A Study on the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance c

PROJECT REPORT BAJAJ ALLIANZ

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

Brands are represented in the mind of the consumers through images. Consumers do

not live in an objective and real world. Rather their world is tending to be subjective

and personal. It is the image of the world that mediates between the consumer and the

external real world. A brand is not what actually it is, rather what it perceived as.

Hence image building is crucial task for marketers. It is the brand image which would

either ‘steer away” or “steer towards” a consumer from a brand. Imagery perspective

lays stress on symbolism and imagery aspect of a brand. It is the imagery overhand

above the physical product that may make brand more relevant and meaningful to the

consumers in certain cases.

Brand Image building is “The effort to differentiate the brand psychologically rather

than physically”

According to Sengupta “Brand Image” is the totality of the impressions about the

brand” This according to him includes its physical, functional and psychological

aspects of the brand.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited is a union between Allianz AG, the

world’s largest insurance companies and Bajaj Auto, one of the biggest 2- & 3-

wheeler manufacturers in the world. Allianz AG is a leading insurance conglomerate

globally and the largest asset manager in the world, managing assets worth over 996

billion Euros. Allianz AG has 115 years of financial experience in over 70 countries

and Bajaj Auto is the most trusted name in the Indian market for over 55 years

together are committed to offering financial solutions that provide all the security one

need for ones family and oneself.

The Project work titled “A Study on the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

Company with Special reference to Quilon District” was a modest attempt to

understand the people’s perception of Bajaj Allianz and its products. Determination of

the Company’s Marketing Communication Objective was one of the major purposes

of the study.

Dept Of Management Science 1 MESCE Kuttippuram


1.2 TITLE OF THE PROBLEM

“A Study on the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company among

Keralites”

The study aims to find out people’s perception of Bajaj Allianz and its products.

Marketing Communication should always be based on certain predetermined

objectives like creating awareness, creating a liking etc, which is very essential for

effective communication between the buyer and seller. Determination of the

Company’s Marketing Communication Objective was one of the major purposes of

the study.

1.3 NEED FOR THE STUDY

After liberalization large number of Multi National Companies has crossed the

national boundary of our country. Increase in competition and the plan for expansion

has compelled the company to analyse the Brand Image of the company in relation to

its competitors.

As the company plans to increase its sales there is a need to communicate with the

customers through various Medias. For this purpose the company’s marketing

communication objectives should be determined.

Bajaj-Allianz Life Insurance Company is required to know the customers perception

towards their product. Today Insurance industry is one of the sectors which are fast

growing. Recently there is a shift in the Insurance Industry that is many private Multi

National Life Insurance Companies has entered India. This has increased the

competition to a great extend. So the company wants to know the present demand for

Insurance so that they can adjust their market performance accordingly.



1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.4.1 General Objectives

a. To analyze the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company in

relation to other companies

b. To determine the Marketing Communication Objectives of the company

c. To provide suggestions to the company based on the findings of the study

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

a. To find out the awareness of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company

b. To find out the parameters for rating an Insurance Company

c. To find out the relevance of ethics and transparency in Insurance

d. To find out the most dissatisfying factor that should be rectified by Insurance

Companies.

e. To determine the factors that represent the Brand Image of an insurance

company

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

a. The study covers the people from different parts of Quilon district

b. The study is aimed at-

Analyzing the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company in relation to other companies

Determination of the Marketing Communication Objectives of the company

c. The study has a time span of six weeks



1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.6.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data

in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in

procedure. In fact the research design is the conceptual framework within which

research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and

analysis of data.

1.6.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

A brand is not what actually it is, rather what it perceived as. Hence image building is

crucial task for marketers. It is the brand image which would either ‘steer away” or

“steer towards” a consumer from a brand. Brand Image building is “The effort to

differentiate the brand psychologically rather than physically”

This research analyses the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company in

relation to its competitors.

1.6.3DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds.

The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it

exists at present.

Convenience sampling –

When population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample based on the ease

of access.

Population



All the items under consideration in any field of enquiry constitute a ‘universe’ or

‘population’

Sample size

This refer to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a

sample. The size of sample should neither be excessively large, nor too small, it

should be optimum.

Sampling unit

A decision has to be taken concerning a sampling unit before selecting a sample, it

may be an individual.

Sampling error

Sample surveys do imply the study of a small portion of the population and as such

there would naturally be a certain amount of inaccuracy in the information collected.

This inaccuracy may be termed as sampling error. Sampling errors are those errors

which arise on account of sampling and they generally happen to be random

variations in the sample estimates around the true population values.

1.6.4 TYPE OF RESEARCH: DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds.

The major purpose of descriptive research is a description of the state of affairs as it

exists at present. The main feature of this type of research is that the researcher has no

control over the variables. He can only report what has happened or what is

happening.

1.6.5 TYPE OF SAMPLING

Convenient sampling has been used for the purpose of drawing samples from the

population.

1.6.6 POPULATION / UNIVERSE

The population of the study consists of the working public in Quilon District



1.6.7 SAMPLING UNIT

The sample unit chosen by the researcher for the purpose of the study is “ an

employed person, in Quilon District”

1.6.8 SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size chosen by the researcher for the purpose of this study is 100 Working

Public in Quilon District

1.6.9 SOURCE OF DATA

Primary Data

Questionnaires were used for collecting Primary Data

Secondary Data

Secondary data were collected from figures, statistics and tables from the company’s

annual publications, memorandums of settlement, websites and from library books

1.6.10 TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The following are the major tools that were used by the researcher for analysis and

interpretation

Percentage Analysis

Ranking Analysis

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

No study is fully complete in itself – said the elders. Even then not taking

opportunistic shelter in this proverbial saying , the researcher is fully aware of the

many lacunas in this piece of survey , which is presented below

Due to time constraints and busy schedules of the people it was difficult to

interact with them completely



Convenient Sampling was used and hence all the limitations pertaining to this

may also become part of the findings of the study

The sample size was limited

Had these deficiencies not been there, the outcome of this survey would have been

more interesting and fruitful that what it is in the present form. Alas! As this is only a

pilot survey of small sample size, the same can be expanded to a more efficient and

highly useful study. I hope that this effort would really be useful to the company

management.



2 INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE

There is a fundamental relationship between demography and life insurance business.

India is a vast country and its huge population around 100 crores is the second largest

in the world. As such, in terms of population, India has immense potential for

extending life insurance cover. But to make a realistic assessment of this potential,

apart from the very important factors like age group, income level, sex wise

distribution, literacy level, etc., it is necessary to consider other relevant factors like

varieties of social structure, composition of urban and rural population, etc., in various

parts of the country as also many “invisible” factors like various religious faith and

social values.

Real assessment of the life insurance potential of our country is also a very complex

exercise due to wide “variance” in all aspects of Indian circumstances, and as such

any crude estimate for Indian market without carefully refined analysis can only be

misleading.

The changing economic pattern of our country, changing political scenario, rapid

proliferation of information technology, the resulting changes in the social values,

etc., will also in near future virtually reshape the Indian financial market and

consequently the future potential of life insurance business in this country.

PURPOSE & NEED OF INSURANCE:

The business of insurance is related to the protection of the economic value of assets.

Every asset has a value. Assets are insured, because they are likely to be destroyed or

made non-functional, through an accidental occurrence. Such possible occurrences are

called perils. Fire, floods, breakdowns, lightning, earthquakes, etc., are perils. The

damage that these perils may cause the asset, is the risk that the asset is exposed to.

The risk only means that there is a possibility of loss or damage. It may or may not

happen. There has to be an uncertainty about the risk. Insurance is done against the

contingency that it may happen. Insurance is relevant only if there are uncertainties. If

there is no uncertainty about the occurrence of an event, it cannot be insure against.

Conceptually, the mechanism of insurance is very simple. People who are exposed to



the same risks come together and agree that, if any one of the ‘members’ suffers a

loss, the others will share the loss and make good to the person who lost.

The manner in which the loss is to be shared can be determined before hand. It may

be proportional to the likely loss that each person is likely to suffer. Which is

indicative of the benefit he would receive if the peril befell him? The share could be

collected from the members after the loss has occurred or the likely shares may be

collected in advance, at the time of admission to the group. Insurance companies

collect in advance and create a fund from which the losses are paid.

HOW INSURANCE WORKS:

People facing common risks come together and make their small contributions to a

common fund. The contribution to be made by each person is determined on the

assumption that while it may not be possible to tell beforehand, which person will

suffer, it is possible to tell, on the basis of past experiences, how many persons, on an

average, may suffer losses. The following example explains the above concept of

insurance.

There are 1000 persons who are all aged 50 and are healthy. It is expected that of 10

persons may die during the year. If the economic value of the loss suffered by the

family of each dying person is taken to be Rs. 20,000 the total loss world work out to

Rs. 2,00,000/- if each person of the group contributes Rs.200/- a year, the common

fund would be Rs.2,00,000/-. This would be enough to pay Rs.20, 000 to the family of

each of the ten persons who die. Thus the risks in cases of 10 persons are shared by

1000 persons.

THE BUSINESS OF INSURANCE:



The business of insurance done by insurance companies, called insurers, is to bring

together persons with common insurance interest (sharing the same risks), collecting

the share or contribution (called premium) from all of them, and paying out

compensations (called claims) to those who suffer. The premium is determined on the

same lines as indicated in the example above with some additions made for the

expenses of administration.

The business of insurance is nothing but one of sharing. It spreads losses of an

individual over the group of individuals who face common risk. People who suffer

loss get relief because their loss is made good. People who do not suffer loss are

relieved because they were spared the loss.

The insurer is in the position of a trustee as it is managing the common fund for and

on behalf of the community. It has to ensure that nobody is allowed to take undue

advantage of the arrangement. That is to say that the management of the business

requires care to prevent entry into the group of people whose risks are not of the same

kind as well as paying claims on losses that are not accidental. The decision to allow

entry is the process of underwriting of risk. Both underwriting and claim settlement

have to done with great care.

