more than 1000 points across the country .We
have made our entry in several tier I and tier II towns. It is therefore very
important for the brand to connect at the grassroots level and create trust.
We believe that our association with Kapil Dev as our brand ambassador
will help us create this connect in a shorter period of time. We therefore now
have two strong connects — our parent brand Birla and our brand
ambassador Kapil Dev".
Kapil Dev, also known as the Haryana Hurricane, was born on 6 January
1959 in Chandigarh. He played his first competitive game of cricket at the
age of 13 years and made his test debut on 16 October 1978 at Faisalabad
against Pakistan. Kapil Dev remained India's top strike bowler for almost 15
years. His extraordinary test match figures of more than 5000 runs and 434
wickets along with 64 catches show that he was a world class cricketer and
an all-rounder. He has raised the mantle of India to sporting glory by
winning us the World Cup.
In a study conducted by BSLI, Kapil Dev connected extremely well with the
life insurance category and had high acceptance by the masses. Our survey
suggests that he is seen as a very good fit for the BSLI brand. He is very
much loved and respected by a vast majority of the population.
On 26 November 2006, Birla Sun Life was host the annual golf tournament
at the Chamber Golf Club in Mumbai where Kapil Dev was participate.
About Birla Sun Life Insurance
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Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the
Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business houses in India and Sun Life
Financial Inc., a leading international financial services organization. The
local knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of
Sun Life Financial Inc., offers a formidable protection for your future.
Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), in its five successful years of operations,
has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the life
insurance industry in India. It pioneered the launch of unit linked life
insurance plans amongst the private players in India. It was the first player in
the industry to sell its policies through the banc assurance route and through
the internet. It was the first private sector player to introduce a pure term
plan in the Indian market. This was supported by sales practices which
brought a degree of transparency that was entirely new to the market. The
process of getting sales illustrations signed by customers and offering a free
look period on all policies, which are now industry standards, were
introduced by BSLI. Being a customer-centric company, BSLI has invested
heavily in technology to build world class processing capabilities. BSLI has
covered more than a million lives since inception and its customer base is
spread across more than 1000 towns and cities in India. All this has assisted
the company in cementing its place amongst the leaders in the industry in
terms of new business premium income. The company's current capital base
is Rs.520 crore.
About the Aditya Birla Group
19
The Aditya Birla Group has a turnover close to Rs.38,000 crore (as on 31
March 2008) and is one of the largest business houses in India. It enjoys a
leadership position in all the sectors in which it operates. With over 75
business units spanning the South East Asian belt, Africa, Canada and the
UK among others, it is reckoned as India's first multinational corporation.
The group is anchored by 72,000 employees and has seven lakh
shareholders, with a market capitalization of Rs.53,400 crore.
KEY PEOPLE OF ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. Kumar M Birla Mr. Donald A Stewart, Mr. Bishwanath N Puranmalka Mr. Ajay Srinivasan Mr. Gary M Comerford Mr. Suresh N Talwar Mr. Gian P Gupta His Highness Maharaja G Singh Mr. Stephan Rajotte Dr. Bharat K Singh
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INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
• Mr. B. N. Puranmalka• Mr. Eugene Lundrigan• Mr. Vikram Mehmi• Mr. Fabien Jeudy• Mr. Vikram Kotak
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Management Team
Mr. Vikram MehmiPresident & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Mayank BathwalChief Financial Officer
Mr. Mario BraganzaChief Operating Officer
Mr. E.N. GoveiaHead - Direct Sales Force
Mr. Amit PunchhiSenior Vice President - Third Party Distribution
Mr. Bhavesh SanghviHead - Group Life & Pensions
Mr. Snehal ShahSenior Vice President – Operations
Ms. Anjana GrewalSenior Vice President - Marketing & Communications
Mr. Rajesh BhojaniSenior Vice President - DSF Expansion
Mr. K.H. VenkatachalamVice President - Human Resource
Mr. Fabien JeudyVice President, Chief & Appointed Actuary
Mr. Lalit VermaniVice President - Compliance
Mr. Melvyn D'souzaVice President - Risk Management and Internal Audit
Mr. Vikram KotakVice President - Investments
Mr. Bhalachandra NayakVice President – Strategy
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PRODUCTS
DETAIL OF PRODUCTS
Individual Life
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Protection
Birla Sun Life Term Plan
Premium Back Term Plan
Saving Birla Sun Life Insurance Gold-Plus
Supreme Life
Dream Plan
Classic Life Premier
Simply Life
Prime Life Premier
Prime Life
Life Companion
Flexi Cash Flow
Flexi Save Plus
Flexi Life Line
Single Premium Bond
Retirement
Flexi Secure Life Retirement Plan II
24 Children
Children's Dream Plan
Life is unpredictable. But in face of adversity, our
responsibilities towards our parents, children and loved ones
need not be compromised. Insurance planning equips you to
smooth out the uncertainties and adversities that life might send
your way, so that the best that life has to offer, secure in the
knowledge that your beloved ones are well provided for.