TYPES OF INSURANCE



Life insurance General insurance Social

insurance

Property insurance Liability insurance

Marine Fire Automobile Cattle Machinery Theft

Fidelity Motor Employees

Insurance Insurance Insurance

The insurance can be classified into three categories from business point of

view

i) Life insurance

ii) General insurance

iii) Social insurance

i) LIFE INSURANCE:

Life insurance is different from other insurance in the sense that, here, the

subject matter of insurance is life of human being. The insurer will pay the fixed



amount of insurance at the time of death or at the expiry of certain period. At present,

life insurance enjoys maximum scope because the life is the most important property

of the society or an individual. Each and every person requires the insurance. This

insurance provides protection to the family at the premature death or gives adequate

amount at the old age when earning capacities are reduced. Under personal insurance

a payment is made at the accident. The insurance is not only a protection but is a sort

of investment because a certain sum is returnable to the insured at the death or at the

expiry of a period.

According to the US Life Office Management Association inc. (LOMA) life

insurance is defined as follows: “Life insurance provides a sum of money if the

person who is insured dies whilst the policy is in effect:.

Life insurance today covers a number of contingencies relating to human life –Ds:

DEATH, DISABILITY, DISEASE, and DESTITUTION.

(e.g . . . prolonged old age).

A human life is also an income generating asset. This asset also can be lost through

unexpectedly early death or made non-functional through sickness and disabilities

caused by accidents. Accidents may or may not happen. Death will happen, but the

timing is uncertain. If it happens around the time of one’s retirement, when it could be

expected that the income will normally cease, the person concerned could have made

some other arrangements to meet the continuing needs. But if it happens much earlier

when the alternate arrangements are not in place, insurance is necessary to help those

dependent on the income.

In the case of a human being, he may have made arrangements for his needs after his

retirement. These would have been made on the basis of some expectations like he

may live for another 15 years, or that his children will look after him. If any of these

expectations do not become true, the original arrangement would become inadequate

and there could be difficulties. Living too long can be as much a problem as dying too

young. These are risks, which need to be safeguarded against. Insurance takes care.

Insurance does not protect the asset. It does not prevent its loss due to the peril. The

peril cannot be avoided through insurance. Insurance only tries to reduce the impact



of the risk on the owner of the asset and those who depend on the asset. It

compensates, may not be fully, the losses. Only economic or financial losses can be

compensated.

ii) GENERAL INSURANCE:

The general insurance includes property insurance, liability insurance and other forms

of insurance. Fire and marine insurance are strictly called property insurance. Motor,

theft, fidelity and machines insurance include the extent of liability insurance to a

certain extent. The strictest form of liability insurance is fidelity insurance, whereby

the insurer compensates the loss to the insured when he is under the liability of

payment to the third party.

A. PROPERTY INSURANCE:

Under the property insurance, property of a person / persons is insured against a

certain specified risk. The risk may be fire or marine perils, theft of property of goods,

damage to property at accident.

a) Marine Insurance:

Marine insurance provides protection against loss of marine perils. The

marine perils are collision with rock, or ship, attacks by enemies fire

and capture be pirates etc. these perils cause damage, destruction or

disappearance of the ship and cargo and non-payment of freight. So

marine insurance insure ship (Hull), cargo and freight. Previously only

certain nominal risks were insured but now the scope of marine

insurance had been divided into two parts:

(I) Ocean marine insurance and (ii) Inland marine insurance.

The former insures only the marine perils while the latter covers inland peril, which

may arise with the delivery of cargo (goods) from the godown of the insured and may

extend up to the receipt of the cargo by the buyer (importer) at his godown.



b) Fire Insurance:

Fire insurance covers risks of fire. In the absence of fire insurance, the

fire waste will increases not only to the individual but to the society as

well. With the help of fire insurance, the losses arising due to fire are

compensated and the society is not losing much. The individual is

protected from such losses and his property or business or industry will

remain approximately in the same position in which it was before the

loss.

c) Miscellaneous Insurance:

The property, goods, machine, furniture, automobile, valuable articles,

etc, can be insured against the damage or destruction due to accident or

disappearance due to theft. There are different forms of insurances for

each type of the said property whereby not only property insurance

exists but liability insurance and personal injuries are also insured.

B. LIABILITY INSURANCE:

The general insurance also includes liability insurance whereby the insured is liable to

pay the damage of property or to compensate the loss of personal injury or death. This

insurance is seen in the form of fidelity insurance, automobile insurance machine

insurance, etc.

C. OTHER FORMS:

Besides the property and liability insurances, there are certain other insurances, which

are included under general insurance. The examples of such insurances are export-

credit insurances, state employees insurance, etc, whereby the insurer guarantees to

pay certain amount at the certain events. This insurance is extending rapidly there

days.

iii) SOCIAL INSURANCE:



The social insurance is to provide protection to the weaker section of the society who

is unable to pay premium for adequate insurance. Pension plans, disability benefits,

unemployment benefits, sickness insurance and industrial insurance are the various

forms of social insurance.

INSURANCE SECTOR

The insurance industry worldwide faces challenges in terms of acts of terrorism,

hardening of reinsurance rates and changing global risk architecture. The opening up

of the Insurance sector to private players has led to the introduction of a number of

new products and the Indian market is one of the fastest growing insurance markets.

Insurance business in India is growing at the rate of 15-20%annually and IRDA has

estimated that it is currently of the order of Rs.812.50 cr.5 when combined with

banking services, it adds about 7% of the country’s GDP.Insurance penetration (i.e.,

Premiums as percentage of GDP) has increased from 2032% in 2000 to 2.88% in

2003. Like wise, insurance density (i.e., premium per capita) has increased from

Rs.435.897 in 2000 to Rs.722.092 in (2003)

In line with the economic reforms that were ushered in India in early nineties, the

Government set up a Committee on Reforms (popularly called The Malhotra

Committee) in April 1993 to suggest reforms in the insurance sector. The Committee

recommended throwing open the sector to private player to usher in competition and

bring more choice to the consumer.

MALHOTRA REPORT 1994:

The Government of India appointed a committee under the chairmanship of late R.N.

Malhotra, popularly known as the “Malhotra Committee” for suggesting reforms in

the insurance sector.

The committee submitted its report in January recommending that



1. Government stake in the insurance companies to be brought down to 50% all

the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate.

2. Private companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1 billion should be

allowed to enter the industry. No company should deal in both life and general

insurance though a single entity. Foreign companies may be allowed to enter

the industry in collaboration with domestic companies.

3. The insurance Act to be changed. The committee felt the need to provide

greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their

performance and enable them to act as independent companies with economic

motives. For this purpose, it proposed setting up an independent regulatory

body.

PRIVATISATION OF LIFE INSURANCE:

Indian life insurance market was virtually the monopoly of the nationalized life

insurance company, namely the LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA.

Central Government’s postal life insurance is open mainly to govt. employees only

and central govt. has allowed some state govts and some central govt. departments

and organizations to self-insurance their own employees.

Liberalization of financial services in India started in 1991. The government of India

constituted a committee under R.N. Malhotra for suggesting reforms in the insurance

sector. The committee called “Malhotra Committee” submitted its report in January

1994. Malhotra committee recommended the opening up of the insurance sector. It

suggested a statutory body called Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to reflect on

the development of the insurance sector.

INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY:

The IRDA was established to regulate, promote & ensure orderly growth of

the life & general insurance industry.The authority consists of the following members:

1. A chairperson

2. Not more than five whole life members



3. Not more than four part time members

The member’s world is appointed by the Central Government. The tenure of the

chairperson and members world is 5 years.

FUNCTIONS OF IRDA

The IRDA exercises all powers & functions of controller of insurance

Protection of the interests of the policy holders.

To issue, renew, modify, withdraw or suspend certificate of

registration.

To specify requisite qualifications & training for insurance

intermediaries & agents.

To promote & regulate professional organizations connected with

insurance

To conduct inspection/investigations etc

To prescribe method of insurance accounting

To regulate investment of funds and margins of solvency

To adjudicate upon disputes.

To conduct inspection & audit of insurers, Intermediaries & other

organizations concerned with insurance.

IMPACT OF PRIVATISATION ON INSURANCE SECTOR IN INDIA

Market expansion:

There has been an overall expansion in the market. This has been possible due to

improved awareness levels thanks to the large number of advertising campaigns

launched by all the players. The scope for expansion is till unlimited as virtually all

the players are concentrating on large cities and towns-expect by LIC to an extent

there was no significant attempt to tap the rural markets.



New Product Offerings:

There has been a plethora of new and innovative product offered by the new players,

mainly from the stable of their international partners. Customers have tremendous

choice from a large variety of products from pure term (risk) insurance to unit-linked

investment products. Customers are offered unbundled products with a variety of

benefits as riders from which they can choose. More customers are buying products

and services based on their true needs and not just traditional money back policies,

which is not considered very appropriate for long-term protection and savings.

However, there are till some key new products yet to be introduced –e.g. health

products.

Customer Service:

Not unexpectedly, this was one area that witnessed the most significant change with

the entry of new players. There is an attempt to bring in international best practices in

service and operational efficiency through use of latest technologies. Advice and need

based selling is emerging through much better trained sales force and advisors. There

is improvement in response and turnaround times in specific areas such as delivery of

policy receipt, policy document, premium notice, final maturity payment, settlement

of claims etc. However, there is a long way to go and various customer surveys

indicate that the standards are still below customer expectation levels.

Channels of Distribution:

Till four years back, the only mode of distribution of life insurance products was

through Agents. While agents continue to be the predominant distribution channel,

today a number of innovative alternative channels are being offered to consumers.

Some of them are banc assurance, brokers, the internet and direct marketing.