BSLI offers a complete range of insurance products
1. Protection Plans
2. Savings Plans
3. Child Plans
4. Investment Plans
5. Retirement Plans
6. Group Plans
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Insurance Plans
Children Children's Dream Plan
7. Rural Plans
8. Plans for NRIs
9. Keyman Plans
10. Riders
BSLI offers LifeGuard - a set of pure protection plans. Choose
from amongst three different product structures to insure your
life and provide total security to your family, at a very affordable
cost.
Level Term Assurance with return of premium
• On death the entire sum assured will be paid.
• On maturity, all the premiums paid will be returned .
Level Term Assurance without return of premium
• On death the entire sum assured will be paid.
• No survival or maturity benefits.
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Protection Plans
You can also enhance the above two policies by adding
Accident & Disability Benefit Rider and Waiver of Premium
Rider (WOP) .
BSLI offers a variety of policies that give you the benefits of
protection and the opportunity to save for important assets or
events, like a home, a car or a wedding.
A regular premium unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance
of Capital Guarantee# with the added advantage of flexible
liquidity option. An ideal plan for long term planning with the
benefit of liquidity.
The key features of the plan are:
• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection (Sum
Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium. You
can also choose the term of the plan.
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Savings Plans
• At the end of the term, the higher of the value of units or
the guaranteed value* is paid. On death, Sum Assured along
with the higher of value of units or the guaranteed value is
payable.
• Facility of Automatic Premium Payment- With this facility
you can take a temporary break from premium payment. **
• Total transparency with the premium allocations, and other
charges declared upfront.
• The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all
invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with
the declared bonus interests.
With Automatic Premium Payment facility, you can avail a
temporary break from premium payment for a maximum of 1
year. This facility is available once if the premium paying
term is less than 15 years and twice, if it is 15 years or more .
A regular premium unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance
of Capital Guarantee# An ideal plan for your long-term savings
and protection requirement.
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The key features of the plan are :
• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection ( Sum
Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium. You
can also choose the term of the plan.
• Additional insurance for 10 years after the maturity, for an
amount of 50% of the Sum Assured.
• Flexibility to make additional investment with the help of
the top-up facility.
• Flexibility to increase / decrease your annual premium
amount
• Facility of Automatic Premium Payment- With this facility
you can take a temporary break from premium payment.
The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all
invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with
the declared bonus interests.
With Automatic Premium Payment facility, you can avail a
temporary break from premium payment for a maximum of 1
year. This facility is available once if the premium paying
term is less than 15 years and twice, if it is 15 years or more.
The capital guarantee is applicable only on the invested
premium and the declared bonus interests.
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You can also enhance your policy by adding Accident &
Disability Benefit Rider, Waiver of Premium Rider and Critical
Illness Rider.
A unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance of Capital
Guarantee which offers you the benefit of a limited premium
payment term. An ideal plan for protection with wealth creation
that offers the flexibility of a limited premium paying term.