The entry of many of the global insurance into the Indian market is the form of joint

ventures with Indian companies. Some of the key names are Prudential, AIG, New

York Life, Allianz, Standard life, Sun Life Canada and Old Mutual. The entry of new

players has rejuvenated the erstwhile monopoly player LIC, which has responded to

the competition in an admirable fashion by launching new products and improving

service standards



MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE FIELD OF LIFE INSURANCE

Birla sun Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

DaburCCU Life Insurance Company Pvt.Ltd.

Bajaj Allianz Life insurance Co.Ltd

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

Life Insurance Corporation of India

Max New York Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

Om Kotak Mahindra Life insurance Co.Ltd.

SBI Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

Tata AIG Life Insurance Co.Ltd.

Reliance Life Insurance Co.Ltd

MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE FIELD OF GENERAL INSURANCE

The non-life sector primarily consists of fire and miscellaneous risk insurance

policies. Also, since motor vehicle cover is compulsory in India, it acts as another

chief source of business in the non-life sector.

Allianz Bajaj General insurance Co.Ltd.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance

IFFCO Tokyo General Insurance



Reliance General Insurance

Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance

PROFILE OF MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES IN INDIA

1. Bajaj Allianz

Bajaj Allianz is a joint venture between Allianz AG one of the world's largest

insurance companies, and Bajaj Auto, one of the biggest 2 and 3 wheeler

manufacturers in the world. Bajaj Allianz is into both life insurance and general

insurance.

Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and financial services providers.

Founded in 1890 in Berlin, Allianz is now present in over 70 countries with almost

174,000 employees. Bajaj group is the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers and

three-wheelers in India and one of the largest in the world.

Today, Bajaj Allianz is one of India's leading and fastest growing insurance

companies. Currently, it has presence in more than 550 locations with over 60,000

Insurance Consultants

2. AMP Sanmar Assurance Company Limited

AMP Sanmar Life Insurance was a joint venture between AMP, Australia and the

Sanmar Group. Headquartered in Chennai, AMP Sanmar had over 90 offices across

the country, 9,000 agents and more than 900 employees.

3. Aviva Life Insurance Company India Pvt. Ltd.

Aviva Life Insurance Company India Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture between Aviva of UK

and Dabur, one of India's leading producer of traditional healthcare products. Aviva

holds a 26 per cent stake in the joint venture and the Dabur group holds the balance

74 per cent share. Aviva is UK's largest and the world's sixth largest insurance Group.

It is one of the leading providers of life and pensions products to Europe and has

substantial businesses else where around the world.

Aviva pioneered the concept of Bancassurance in India.Aviva has 40 Branches in

India (including rural branches) supporting its distribution network. Through its



Bancassurance partner locations, Aviva products are available in 378 towns and cities

across India

4.. Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Aditya Birla

Group and Sun Life Financial of Canada. Aditya Birla Group is an Indian

multinational conglomerate with presence in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia,

Philippines, Egypt, Canada Australia ,and China.

Sun Life Assurance, Sun Life Financial's primary insurance business, is one of the

leading insurance companies of the world and ranks amongst the largest international

financial services organisations in the world. The Group has presence in several

countries such as Canada, United States, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India and

Bermuda.

5. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.Limited

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.Limited. is a joint venture between HDFC

Ltd., India's largest housing finance institution and Standard Life Assurance

Company, Europe's largest mutual life company. It was the first life insurance

company to be granted a certificate of registration by the IRDA on the 23rd of

October 2000.HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. is a joint venture between HDFC

Ltd., India's largest housing finance institution and Standard Life Assurance

Company, Europe's largest mutual life company. It was the first life insurance

company to be granted a certificate of registration by the IRDA on 23rd

October2000.

Standard Life, UK was founded in 1825 and has experience of over 180 years.

Companies. The company is rated as "very strong" by Standard & Poor's (AA) and

"excellent"byMoody's(Aa2).

HDFC Standard Life's cumulative premium income, including the first year premiums

and renewal premiums is Rs. 672.3 Crores for the financial year, Apr-Nov 2005. So

far the company has covered over 11,00,000 individuals and has declared 5th

consecutive bonus in as many years for its 'with profit' policyholders.

6. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company



ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a

premier financial powerhouse and Prudential plc, a leading international financial

services group headquartered in the United Kingdom.

ICICI was established in 1955 to lend money for industrial development. Today, it

has diversified into retail banking and is the largest private bank in the country.

Prudential plc was established in 1848 and is presently the largest life insurance

company in the UK. ICICI Prudential is currently the No. 1 private life insurer in the

country. For the financial year ended March 31, 2005, the company garnered Rs 1584

crore of new business premium for a total sum assured of Rs 13,780 crore and wrote

nearly 615,000 policies.

7. ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited

ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Vysya Bank

and ING Group of Holland, the world's 4th largest financial services group, with

presence across 50 countries, and a heritage of over 150 years.

ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Private Limited entered the private life

insurance industry in India in September 2001. With in a short span of time ING

Vysya Life Insurance has registered an impressive growth. The company currently

has over 10,000 active advisors working from 75 branches (in 30 cities) across the

country and over 2300 employees.

8. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd is a joint venture between Kotak

Mahindra Bank Ltd.(KMBL), and Old Mutual plc. Kotak Mahindra is one of India's

leading financial institutions and offers a range of financial services such as

commercial banking, stock broking, mutual funds, life insurance, and investment

banking.

Old Mutual was established more than 150 years ago and offers a diverse range of

financial services in South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom. The

company is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization and has

its headquarters in London.

9. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)



Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an autonomous body authorized to run

the life insurance business in India with its Head Office at Mumbai. It has been

established by an act of the Parliament and started functioning from 1/9/1956.

LIC is the biggest insurance player in the country. Out of the total premium of Rs

3766 crore generated by the insurance industry through group business in the year

2005-06, LIC alone accounted for Rs 3051 crore.

In the financial year 2005-06, LIC has grown at 30.68%. In respect of number of lives

insured, LIC has shown a growth of over 152%. In respect of number of schemes, LIC

has a growth of 2%. LIC's market share in number of individuals covered and number

of policies stands at 77% and 81%, respectively.

10. MetLife India Insurance Co. Pvt Ltd

MetLife India Insurance Co. Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between MetLife Group and its

Indian partners. The Indian partners include J&K Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank,

Karnataka Bank, Karvy Consultants, Geojit Securities, Way2Wealth, and Mini

Muthoothu.

Met Life Group has presence in America and Asia and has an experience of over 137

years in providing financial services. The MetLife companies are the number one life

insurer in the U.S. with approximately US $2.8 trillion of life insurance in force.

MetLife serves 88 of the top one hundred FORTUNE 500 companies. MetLife

entered Indian insurance sector in 2001.

11. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited

Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited is a part of Reliance Capital Ltd. of the

Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company acquired 100 per cent

shareholding in AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Company in August 2005. Taking over

AMP Sanmar Life provided Reliance Life Insurance a readymade infrastructure and a

portfolio.

12 . SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd



India’s largest bank and Cardiff S.A. a leading insurer in France came together to

form SBI Life. State Bank of India is the largest banking franchise in India. Along

with its 7 Associate Banks, SBI Group has a network of over 14,000 branches across

the country, the largest in the world.

Cardiff is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which is The Euro Zone's

leading Bank. BNP is one of the oldest foreign banks with a presence in India dating

back to 1860.

3 INTRODUCTION TO BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIFE INSURANCE

A PARTNERSHIP BASED ON SYNERGY:

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited is a union between Allianz AG, the

world’s largest insurance companies and Bajaj Auto, one of the biggest 2- & 3-

wheeler manufacturers in the world. Allianz AG is a leading insurance conglomerate

globally and the largest asset manager in the world, managing assets worth over 996

billion Euros. Allianz AG has 115 years of financial experience in over 70 countries

and Bajaj Auto is the most trusted name in the Indian market for over 55 years,



together are committed to offering financial solutions that provide all the security one

need for ones family and oneself.

At Bajaj Allianz, customer delight is the guiding principle. Ensuring world-class

solutions by offering customized products with transparent benefits, supported by the

best technology is the business philosophy.

ALLIANZ AG

Allianz, one of the leading global insurance companies with its headquarters in

Munich, Germany, was established in 1890. With over 700 subsidiaries and

approximately 181,635 employees worldwide, Allianz global network extends to over

70 countries. Allianz’s shares are offered at the 5 leading international stock

exchanges: Frankfurt, London, Paris, Zurich and New York. Allianz AG, Germany

Allianz AG is in the business of General (Property & Casualty) Insurance; Life &

Health and Asset Management and has been in operation for over 110 years. Allianz

is one of the largest global composite insurers. Further, the group provides Risk

Management and Loss Prevention Services. Allianz has insured most of the world’s

largest infrastructure projects (including Hongkong Airport and Channel Tunnel

between U.K and France), further Allianz insures the majority of the fortune 500

companies, besides being a large industrial insurer, Allianz has a substantial portfolio

in the commercial and personal lines sector, using a wide variety of innovative

distribution channels.



BAJAJ LIMITED: THE PROMOTERS

Incorporated in 1945 under the leadership of Mr.Rahul Bajaj, CMD; Bajaj Auto Ltd

has grown into the world’s largest 2 & 3 - wheeler manufacturer having a network of

over 375 across India and distribution network over 60 cities. Having AAA Rated,

Bajaj Auto, over the years, has been continuously working on developing an

environment friendly vehicle. The company is ranked 4th in the world in terms of its

sales volumes and is also the largest exporter of 2 & 3 wheelers. Based on its own

brand of globalization Bajaj has vigorously built its distribution network over 60

countries worldwide.

BAJAJ ALLIANZ -A GROWING FORCE

The fastest growing private life insurance company in India with a

growth rate of 380%.

Bajaj Allianz has a sales of over 8, 50,000 policies to satisfied

customers.

Bajaj Allianz has a countrywide network of 500 offices.