• Flexibility to choose a premium payment term of 5, 7 or 10
years for a maturity term of 10, 15 or 20 years respectively.
• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection (Sum
Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium.
• At the end of the term (maturity), the higher of the value of
units or the guaranteed value* is paid. On death, Sum
Assured along with the higher of value of units or the
guaranteed value is payable.
• Additional credits payable as a percentage of the initial
annual premium are paid along with the death or maturity
benefit.
• Facility to make withdrawals from the 6th policy year
onwards till the end of the policy term. Every year
withdraw up to 10% of the value of units
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• Flexibility to make additional investment with the help of
the top-up facility.
• Flexibility to increase / decrease your annual premium
amount
• Total transparency with the premium allocations, and other
charges declared upfront.
• The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all
invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with
the declared bonus interests.
The capital guarantee is applicable only on the invested premium
and the declared bonus interests.
You can also enhance your policy by adding Accident &
Disability Benefit Rider and Critical Illness Rider.
As a responsible parent, you will always strive to ensure a hassle-free,
successful life for your child. However, life is full of Uncertainties and even
the best-laid plans can go wrong. Here’s how you can give your child a
100% safe and assured tomorrow, whatever the uncertainties. Smart Kid is
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Child Plans
especially designed to provide flexibility and safeguard your child’s future
education and lifestyle, taking all possibilities into account. Choose from
amongst a basket of 4 plans:
Smart Kid regular premium
Smart Kid unit-linked regular premium
Smart Kid unit-linked regular premium II
Smart Kid unit-linked single premium II
All these plans offer you:
Financial Benefits: Regular payments at critical stages
in your child’s life, like Board examinations, Graduation
and Post-graduation.
All future premiums are waived : Ensuring that your
family is not financially burdened in your absence.
Policy benefits continue: The educational benefits of
the policy continue, ensuring that your child can realize his
or her dreams without any hassles .
Development Allowance: Smart Kid guarantees regular
income to secure your child’s educational career and also
ensures his or her all-round development, for a nominal
additional amount. The Income Benefit Rider takes care of
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this through an annual payment of 10% of the sum assured,
to your child, till the maturity of the policy, in the
unfortunate event of the death of the parent.
All SmartKid plans can be enhanced with the Accident &
Disability Benefit Rider and Income Benefit Rider .
You can also an Accident Benefit Rider to a SmartKid
Regular Premium policy, and a Waiver of Premium
Rider (WOP) to SmartKid unit-linked regular premium
policy.
Life Link II is a unique plan that combines the
security of a life insurance policy with the opportunity of
enjoying high returns on your investments, without the market
risks compromising on the protection of your family!
Death Benefit: The Sum Assured under the product has 2
options, either 500% of the initial premium or 105% of the initial
premium. In the event of an unfortunate death, the beneficiary
33
Investment Plans
will receive higher of the value of units or the initial death
benefit, less any withdrawals .
Withdrawal Benefit: One can make partial withdrawals from
the accumulated value of the policy after completion of one
policy year.
Flexibility: Choose from four fund options, based on your
investment objective and risk appetite. If at a later stage your
financial priorities change, you can switch between the various
fund options, absolutely free, 4 times a year .
Life Expectancy has been rising rapidly and today you can expect
to live longer than your earlier generations. For you, this
increase will mean a longer retirement life, stretching into a
couple of decades. BSLI Retirement Solutions that combine the
best of insurance and investment. These solutions are developed
to ensure your peace of mind for the years to come.
34
Retirement Plans
1. Why plan for retirement?
2. How much should I set aside for retirement?
3. The impact of inflation on your retirement savings
4. Why plan early?
5. About Annuities
Why plan for retirement?
For too many people, the joy of retirement after years of
hard work is eclipsed by the financial uncertainties that it brings.
Despite all the planning and saving, you can never sure whether
your money will last a lifetime. Retirement planning offers a way
to ensure a more enjoyable, stress free tomorrow. A prudent plan
will ensure that increasing life expectancy, higher inflation and
increasing taxes do not eat away into your hard earned savings.
In an era of competitive parity, the only asset that makes a
decisive difference between corporate success and failure is the
quality of human capital. Employee benefits have proven to be an
excellent tool to optimize the retention of talent and improve an
organization’s bottom-line. The quality of an organization’s
employee benefits establishes and maintains a company's image
35
Group Solutions
as a caring employer. Optimum care of employees is a long-term
investment that results in a sustained competitive advantage for
an organization in the times to come.
BSLI Group Solutions Advantage:
• An integrated basket of employee benefits solutions that
offer incomparable flexible benefits.
• Sound investment management that focuses on safety,
stability and profitability of the portfolio.
• Personalized financial planning for your employee that
takes care of his/her changing financial needs at every stage
of life.
• Quality service initiatives and transparency across all
operations, promising superlative operational efficiency.
Group Term Assurance : Helps provide affordable cover to
members of a group.
Group Gratuity Plan : Helps employers fund their statutory
gratuity obligation in a flexible and hassle-free manner.
Group Superannuation Plan : A flexible scheme (defined
benefit and defined contribution) to provide a retirement kitty for
each member of the group.
36
Group Term Assurance:
BSLI flexible group term solution helps provide affordable
cover to members of a group. The cover could be uniform or
based on designation/rank or a multiple of salary, and can be
extended to all employees between the ages of 18 and 65 years.
The benefit under the policy is paid on the event of the member’s
death to the beneficiary nominated by the member. It is a one-
year renewable policy where one master policy covers all
proposed employees comprising the group, with a minimum
group size of 25 persons. New members can join the group and
outgoing members can leave the group at any point during the
policy term.
Group Gratuity Plan:
BSLI group gratuity plan helps employers fund their gratuity
obligation in a scientific manner. Employers can avail of the tax
benefits as applicable to approved gratuity funds. The plan can
also be customized to structure schemes that can provide benefits
beyond the statutory obligations.
Employee Benefits :
37
• The contribution made by the employer is not included in
the value of taxable perquisites in the hands of the
employee.
• Gratuity received up to Rs 350000 is exempt from
Income tax under Sec 10(10)
Employer Benefits:
• Annual contribution up to 8.33% of salary bill in a financial
year is allowed a deduction for the purpose of computation
of profits and gains of business.
• Contribution towards past service liability is allowed as
deduction as per the Income Tax rules.
Group Superannuation Plan:
BSLI Superannuation Scheme (for both Defined Benefit and
Defined Contribution funds) offers substantial benefits to both
employers and employees. The employer and employee can avail
of tax benefits applicable to an approved superannuation trust.
The scheme will provide for a retirement fund for each
participating employee. An employee would be able to choose
from various annuity options or opt for partial commutation of
corpus at retirement.
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BSLI Rural Products are designed to meet the needs of the rural
consumers. These products offer the following features:
1. Low and Affordable Premiums
2. Life Cover
3. Savings Option
4. Hassle free procedure
BSLI Endowment Plan:
BSLI offers the following features:
Life Cover and Savings
Regular Premiums
Age at entry 18 - 45 Yrs
Premium Mode Half Yearly / Yearly
Term 5,10,15 Yrs
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Rural Plans
Sum Assured Rs.5,000 -20,000
Premium / Year Rs. 507 - 553 ( SA: Rs.10,000)
Maturity/Death benefit Sum Assured
BSLI - Regular Premium:
BSLI is a regular premium policy with the following features:
Individual policy
Only Life cover
Term - 3 & 5 Yrs
Age independent premium
Age at entry 18 - 45 Yrs
Sum Assured Single
Premium / Year Rs 50 – 200
Maturity/Death benefit Rs.5,000 - 20,000
Death Benefit Sum Assured
NRI Plans:
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Plans for NRIs
Being away from India doesn't mean you have to compromise the
safety and security of your loved ones. In fact, your savings from
your time overseas can be easily canalized to meet your family's
needs - now and in the future.