Bajaj Allianz is Ranked No.1 among private life insurance companies

in India.

Assets under management of Bajaj Allianz are Rs.936 Cr.

Bajaj Allianz has a shareholder capital base of Rs.267 Cr.

Bajaj Allianz is geared to perform.

The Products of the company are tailored to suit everyone’s needs.

Decentralized organization structure of the company enables faster

response.



Wide reach to serve customers better-a network of 500 offices across

India.

Bajaj Allianz has specialized departments for Banc assurance,

Corporate Agency and Group Business.

Well networked with the state-of-the-art IT systems.

High standards of customer service and simplified claim settlement

process in the industry has lead the company to rank No:1 among the

private Life Insurance Companies

The company has its own Website to provide assistance and

information across all products and services, online buying and online

renewals.

Bajaj Allianz has its own Toll free number to answer all queries,

accessible from anywhere in the country - 1600225858.

A strong telemarketing and direct marketing team adds to the

strengths of the company

The company has a Strong branch network in over 450 towns and

growing everyday.

Over 5000 sales team managers.

Over 60,000 insurance consultants.

In 2004, 3 COT and 117 MDRT qualifiers.



VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

SHARED VISION

“To be the best life insurance Company in India to buy from, work for & to invest

in.”

SHARED MISSION:

1. To be in the Top 2 life insurance companies in India by new business and in

force business.

2. To have PAN presence by locating in all 500 districts and have at least 100

branches and an agency force of at least 20,000.

3. To provide highest quality service by ensuring

. Highest customer retention in the industry.

. Every customer will be contacted by us at least once per year.

. Response to customers / agents within 48 hours.

. Embrace technology to optimize efficiencies.

. To be able to offer to the customer from one point-life, health, pensions,

general and mutual funds.

4. To achieve the return on investment required by our shareholders on a

continuing basis.

5. Acknowledge the distinctive of all members of our team by-

. Rewarding contribution and performance equitably.



. Providing development opportunities to allow our team to enhance shill

and fulfill aspirations.

SHARED VALUES

Bajaj Allianz will

1. Be a winning team.

2. Have a passion for excellence and avoid bureaucracy.

3. Be empowered, the confidence to take decisions quickly and be accountable.

4. Be driven to achieve results, to deliver.

5. Be professional and social committed.

6. Be open to ideas, sharing, transparent & trusting.(=boundary less)

7. Focus everything we do on our customer.

8. Make Bajaj Allianz a “great place to work”.

9. Have a sense of humor.

SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY:

In order to ensure speedy and accurate processing of your needs, we have established

world class technology, with renowned insurance software, which networks all our

offices and intermediaries using the web, policies can be issured from any office

across the country for retail products.

Unique, user friendly software developed to make the process of issue of policies and

claims settlement simpler (e.g. online insurance of marine policy certificate).

Unique forms of Risk Cover

Special PA cover for Amarnath Yatris



Film insurance

Event management cover

Sport & Entertainment insurance package

Risk management – our expertise

Our service methodology is tried, tested and proven the world over and

involves.

Risk identification, inspections

Risk analysis, portfolio review and gap analysis

Risk retention

Risk transfer, to an insurer as well as reinsurer (as required)

Creation of need based products

Ongoing dialogue and proactivity

CLAIMS PHILOSOPHY:

The Bajaj Allianz team follows a service that aims at taking the anxiety out of claims

processing. We pride ourselves on a friendly and open approach. We are focused

towards providing you a hassle free and speedy claims processing.

Be flexible and settle fast

Ensure no claim file to be seen by more than 3 people

Check processes regularly against the global Allianz OPEX (Operational

Excellence) methodology. Sold over 1 million since inception.

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION:



At Bajaj Allianz, our guiding principles are customer service and client satisfaction.

All our efforts are directed towards understanding the culture, social environment and

individual insurance requirements – so that we can cater to all your varied needs.

EXPERIENCED AND EXPERT SERVICING TEAM:

We are driven by a team of experienced people who understand Indian risks and are

supported by the necessary international expertise required to analyze and assess

them.

4.1LITERATURE SURVEY

NEED FOR BRANDING IN INSURANCE



Branding is the new key challenge in the financial services industry. Life in the 21st

century will be longer with more choice in more fields of activity. The financial

consequences of an increased life span are particularly likely to be tough. Inevitably,

this will lead to more complexity which in turn necessitates greater clarity and appeal

from the service providers.

Branding is more relevant in the financial services market which not only faces the

problem of securing and retaining customers in an increasingly competitive

marketplace but also experiences the need for heightened relevance of the brand

proposition in a world where brand has been termed the new religion.

Focus and strategy are essential to the development of brand in any sector but the less

tangible world of financial products historically has escaped the branding issues that

have governed development and culture in other industries.

If there was one industry which least considered branding as an essentiality it would

be the insurance industry. It was always felt as an abstract service or a fallback, more

like a safety net. But it is more often than not sold through intermediaries who have

already done the task of sifting through competitive products to select the most

appropriate one.

But with liberalisation of the industry, players have to realise the need for branding in

a competitive environment. Insurance companies need to strive for greater customer

focus regardless of whether the customer is the end user or the intermediary.

The global insurance industry itself is witnessing a period of consolidation and

companies are thinking about how brand equity can work to their advantage. The

European trend for bancassurance that created giants like AXA and Winterthur set a

precedent followed in Lloyds TSB's acquisition of Scottish Widows.

But in turn, increased competition and customer choice mean greater expectations and

the medium of channel delivery cannot be overlooked. With the Internet redefining

the way business is done, the brand proposition needs to be convincing in a new



dimension. In cyberspace, clear corporate branding is even more vital in the absence

of physical presence and issues of trust and reliability are more imperative.

In India, the LIC has been successful in creating a strong brand. In rural India, the

LIC is especially synonymous with insurance. But in the wake of competition it has to

do a considerable brand building exercise at least in urban India.

On the other hand the general insurers have a lot of work to do. There is hardly any

brand identity and leave alone loyalty. If the general insurers do not realise the

importance of branding they would be definitely knocked off their feet by the strong

foreign brands.

Adequate time, investment and longer-term management of the brand are essential,

not only for success but also survival. All brands need to be built around well-

differentiated and credible positioning that springs from the organisation's history.

The brand must not only be believed but lived by management and employees.

An additional factor is the strong sales orientation that defines the way insurance

companies operate. More often than not the industry fails to be marketing-driven.

Equally, lack of direct contact with the end user compounds targeting difficulties

which leads cyclically back to the question of whether the brand should be focused at

the intermediary or customer.

Finally the same principles apply whether it is branding a cigarette or an insurance

company. Customers want and expect good service. They need to be presented with

credible and attractive propositions that deliver value whether it is an everyday or

once-a-lifetime option.

Source :www.insuremagic.com

BRAND IMAGE KEY TO INSURANCE COMPANIES ' GROWTH'

C.J. Punnathara



Kochi , Dec. 25

IN the fiercely competitive world of the services industry, image building and brands

are becoming increasingly imperative for insurance companies

"The days when insurance companies wait for the customers to step in are over. We

have to re-build our brands and images in order to attract and retain customers

currently flooded with alternative choices. Technology and customer loyalty are two

independent facets of the picture, but they have to be consistently reinforced with the

right image and brand," says experts.

Realising the emerging needs of the times, SBI has appointed 11 regional

correspondents across all their regional offices, to interact with the media, handle

public relations, build up the brand image of the their insurance company, interact

with government officials and other important people.

"Building a new corporate brand image is becoming mandatory for all the insurance

companies in the country. The world of insurance in India had been transformed with

the advent of the new generation private sector insurance companies, with their high

levels of automation, new and technology savvy products, high decibel brand

building, and smart and swank branches.

These new insurance companies also had the inherent advantage of starting with the

right brand and image suited for the current times, a senior banker said.

Some of the insurance companies have re-designed their logo and the colour and

display style of their names.Smaller insurance companies are also making major

inroads. "We were one of the first old-generation banks to re-launch logo three years

ago. Source :www.insuremagic.com

BANACASSURANCE-BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT STRATEGY ’



What needs to be delivered

Simple range of basic Bancassurance products

Products easily understood by customers & sales people

Basic product designs, but distinctive & tailored to each bank

Tailored to the needs of target customer segments

Proven to meet identified needs

Product design with inbuilt loyalty triggers

Branding that meets customer expectations

Source : www.insuremagic.com

WHERE EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES MEET BRAND IMAGE



Rick Garlick, Ph.D. (Maritz Research) in his article" Where employee attitudes

meet Brand Image” Published by The Wise Marketer in October 2003 states

that:

Strong brands rule for employees and customers alike. The impact of a strong brand

image is both direct and indirect: while customers may, at least in part, be drawn to a

brand because of its reputation, talented employees may also be drawn to companies

which they've identified as 'a great place to work'. In turn, those employees show

greater commitment, stay longer, and feel a greater sense of personal loyalty. They

continue as guardians of the brand image as the company's culture becomes

permanently ingrained in their hearts and minds.

The brand is the personification of the company. Guiding brand values, modeled

consistently by senior leaders, and owned at every level of the company, translate into

a brand identity that appeals to consumers. When the culture of the organization

consistently reinforces the brand's core values and principles, employees become 'true

believers' and advocates for the brand.

Companies strengthen their brand image by helping employees consistently deliver

the brand promise to customers who, in turn, see it reinforced that their perceptions of

their chosen brand are correct. This closed-loop approach to brand management can

pay dividends in many ways, including more efficient operations and labour

utilization, improved service, and consistently satisfied customers who also become

advocates for the brand.

HAVING A BRAND IMAGE IS NOT A “HAVE OR HAVE NOT”

PROPOSITION



Having a brand image is not a “have or have not” proposition. Everyone has one. The

problem is that you might have more than one brand image, depending on whom you

ask. You know yourself, but depending on whom you talk to, others may think you’re

something completely different. That’s when a brand image company like Brand

Identity Guru Inc. can help. Brand Identity Guru Inc. is a brand image company that

identifies your most powerful brand image and then works to make it your only brand

image.

The phrase “brand image” gained notoriety when sales patterns began to show that

feelings and visuals associated with brands were powerful motivators to purchase

products. It isn’t just products that consumers buy. It’s their associated personalities

and values. Great brand images are instant, positive and unique among competitors.

Brand images can be reinforced through such vehicles as packaging, ads, promotions,

customer service and word-of-mouth.

Good brand images are easy to see. Volvo is a good one. Immediately you think

“safety.” That’s a brand image. A weak brand images, on the other hand, elicits a

slower and less certain reaction. What does GM stand for? Who knows? But GM has

a few strong sub-brands. Everyone knows what a Corvette is about…HIGH-SPEED

FUN!

Source: www.brandidentityguru.com/brand_image_company.htm

Larry Light (McDonald's chief global marketing officer), Branding Asia Journal

Says:

"Identifying one brand position, communicating it in a repetitive manner is old-

fashioned, out of date, out of touch." Even more bluntly, Light highlights "the end of

brand positioning as we know it," calling it "marketing suicide." Even a top executive

at advertising giant Leo Burnett is willing to stand before his CEO peers and admit,

"the old ways of marketing are not working any more."

RALPH LAUREN: CONTINUED STRENGTH IN BRAND IMAGE

Tim Hussar submits:


http://www.brandidentityguru.com/


Ralph Lauren (RL) has had a nice six months. The stock has seen a 38% increase in

that time period and they posted strong results in their last quarter.

They had strong growth in their retail and wholesale segments and predicted low

double digit revenue growth for this quarter, while upping their expected earnings per

share to $3.50-3.60 for the full year. The strength behind this continued earnings

growth lies in Ralph Lauren's brand image. They have always been the premier

American luxury clothier and will continue to foster that image.

Source : retail.seekingalpha.com/article/25347

IOB: NARAYANASAMI BETS ON BRAND IMAGE

T.S. Narayanasami, Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Bank, is set to take

over as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

Narayanasami told Business Line, "The brand image of IOB and its network with

branches located in strategic and potential centres are a source of strength to the bank.

IOB also has the advantage of leveraging on its overseas presence, though limited."

Source: sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?

BRAND IMAGE OF KBL

KBL has a strong brand image in fluid-handling products across the globe.The

company has been active in this industry for more than 80 years; this experience has

facilitated it in having a better understanding of customer requirements. KBL been

able to leverage its brand image to penetrate the EU market.

Source : (www.ibef.org)

FRAMEWORK OF BRAND EQUITY FORMATION



Graham Fedrick in his article “Framework of Brand Equity Formation”

Published by Branding Asia .com says that:

Basic Brand Tracking is a scorecard that permits a brand equity assessment of a

brand. Measuring brand equity provides clients with a basis for judging the

effectiveness of brand building activities and helps them diagnose exactly how the

brand, as an asset, is progressing over time (measuring, for example, growth in

awareness, familiarity, commitment, etc-compared to key competitors). The

assessment helps identify the critical forces behind a brand's success, failure, and all

points in between, to improve the effectiveness of brand building activities.

Analytically, the drivers of the brand and changes in marketplace dynamics, relative

to the key constituencies, are modeled. Typical output is:

An assessment of the brand vis-à-vis key current and potential competitors on each of

the components, with a special focus on distinction and commitment components;

Perceptual maps that graphically show the position of the brand on key component

elements;

Differences in the drivers of commitment by audience;

Changes in the brand vis-à-vis its competitors versus the benchmark wave;

Changes in marketplace dynamics versus the benchmark wave; and,

Recommendations regarding brand strategy.

Brand Reputation: The Corporate Social Responsibility field has contributed several

approaches that are well suited for measuring brand equity. Our proprietary reputation

measurement system is a useful framework for measuring brand equity among

stakeholders (it groups stakeholders into customers, society, employees, and capital

providers, all within the umbrella of targets of Super Brand).

The model uses brand association patterns to show the degree to which stakeholder

groups contribute to brand reputation according to specific parameters like overall



opinion, loyalty, satisfaction, and advocacy. Brand reputation measurement can be

used in specific situations, and an argument can be made that reputation research is

also an appropriate general-purpose brand measurement tool. Brand Permission

measures the extent to which customers accept a brand as a legitimate competitor for

their business, in whatever business sector. The brand permission concept is quite

simple. We recognize that in any given market, brand imagery will resonate-

sometimes more strongly, sometimes less so-and that this will profoundly impact the

potential success of a brand relative to its competition. We use the terms

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND IMAGE IN STARTING UP COMPANY’S

Scott D white in his article “The importance of Brand Image in starting up

Company’s” Published by U X Matters, February 10th 2006 says:

A brand is not just a logo; it is all your ethics and persona. This includes your style of

design, your execution of that design, your attitude, your logo, your marketing; your

internal policies and even your business process can all influence your brand image. If

image is everything then this image needs to be right. Most companies are so worried

about their image to the end user that they forget about communicating this to

employees which can create mixed messages when these employees are representing

the company elsewhere. Make sure all of your staff are on board and believe

passionately in your brand and key messaging. Also your suppliers are good

advocates for your brand and they will also spread the word about your service and

style of approach.

Brand = the sum of all perceptions resulting from every point of contact a person

has with a company either directly or indirectly over time.

DEFINING CORPORATE IDENTITY, BRAND IDENTITY AND BRAND

IMAGE



Nick Wreden (2006) in his article “Defining Corporate identity, Brand Identity

and Brand Image”, published by E-zine articles says that:

Corporate identity is a company’s visual presence, which involves the corporate logo

and design strategy for corporate marketing collateral. Corporate identity does not

encapsulate brand identity, which is best defined as the soul of your company.

However, a corporate identity may, and often does, reflect a brand identity Brand

Identity - It’s the essence of your company Brand identity is the complete package of

a business to its customers. It includes the company’s service reputation, product

quality, features, benefits, performance and value. It is the summation of all these

things, which create brand identity. Brand Image is the market’s perception of your

brand identity, which may or may not coincide with your intended brand identity.

Companies must work hard at the daunting task of getting brand identity and image to

align…or hire a true branding .

A BRAND NEW "WAR OF THE WORDS" HAS JUST STARTED...

Naseem Javed in his article“A Brand New "War of the Words" Has Just

Started...”published by The Canadian Association says:

How Associations Can Improve Corporate Images & Name Identities

In the old strategy the key for success was in the total image, including the logo

design and color. The name of a corporation was not the key issue, but rather a part of

a jigsaw puzzle. The emphasis was placed on the logo, specific colors and graphic

designs, tag lines and other paraphernalia, to create a total visual-identity experience.

The rule of cyber domination is very simple: It all boils down to a powerful name,

which equals to a powerful domain name (or URL,) which is then used as a key to

find and unlock the Web site in a complex global maze. It is all based on how well

you can remember the name, how easily you can type in, how to find the corporation

right upfront on a search engine and how to get instant accessibility.

This is a very big change and has created a noticeable shift in how companies built

global corporate images in cyber space. This shift also explains the rush of advertising



agencies, as well as advertisers’ confusion regarding cyber marketing. In today’s

corporate world, the key to success, or the “magic”, clearly lies in the name -- a URL

to set the company apart in the global e-commerce arena. Let’s face it, when a name

cannot be found easily on the net, the corporation is no longer in cyber domination –

rather, it is in cyber oblivion. Forget the total corporate identity and image experience.

Follow the new rules and audit your Association's names and brands.

CREATING A POSITIVE BRAND IMAGE TO INCREASE MARKET SHARE

Cavelle Francisin in his article “Association: Creating a positive Brand image to

increase market share” published by Rockbridge Articles

Consumers tend to view a brand's image as an integral part of the product or service

they are purchasing. They are not only buying the actual product or service, but the

status, prestige and perceived benefits associated with the organization that is doing

the selling - intangible qualities that differentiate the item of choice from all other

similar offerings in the marketplace. Consider this: the majority of foods we purchase

have brand images associated with particular items that make consumers perceive the

products in a more favorable light (e.g., Lean Cuisine). Similarly, this applies to the

vehicles we drive (Mercedes Benz), our credit cards (American Express), the clothes

we wear (Tommy Hilfiger) and even the statement we can make with a particular

brand of pen (Mont Blanc) In a marketplace cluttered by clones and homogeneous

products and services, it is important to create a brand image that differentiates itself

from competitors and suggests integrity, dependability, and high quality with an

emphasis on excellent service. This is the key to ensuring customer satisfaction and

loyalty, which in turn translates into a larger market share for the company concerned.

INSURANCEINSURANCE



India’s Insurance Business Likely To Jump By 500% In 2010: ASSOCHAM

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has

projected about 500% hike in the size of domestic insurance business which will grow

to US$ 60 billion by 2010 from the current size of around US$ 10 billion as the

growing competitive age is developing a larger appetite among people for wider

insurance coverage.

A large part of rural India is still untapped due to poor distribution, large distances

and high costs relative to returns. Urban sector insurance is estimated to reach US $25

billion by 2010, life insurance US $15 billion and non-life insurance US $10 billion

Table No:1

Projected figures by 2010

A town/village where population is less than 25000

CategoryRural & Semi-Urban Urban Total

Life Insurance20 15` 35

Non-Life Insurance15 10 25

Total35 25 60

Source :Secondary Data Source :Secondary Data

BUOYANT RURAL MARKETS-IMMENSE POTENTIAL FOR INSURANCEBUOYANT RURAL MARKETS-IMMENSE POTENTIAL FOR INSURANCE



The Indian economy registered a good GDP growth rate of 8.2%during 2003-04 asThe Indian economy registered a good GDP growth rate of 8.2%during 2003-04 as

against 4.3% during the year 2002-03. The acceleration in the GDP growth rateagainst 4.3% during the year 2002-03. The acceleration in the GDP growth rate

during 2003-04 can be attributed to good and timely monsoons and the resultantduring 2003-04 can be attributed to good and timely monsoons and the resultant

resurgence of agriculture. Agriculture and allied activities contributed 25% to theresurgence of agriculture. Agriculture and allied activities contributed 25% to the

growth rate of GDP as against a negative contribution of 31% in 2002-03.growth rate of GDP as against a negative contribution of 31% in 2002-03.