STRENGTH :
• Multi-channel distribution and one of the largest
distribution networks in India.
• Implementing Six-Sigma process.
• Customer centric products and services.
• Superior investment and risk management framework
• 1 Million Policies sold within 3 and half years.
• Training process of the company is very strong.
• Different plan for different peoples
• According to the change in surrounding environment like
changes in customer requirement .
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WEAKNESS:
• COMPANY does not penetrate on the rural market at a
time.
• There is no plan for the low income group.
• Fees for the advisor is high than the other company .
OPPORTUNITY:
• Insurance market is very big, where company can expand
its horizon in insurance industry .
• Though good investment and insurance it is easy to top
Indian customers.
• The huge insurance market (77%) is left so company has
opportunity to expand our products.
THREATS:
• ‘OLD HABITS DIE HARD’: Its still difficult task to win the
confidence of public towards private company.
• The company is facing major threats from LIC -which is an
only government company.
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IRDA(INSURANCE REGULATORY
DEVLOPMENT AUTHORITY)
The insurance sector has been opened up in India, as there was an urgent
need. The international experience indicates those country with a liberalized
insurance sector have witnessed a rapid growth in premium volumes
enhancing the domestic saving rate. This happened in China, Malaysia and
Singapore where a competitive market has led to improvement in Services
and quicker settlement of claims. It is also important to note that competition
will bring about advancement in information, communication and
technology. And rightly therefore a decision was taken by the Government
of India to open up Insurance sector. The establishment of IRDA in the
month of April 2000 has been important development in this direction,
making the end of monopoly in the insurance sector.
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WHY INSURANCE IN INDIA:
• Only 22% of the insurance population has been extended cover.
Market penetration is low and the potential to exploit is high.
• Insurance premium per capita is very low.
• Lack of comprehensive social system benefit and welfare means that
demand for pension products is high.
• Huge middle class of approximately 300 Million.
• Existing insurance company score low on customer service front.
The insurance market registered growth in the Asian region even though
India’s share in global insurance is less than 0.5% (1988) as compared to
USA (24.2%) and Japan (21%). Studies have reveled that in an emerging
market, as disposable income rises, Insurance premiums as a ratio of GDP
shoots up. The confederation of Indian Industry projected a growth of Life
Insurance premiums from Rs. 350 Billion at present to Rs.140 Billion. The
growth of non-life insurance premium is expected to increase from 75 billion
to 375 billion. Out of which, only 10% is tapped by the existing insurer.
How many Indians are aware that LIC has more than
60Products and GIC has more than 180Products? Not only there is a
reduction in the premiums of Life Insurance products have long overdue
since Indian morality rate has decreased three folds in the last 50years. There
is also scope to increase the yield on life insurance policies (presently 6%)
with proper risk management in place.
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It is been debated that insurance business does not produce profit in
the first five years cross subsidization is a feature of Indian market. Even the
first portfolio vote that is considered profitable, cross subsidizes other
departments. Tariffs reduction is likely to reduce profits; further insurers
have to institute proper claims management progress in order to extract
efficiencies. At present life insurance business in the country is taxed at
12.5% of the profit in financial year. The government is soon to present a
new model of taxing life insurance companies at international rates.
New entrants should be well advised to look ahead to the stage where
brand strength will be a competitive advantage and sketch their alliances
accordingly. In fact, we believe that alliance related to distribution rather
than to produce or technology will prove most valuable in the long run.
COMPETITORS
Max new york life insurance co. profile
Max New York Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between New
York Life International Inc., a Fortune 100 company and
America's largest life insurance provider and Max India Limited
one of the leading multi-business corporations in India. Max New
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York Life Insurance Co Ltd is a Rs. 250 crore joint venture with a
paid up capital of Rs. 807 crore.The insurance agents employed at
Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd are trained in-house with a
rigorous training program of over 152 hrs, much higher than the
standard 100 hrs of mandatory training laid down by the IRDA.