With the resurgence in agricultural growth, the rural markets have become buoyantWith the resurgence in agricultural growth, the rural markets have become buoyant

and it is time for insurers to tap the highly underinsured as well as uninsured ruraland it is time for insurers to tap the highly underinsured as well as uninsured rural

market.market.

The opportunities for the insurance companies are because of the huge population andThe opportunities for the insurance companies are because of the huge population and

the steady growth of agriculture and allied sectorsthe steady growth of agriculture and allied sectors

Table No:2

Population spread in Indian Villages

Population Strata No: of Villages % Of Population

Above 10,000 1831 0.3

5-10,000 7145 1.3

2-5000 46754 8.4

1-2000 94658 16.9

500-1000 136232 24.7

Below 500 340380 48.7

Source :Insurance Chronicle,ICFAI, August 2005Source :Insurance Chronicle,ICFAI, August 2005

RURAL POPULATION AND INSURANCE PENETRATIONRURAL POPULATION AND INSURANCE PENETRATION



According to a study conducted by FICCI_ING on insurance penetration in rural areasAccording to a study conducted by FICCI_ING on insurance penetration in rural areas

, a high level of awareness about insurance, particularly life insurance was seen. about, a high level of awareness about insurance, particularly life insurance was seen. about

one third of the respondents owned some insurance product or the other. among thoseone third of the respondents owned some insurance product or the other. among those

who owned insurance, there was a feeling of being under insured and those who didwho owned insurance, there was a feeling of being under insured and those who did

not have one felt the need for insurance coverage. Insurance was largely seen as a risknot have one felt the need for insurance coverage. Insurance was largely seen as a risk

cover instrument and not so much as an investment option. Further statistics showscover instrument and not so much as an investment option. Further statistics shows

that rural population has lower exposure. The agents per 1,000 people are aroundthat rural population has lower exposure. The agents per 1,000 people are around

0.25,which is very low in comparison to that of the urban market.0.25,which is very low in comparison to that of the urban market.

Table No:3Table No:3

RURAL POPULATION AND INSURANCE PENETRATIONRURAL POPULATION AND INSURANCE PENETRATION

Total Population (as on July 2002)Total Population (as on July 2002) 1.05 Billion1.05 Billion

Rural PopulationRural Population 72.22%72.22%

Urban PopulationUrban Population 27.78%27.78%

Insurance penetration in rural marketInsurance penetration in rural market 20.00%20.00%

Though the prospects in the rural sector are promising, the real challenge lies inThough the prospects in the rural sector are promising, the real challenge lies in

distributing and delivering systems cost effectively and efficiently. distributing and delivering systems cost effectively and efficiently.

Source :Insurance Chronicle, ICFAI, August 2005Source :Insurance Chronicle, ICFAI, August 2005

THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA



Walter De Oude & Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy in their article “The Health

Insurance Industry in India” (2006) examines the key issues facing the health

insurance sector. Currently less than 15% of the Indian population has some kind of

health insurance cover which includes Central Government Health Scheme, Railway

Health Scheme, and Employee’s State Insurance Scheme. On an average, every

family spends up to 10% of annual household consumption towards healthcare needs.

Calculation of amount of medical insurance is difficult because it depends on the area

of cover such as hospital, chronic illness, critical illness or travel. The new private

non-life insurance e companies have introduced a few innovations, such as direct tie-

ups with healthcare providers, providing ‘cashless’ settlement as an option, the

provision of pre- and post-hospitalization benefits and coverage for pre existing

illness.

Health insurance remains vastly underdeveloped in India. The state owned

companies had little focus upon the developing line of business on a systematic and

profitable basis. The health portfolio that had a loss ratio of about 78% in 2003

deteriorated to 98% in the following year.

Source: Insurance Chronicle The ICFAI University Press -Feb 2006

LOW PENETRATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEMESLOW PENETRATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEMES



The major reasons for low penetration of health insurance schemes in India, as statedThe major reasons for low penetration of health insurance schemes in India, as stated

by Sarabanti Chakravarti in his article “Reasons behind low penetration of Healthby Sarabanti Chakravarti in his article “Reasons behind low penetration of Health

Insurance Schemes in India” are the followingInsurance Schemes in India” are the following

1.hazards in claim settlement1.hazards in claim settlement

2.Lack of interest among the population of good health due to low propensity of2.Lack of interest among the population of good health due to low propensity of

ailmentailment

3.Information Lag3.Information Lag

4.Lack of Out Patient Coverage4.Lack of Out Patient Coverage

Table No:4

MAJOR REASONS BEHIND LOW PENETRATION OF HEALTHMAJOR REASONS BEHIND LOW PENETRATION OF HEALTH

INSURANCE SCHEMESINSURANCE SCHEMES

Reasons Reasons % of population considers this % of population considers this clause as a hindrance of their clause as a hindrance of their selectionselection

1.Hazard in claim settlement1.Hazard in claim settlement 7070

2.Lack of interest among the population of2.Lack of interest among the population of

good health due to low propensity of ailmentgood health due to low propensity of ailment

2626

3.Information Lag3.Information Lag 6060

4.Lack of Out Patient Coverage4.Lack of Out Patient Coverage 8080

Source :Insurance Chronicle, ICFAI, August 2005Source :Insurance Chronicle, ICFAI, August 2005

LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUM AS PERCENTAGES OF THE GROSS

DOMESTIC SAVING (GDS) AND THAT OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT(GDP)



Rank Country % of GDS % of GDP

1. United Kingdom 52.50 7.31

2. South Africa 51.55 10.32

3. Japan 32.46 10.10

4. France 26.20 4.91

5. USA 25.20 3.63

6. South Korea 23.66 9.10

7. Finland 23.10 4.98

8. Switzerland 21.92 5.99

9. Netherlands 19.04 4.51

10. Israel 18.84 4.41

11. Sweden 17.88 3.51

12. Australia 17.78 3.48

13. Canada 17.05 3.04

14. Zimbabwe 15.88 6.27

15. Ireland 14.96 4.59

16. Greece 13.87 1.12

17. New Zealand 12.75 3.04

18. Taiwan 12.29 3.64

19. Denmark 12.00 2.71

20. Spain 11.68 2.23

21. Germany 11.40 2.80

22. Norway 9.57 2.33

23. Belgium 9.13 2.38

24. Portugal 8.76 1.65

25. Austria 6.96 2.10

26. Chile 6.96 1.95

27. India 5.95 1.29

28. Italy 5.60 1.13

29. Malaysia 5.35 2.30

30. Singapore 4.72 2.73

Source: Roy (1999). Figures for 1994.

Walter de Oude and Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy (health insurance, Feb 2006)Walter de Oude and Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy (health insurance, Feb 2006) in their article “The health insurance industry in India & its growing potential”in their article “The health insurance industry in India & its growing potential”



They emphasis that ensuring public health is the principal responsibility lay down byThey emphasis that ensuring public health is the principal responsibility lay down by

the Indian constitution. The central government provides about 15% of the fundingthe Indian constitution. The central government provides about 15% of the funding

needs mostly for national health programs. The family planning and healthcareneeds mostly for national health programs. The family planning and healthcare

initiatives of the government have so far effective in reducing birthrates andinitiatives of the government have so far effective in reducing birthrates and

improving mortality rates. According to the WHO report published in 2002 Indiaimproving mortality rates. According to the WHO report published in 2002 India

ranked 13ranked 13thth from the bottom in terms of public spending on health. from the bottom in terms of public spending on health.

Although India’s public spending is low, overall health spending improved due toAlthough India’s public spending is low, overall health spending improved due to

higher private spending. Currently less than 15% of the Indian population has somehigher private spending. Currently less than 15% of the Indian population has some

kind of health insurance cover.kind of health insurance cover.

Health insurance remains vastly underdeveloped in India. The state owned companiesHealth insurance remains vastly underdeveloped in India. The state owned companies

had little focus upon the developing line of business on a systematic and profitablehad little focus upon the developing line of business on a systematic and profitable

basis. The health portfolio that had a loss ratio of about 78% in 2003 deteriorated tobasis. The health portfolio that had a loss ratio of about 78% in 2003 deteriorated to

98% in the following year.98% in the following year.

Anyway the Third Party Agreement (TPA) has however given rights to some tensionAnyway the Third Party Agreement (TPA) has however given rights to some tension

between the healthcare providers and the health insurance companies.between the healthcare providers and the health insurance companies.

((Source: Insurance Chronicle The ICFAI University Press -Feb 2006)Source: Insurance Chronicle The ICFAI University Press -Feb 2006)

Jack Burke (Insurance marketing, July 2004) in his article “CROSS SELLING”Jack Burke (Insurance marketing, July 2004) in his article “CROSS SELLING”

HeHe emphasis that people depend on insurance agents or brokers for the selection ofemphasis that people depend on insurance agents or brokers for the selection of

and buying of policies related to life, health, automobiles etc. but it has been foundand buying of policies related to life, health, automobiles etc. but it has been found

that most agents or brokers specialize in selling policies related only to particularthat most agents or brokers specialize in selling policies related only to particular

field. The statistics showed that the average American had 7.2 insurance policies i.e.,field. The statistics showed that the average American had 7.2 insurance policies i.e.,

selling more than one policy to their client. This can be specified as cross selling orselling more than one policy to their client. This can be specified as cross selling or

multiline marketing. More policies per client mean lower acquisition cost, highermultiline marketing. More policies per client mean lower acquisition cost, higher

client retention and greater profit.client retention and greater profit.

(Source: Insurance chronicle The ICFAI University Press, July-2005)(Source: Insurance chronicle The ICFAI University Press, July-2005)

Ethics, integrity, and trust in Insurance sectorEthics, integrity, and trust in Insurance sector

Emanuel levyEmanuel levy



Here it is gratified to except the insurance business from this decent to unethicalHere it is gratified to except the insurance business from this decent to unethical

practices .a look at the record reveals that aside from a few abuses, this industry haspractices .a look at the record reveals that aside from a few abuses, this industry has

behave with commendable integrity .in contrast, look at the scandalous spate of ripbehave with commendable integrity .in contrast, look at the scandalous spate of rip

offs by top executives of corporate giants like Tyco, world com and many othersoffs by top executives of corporate giants like Tyco, world com and many others

during the past four to five years .probably these unethical and criminal activities willduring the past four to five years .probably these unethical and criminal activities will

move off the front pages.move off the front pages.

Of course this is not to say that up to the recent Enron they where not incidents of Of course this is not to say that up to the recent Enron they where not incidents of

high level embezzlement and corporate theft but the current incidents may relate tohigh level embezzlement and corporate theft but the current incidents may relate to

an overall decline moral standards abetted by technology that facilitatedan overall decline moral standards abetted by technology that facilitated

indefinable ,manipulative and geographically unlimited high dollar transactions. indefinable ,manipulative and geographically unlimited high dollar transactions.

The phenomenal ability of the business to protect the trillions of dollars of exposure The phenomenal ability of the business to protect the trillions of dollars of exposure

world wide and to do it profitably can be attributed to all the factors mentioned aboveworld wide and to do it profitably can be attributed to all the factors mentioned above

as well as the tradition of a work and professional ethic that almost appears inherited. as well as the tradition of a work and professional ethic that almost appears inherited.

Source: Insurance chronicle the icfai university Press, march 2007Source: Insurance chronicle the icfai university Press, march 2007

4.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

EVOLUTION OF BRANDS



Branding began much before the term entered in the jargon of marketing thought. It

can be traced to ancient civilizations. The Greeks and Romans and people before them

employed various ways to promote their wares. These were wines, ointments or

metals. The Greeks also uses town criers to announce the arrival of ships with

particular cargos

Branding becomes an imperative when identity is lost due to homogeneity, branding

in the simplest form a differentiator. If one traces the etymology the word brand has

its origin in the old news word”brandr”.IT means “to burn”.Inthe early times ,the

farmers used to burn a mark or a symbol on the animals to identify ones live stock.

Branding has always an important aspect of marketing .In the sixteenth century

distillers uses branding in their own way. They burned or branded their name on the

wooden containers. It is the purpose that the whiskey of one distiller could be

identified from that of others .Consumer identification practices with the product and

protection continues to be guides of branding practices today.

The brand concept evolved further in the eighteen century. Earlier the producers name

identified the products. It is some kind of corporate umbrella branding. In fact identity

of the producer is used to the brand name. For instance, Smirnoff vodka takes its

name from Smirnoff family which went into vodka business in the year 1818, Ford

automobiles adorned the name that came from the Ford family.

The real boost to branding came in the middle of the twentieth century. Originally the

production was craft based and localized. Since the craft is producer specific, the

output was automatically differentiated. Also craft is time-consuming, it limited

production to low level. Hence markets were small and localized. But dawning to

industrial wave altered the production methodologies. The industrialization brought

assembly lines, large corporations and standardization. The plants began to use

similar technology, churning out similar products. This left one product virtually

indistinguishable from other. Consumer good industries, especially the non durables,

were the first once influenced by this phenomenon.



Brand Image

According to Sengupta:

“Brand Image” is the totality about the impressions about the brand. This according

to him includes its physical, functional and psychological aspects of the brand.

According to Christian Restall:

“ Brand Image is the measurable aspects of the brand”

According to Oglivy

“personality and brand image are the same”

Aaker has the following say about brand image,

”An association and image both represent perceptions which may or may not reflect

objective reality…….as image of competence based upon the appearance of a doctors

office and the manners of his staff rather than on the objective measure of the health

of former patients”.

Kapferer thinks that brand identity is from the sender’s side while brand image is

from receiver’s side.

Meryl Paule Gardner

He examines the constituents of brand image and calls them “brand thoughts”. For

instance, many may not evaluate the company or even the product while evaluating a

brand. Blind test conducted for soft drinks, instant coffee and perfumes reveals that

the consumers could not really differentiate the brands when their name was

concealed from them. But certain things like bran features and information obviously

affect the brand image. Communication which includes advertising seems to be every

important influence of the brand image besides the product or brand itself.

Joseph Plummer

He indicates that brand image has three components:



Product attributes

Consumers benefit

Brand personality

That is Plummer treats Brand image as a subset of image .Brand image would

stem from three sources .These are:

Provider driven image

Product driven image

User driven image

PROVIDER-DRIVEN IMAGE

This is the image driven from the company/brand. The brand is what it is because of

the company makes it. For instance, brand name like Tata signals quality in

everything it makes from steel to salt. In fact it is likely a couple of percentage points

about the market share acquired by any Tata brand is owed to the brand name Tata

itself.

Sometimes the CEOs positive image enhances the brands appeal.JRD Tatas image has

a favorable impact von the groups name. The same could be true of brand names.

Amul is synonyms with dairy products.

Sometimes, brand image is influenced by the manufactures name besides the brands

own personality. Research in US shows that Crest (P&G Toothpaste) was seen as

anticavity toothpaste while Levers brands-Close-Up, Aim Mint where all clustered

together and viewed as cosmetic rather than medicinal tooth pastes.

Studies conducted by marketing research agencies shows that brand image is not

significantly affected by the company’s name unless the organization name itself has

been used as the brand name. What it means is that not many care as to who

manufactures Bagpiper Whisky or Kingfisher Beer. The fact is that UB manufactures

Kingfisher is immaterial to the brand image of the beer. The western consumers who



at least in FMCGs tend to read the relationship between the company’s image and the

brand image.

PRODUCT DRIVEN IMAGE

This image is result of the product performance. This in turn depends on its

ingredients. Santoor toilet soap promises skin care through it contents - sandal wood

and turmeric. Carrier AirCon which recently executed a turnaround saves a specific

market because of its midrange tonnage.

This is directly related to the product category that it’s identified with, i.e. “SPLIT

AIR CONDITIONARS”. 7 O’clock platinum edge derives its durability from the

material of manufacture.

USER – DRIVEN IMAGE

This image is driven by the lifestyle of the user. A particular lifestyle is south to be

projected through a product. This is done through user-imagery. “Naughty Boy” shoe

has more to do with a school boy’s image rather than the product’s characteristics.

Van Heusen shirts are an expression of particular lifestyle, just as DH shirts are of

another. Aramusk tried, though unsuccessfully to communicate the idea of a male

soap to the customers. “Men can be soft” is the idea that Nivea cream innovately

communicates through its positioning “Men who dare to care”. Here, Nivea banks

more on the profile of men who use the product rather than on the product features

themselves.

BRAND IMAGE-ESTABLISHED PRODUCTS AND NEW PRODUCTS

Brand image of most established products is difficult to change. The hypothesis

appeals intuitively. This is because the brand would have acquired a personality step

by step over a period of time. Any time that disturbs the core values of the personality

shall be summarily rejected. This has been powerfully demonstrated by New Coke –



Old Coke episode. Observe that n India too, some established brands have

successfully changed the brand image while other has not. Witness the positioning

shifts in “Red Label Tea” which was at one time the largest selling tea brand in the

country. The brand is today being seen as less exciting than stable-mate Taaza. The

same problem might haunt Bata which is finding it difficult to compete with younger

brands like Woodland, Mescos, Action etc..

The trick is to contemporaries brand image incrementally. This was done pretty deftly

in the case of Lifebuoy. Its “Tandurusti-Ki-Raksha” platform has not been abandoned

since the 60’s, but the executions, the props, ambience of the advertisement have been

steadily modified to suit the present times. Cintol successfully changed its image from

a deodorant soap to a head-on competitor of Liril. New brands do not have to carry

that baggage of heritage but they also lag a clear image in the mind of the consumer.

Today if a brand has to create an image for itself which has to market itself in a

radically different fashion. This can be observed in the case of Close-up toothpaste.

Some times a brand can run into serious image-related problems because of the

product. Cadbury’s Chocolates received adverse publicity because of their nickel

content which was supposedly harmful. Same type of problem has been suffered by

the Cola giant Coca-Cola recently. For instance Union Carbide earned a bad image

due to Bhopal gas tragedy. But the brand it manufactured namely Eveready was only

marginally affected. These examples show that brand image is for ever in danger and

even established brands can bite the dust in the face of adverse publicity.

BRAND IMAGE AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

It has been observed that hedonistic products (perfume, wine) fare better when they

are manufactured by French companies. Similarly, Japanese products are preferred in

categories like cars, digital cameras and Plasma TV sets. German products are



preferred in certain niche industrial products (Karor, the German company produces

90% of cigarette making machines in the world)

Several studies showed that brand image has a correlation with the country of origin.

Patriotic advertisements can for instances affect the image of a brand and may bring

in some loyal consumers. However it this is true one cannot see how French

perfumes, Japanese cars and Korean ships sell all over the world. MinHan, of course

points out that the influence of patriotic advertising is tentative. This means that the

brand will have to stand on its own in the long run.