Around 345 Max New York Agent Advisors qualified for Million
Dollar Round table (MDRT) membership in 2006.
It is an internationally renowned congregation of world's top
insurance agents.
Max New York Life brings to you specially customized
products and services that are flexible and can e customized to
suit your needs. It now has 30 life insurance products and 8 riders
that can be customized to over 800 combinations enabling
customers to choose the policy or plan that best fits their need.
These include:
INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE
Protection Plans:• Whole Life• Level Term• Five Year Term R & C• Life Partner Plus
Savings:o Life Gain Endowmento Life Pay Money Backo Life Gain Plus 20o Life Gain Plus 25o 20-Year Endowment
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Unit Linked:o Life Maker Premiumo Life Maker Goldo Life Maker Platinumo Life Maker Pensiono Life Invest
GROUP INSURANCEo Group Term Lifeo Group Gratuityo Employee Deposit Linked Insuranceo Credit Shieldo Unit Linked Group Gratuityo Unit Linked Group Superannuation
RURAL INSURANCEo Max Surakshao Easy Termo Max Mangal Endowmento Max Vriksha Money Back
Many insurance companies provide medical insurance, general insurance,
premium insurance, company insurance and group insurance policies. But
the qualities of a true leader shine out. The annual report of Max New York
Insurance Co. shows that they have achieved this by their sheer dedication to
their customers and the hard work of their insurance agents.
HDFC standard life insurance co. profile
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Established on 14th August 2000, HDFC Standard Life
Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Housing
Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited) -
India's leading housing finance institution, and a Group Company
of the Standard Life Plc, UK. The Company is one of leading
private insurance companies, offering a range of individual and
group insurance solutions, in India. Being a joint venture of top
financial services groups, HDFC Standard Life has adequate
financial expertise to manage long-term investments safely and
resourcefully.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance offers a range of individual
and group solutions , which can be easily personalized to
specific needs.
Protection Plans• HDFC Term Assurance Plan• HDFC Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan• HDFC Home Loan Protection Plan
Children's Plans• HDFC Children's Plan• HDFC Unit Linked Young Star II• HDFC Unit Linked Young Star Plus II• HDFC Unit Linked Youngster Champion
Retirement Plans • HDFC Personal Pension Plan• HDFC Unit Linked Pension II• HDFC Unit Linked Pension Maximiser II• HDFC Immediate Annuity
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Savings & Investment Plans• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Plus II• HDFC SimpliLife• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment II• HDFC Unit Linked Enhanced Life Protection II• HDFC Unit Linked Wealth Maximiser Plus• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Winner• HDFC Endowment Assurance Plan• HDFC Money Back Plan• HDFC Single Premium Whole of Life Insurance Plan• HDFC Assurance Plan• HDFC Savings Assurance Plan
Health Plans • HDFC Critical Care Plan• HDFC SurgiCare Plan
Group Plans • Group Term Insurance Plan• Group Variable Term Insurance Plan• Group Unit Linked Plan - Gratuity• Group Unit Linked Plan - Superannuation• Group Unit Linked Plan - Leave Encashment
Its group solutions have been planned to offer complete flexibility, together
with a low charging structure. As of 31 December, 2008, the
Company's new business premium income stood at Rs. 1,839.70
Crores; it has covered over 812,811 lives so far. Given below is a
comprehensive list of policies and products on offer by HDFC
Standard Life Insurance.
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DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
Ques 1. If Insurance policy of Birla Sunlife, what kind
of policy?
No of Peoples Have BSLI Plan
Health, 10%
Retierment , 22%
Life, 68%
Health
Retierment
Life
Inference
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On the basis of above analysis it has been concluded that around 68% of the
policy holders are having life plan, 22% of them are having Retirement plan
and rest of them are having the health plan.
Question.2 Are you satisfied with the Insurance plan you have?
No. of people satisfied with the plan
72%
28%
Yes
No
Inference
On the basis of the analysis it has been concluded that around 72%of the
people are satisfied with plan they and rest if them are not satisfied.
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Ques.3 Are you satisfied with the services provided by the company regarding new plans and schemes?
No. of people satisfied with the services provided by the company
82%
18%
Yes
No
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Inference
On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 82% of
the policy holders are satisfied with the services provided by the
company and rest of them are not satisfied.
Ques.4 Are you interested to make more investments in BSLI ?
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No. of Peoples want to more investment in BSLI
67%
33%
Yes
No
Inference
On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 67% of
the policyholders are interested to make more investments in BSLI and
rest of them are not interested.
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Ques. 5 Do you have any other Insurance Plan apart from BSLI?
60%9%
11%
8%12% LIC
BSLI
BAJAJ ALIYANZ
ICICI
Others
Inference
From the above analysis it has been concluded that around 89% of policy
holders are having other insurance plans apart from BSLI , in which
around 60 % are having LIC insurance plans, 11% are having Bajaj
Allianz, 9% are having Birla Sunlife, 8% are having ICICI Pru. and 12%
are having other company insurance plans.
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Ques. 6 If you get any attractive plan than are you ready to switch over?
People ready to switch to attractive Schemes if offered by other
companies
82%
18%
Yes
No
Inference
On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 82% of
the policy holders are ready to switch over if they get good attractive
insurance plan and rest of them don’t.
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FINDING & SUGGESTIONS
1) Even though most of the policy holders are satisfied with
policies, plans they have but some new attractive insurance plans should
be introduce to bind them not to switch over to other companies
insurance plans.
2) The company should find out the no. of people who are not
having any of the insurance plans through an intensive market research
and motivate them to get insured.
3) Leveraging technology to service customers quickly, efficiently
and conveniently.
4) Developing and implementing superior risk management and
investment strategies to offer sustainable and stable returns to our
policyholders.
5) Company should target each and every class of the society
6) Company should provide full information to the customers
before targeting so they can take interest .
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CONCLUSION
In the conclusion it can be said that the Birla sun Life Insurance deserves a
special position in the life insurance sector. The various policies provided by
the company reduces the risk exposure of different segment of the society.
In the project the different policies of the company have been studied in
order to know about the different criteria for the pension amount, how to
claim, what are the benefits, what are the added risk covered by the policy
etc. The criteria for claiming and the premium amount is very reasonable so
even a lay man can take the policy very easily.
The company should try to tap the rural and the semi urban sector as it is
lacking on in this sphere. It has to come up with new policies and the
strategies in order to compete with the new emerging private players.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
By the help of Books
• Business Environment written By
“Francis Cherunilam
• Marketing Management written BY
“ Phillip Kotlar”
By the help of Other Sources
• By the head’s and the consultant of the Birla Sun Life.
By the help of Websites
• www.BirlaSunlife.com
• www. irda. gov. in
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• Birlasunlife New Advisor Book
• www.google.com
(Annexure 1)
QUESTIONNAIRE
I, Gaurav Sharma Student of Lldims, pursuing my BBA ,
carrying out a project work in partial fulfillment of my live project.
I am undertaking a project
“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with
Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”
In view of this, I hereby request you to give your feed back
on the questionnaire given below. Please note that your response
will be kept confidential. Please mark the appropriate answer.
NAME ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------AGE ----------- Nationality ----------------------- Income ------------------------Contact --------------------------------, -------- ------------------------------------Address ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
Occupation:a) Businessman [ ] b) Professional [ ]c) Students [ ] d) House wife [ ]
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Ques. 1 Do you have any insurance policy?
Ques. 2 Which insurance policy do you have?
Ques 3. If Insurance policy of Birla Sunlife, what kind
of policy?
Ques 4 Are you satisfied with the Insurance plan you have?
Ques.5 Are you satisfied with the services provided by the
company regarding new plans and schemes?
Ques.6 Are you interested to make more investments in BSLI ?
Ques. 7 Do you have any other Insurance Plan apart from
BSLI?
Ques. 8 If you get any attractive plan than are you ready to
switch over?
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