Not many companies in India try to sell brand on the strength of their product being

Indian, especially in India. Dabur, Vico Vajrandanti, Kayam Churan are few such

brands that hint at ayurvedic heritage rather than on the fact that the product is of

Indian origin. However, some products have been sold abroad especially in the

Middle East using the maid in India tag. In the US, however, patriotic advertising

become a necessity, thanks to tough competition provided by the Japanese. Other

researches found that the country of origin has nominal effect on the consumers

‘Perception of the brand’. American cars are rated high on mileage and German cars

on driving comfort but even this cannot be stereo typed. The change in brand image

for the product manufactured in other countries in the perception of Japanese

consumers has interesting lessons to offer. It points out that in the perception of

Japanese consumers, the mage of US products have fallen between 1967 and 1975.

Also they no longer see products of their own country as value-for-money products

but perceive them to be as good as European or American product. Overall, research

seems to point out that the country of origin has an impact on the brand image.

BRAND IMAGE AND CELEBRITY

Research on image built through endorsement of celebrities show that there are three

aspects that affect the consumer’s attitude of a brand. They are:

Attractiveness



Trustworthiness

Expertise

Examples of how celebrities in India have been used in advertising to enhance the

brand image are listed below. A film actress like Kareena Kapoor is a credible source

of information for soap. Khaitan, the owner of the brand himself assures 100%

reliability of the brand in the advertisement thus making the information dependable.

In US, perceived expertise mattered more than the other two sources of influence,

namely, attractiveness and trustworthiness in shaping a consumers attitude for

product. Conclusive evidence on this is unavailable on India. However, it is

improbable that the above holes true in India. For instance, the attractive ness of the

model was a very important reason for the phenomenon success of LUX soap in its

introduction stage.

An easy way to develop a brand image is to highlight something unique in the brand.

Captain Cook insists on “FREE-FLOWING” quality of its salt and promotes it with a

comparative advertisement to hit out against Tata Salt. Marlboro cigarette did a turn

around and made itself a “MACHO-MAN”cigerette owing to its Wild West imagery.

BRAND IMAGE AND IMAGERY

Image is the product seen from the consumer’s perspective. It’s what the consumers

think about the product. Imagery is the consumer seen from the product’s perspective.

Hirschimin argues that its possible to create images of brands and nurture them

through consistent communication.

Typically these imageries fall in three categories namely

Sacred

Secular

Mediating



A sacred image is where the products gets elevated to the meta physical blue sky’s

because of the setting and ritual of consumption.(E.g. Chyavanaprash and Parachute

Hair oil-everybody from grand parents to grand children uses them).

A secular imagery for a product is where the consumer would like to break the routine

to do something new. (E.g.; Pepsi’s advertisement “Nothing official” about it).

A mediating image is something that skillfully weaves the use of sacred and the

secular in its image. (E.g.: Santoor Sandalwood talc – a strikingly modern women

Santoor talc, but is shown as seeking the blessings of the elders in the traditional

fashion)

BRAND IMAGE AND USER STATUS

An interesting observation is that brand images are formed irrespective of whether the

brand is being considered of purchase or not. Whether one is likely to purchase a

Maruthi or not, one is likely to have a brand image of the product. This inurn has been

shown to be linked to the execution of the advertisement besides other modes of

information available to the customer.

In some, it appears that while there is a lot of variation in the definition available for

brand personality, most experts seem to be agreed on the definition of brand image. A

definition on which there is broad agreement is given below.

“Brand Image is the impression left in the mind of the prospect by the brand”

BRAND IMAGE AND BRAND PERSONALITY

The different dimensions of a brand should come together to give it a unique

personality. The free flowing nature of its salt, its distinctive logo and

communication, its premium price are all part of Captain Cook salt’s personality.

Aggressive selling in the replacement market for tyres, unique communication and

promotion, the anti-skid product are all part of Apollo Black Cat tyres. (Unfortunately

the branch failed because the product did not deliver.)



When the different dimensions of personality do not match, the product does not take

off. For instance, Savage blade had been positioned as a premium product and it was

functionally effective as well. But it was seen as too expensive by the market. The

same is true for Ariel. The image of Red Label Tea has been that of a conservative

hundred year old brand which is why the company went in for a repositioning.

A representational product has more to do with the aspirations, roles, role models, and

life-style of the user. Here, Coke gets transformed from sweetened fizz water to the

great American dream.

“Brand personality is the sum total of all the significant tangible and intangible assets

that a brand possesses.”

“Brand image is how the brand is perceived by the consumers. In the words, brand

personality is the cause while brand image is the effect.”

TABLE SHOWING THE AGE OF RESPONDENTS

Table No:5

Particulars No: of Respondents Percentage

Less than 20 0 0



20-30 10 10

31-40 60 60

41-50 20 20

50 and above 10 10

Total 100 100

Source : Primary DataChart No:1

TABLE SHOWING THE AGE OF RESPONDENTS

0% 10%

60%

20%

10%

Less than 20 20-30 31-40 41-50 50 and above

Inference

The table above shows that of the hundred respondents none of them are below the

age of 20 and 10% of them are between the age 20-30,60% of them are between the

age of 31-40,20% of them are between 41-50and 10% of them are aged above 50.

TABLE SHOWING THE EDUCATIONAL DETAILS OF RESPONDENTS

Table No:6

Educational Details No: of Respondents Percentage

PG and above 25 25

Graduate 45 45



Diploma 20 20

12th pass 10 10

10th pass 0 0

Uneducated 0 0

Total 100 100

Source : Primary DataChart No:2

TABLE SHOWING THE EDUCATIONAL DETAILS OF RESPONDENTS

25%

45%

20%

10%

0%

0%

PG and above Graduate Diploma

12th pass 10th pass Uneducated

Inference

The table shows that 45 of the respondents are graduates,25% are PG and above , 20%

of them are diploma holders, and the remaining 10% of them are 12th Pass.

TABLE SHOWING THE JOB STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS

Table No:7

Educational Details No: of Respondents Percentage

Professional 15 15

Business 40 40



Self Employed 30 30

Others 15 15

Total 100 100

Source : Primary Data

Chart No:3

TABLE SHOWING THE JOB STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS

15%

40%30%

15%

Professional Business Self Employed Others

Inference

The table shows that 40% of the respondents are engaged in business,30% of them are

self employed,15% of them are professionals, and the remaining 15%are engaged in

various other jobs

IDENTIFICATION AS TO WHETHER RESPONDENTS ARE INSURED OR NOT

Analysis of as to whether respondents are insured or not will enable insurance

companies to identify their opportunities for growth and development.

Table No:8




Yes 35 35

No 65 65

Total 100 100


Chart No:4

IDENTIFICATION AS TO WHETHER RESPONDENTS ARE INSURED OR NOT

35%

65%

Yes No

Inference

The table shows that only 35% of the respondents are insured while remaining

65%are not insured. Hence it is clear that majority of the population are yet to be

insured and this provides a better market opportunity for all insurance companies to

do their best. More over it is also evident that the insurance sector is one of the sectors

that has immense opportunity for growth .

COMPANY TO WHICH RESPONDENTS ARE INSURED WITH

An analysis of the company to which the respondents are insured will help to identify

the major player in the market and based on this information the company can mould

its performance to become the market leader

Table No: 9

Company No: of Respondents PercentageLIC 16 46



BAJAJ ALLIANZ 11 31

ICICI PRU LIFE 4 11

MET LIFE 2 6

HDFC STD LIFE 2 6

Total 35 100

Source : Primary DataChart No: 5

COMPANY TO WHICH RESPONDENTS ARE INSURED WITH

46%

31%

11%6% 6%

LIC BAJAJ ALLIANZ ICICI PRU LIFE

MET LIFE HDFC STD LIFE

Inference

From the table it is evident that majority of the respondents are insured with LIC

(46%) followed by Bajaj Allianz (31%) ICICI PRUD (11%) MET LIFE (6%) and

HDFC STD LIFE with( 6%).LIC is still the number one Insurance company in India,

followed by Bajaj Allianz which is growing at a fast pace.

RESPONDENTS AWARENESS OF VARIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES

OPERATING IN INDIA

In order to analyze the image of an insurance company the respondents must have

knowledge about various players in the market. Thus by analyzing the respondents

awareness of various insurance companies in India the researcher will be able to know

the best player in the market.

Table No: 10




Yes 100 100

No 0 0

Total 100 100


Chart No:6

RESPONDENTS AWARENESS OF VARIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES OPERATING IN INDIA

100%

0%

Yes No

Inference:

The table shows that cent percent of the respondents are well aware of the various

insurance companies operating in India

RESPONDENTS ABILITY TO RECALL VARIOUS LIFE INSURANCE

COMPNIES ACCORDING TO THEIR AWARENESS

Analysis of the respondents ability to recall various life insurance companies

according to their awareness helps to know how often they were familiar with these

companies.. It gives an indication of the companies which they remember more often.



This helps to identify the companies image and market share. Those companies which

they remember most are likely to be the top players. This enables the company to

locate the market leader. The information so obtained will also enable the company to

improve their market operations and thereby become the best player in the field.

Information regarding the same is given below

Table No: 11 respondent’s ability to recall various insurance companies



Chart No: 7



Inference:

From the above observation it is evident, that the following is the pattern of the

respondents awareness of various insurance companies operating in India

First Preference - LIC

Second Preference - BAJAJ ALLIANZ

Third Preference - HDFC

Fourth Preference - ICICI

Fifth Preference - TATA AIG

Sixth Preference - BIRLA

Seventh Preference - ING VYSYA

Eighth Preference - AMP SANMAR

Ninth Preference - MET LIFE

Tenth Preference - KOTAK

Eleventh Preference - SBI

RESPONDENTS MODE OF AWARENESS ABOUT VARIOUS INSURANCE

COMPANIES OPERATING IN INDIA



Analysis of the source of respondents awareness of various insurance companies

operating in India helps the company to measure the impact of advertisement . The

feedback of respondents will help the company to identify the most powerful source

for their publicity.

Table No: 12

Factors No: of Respondents Percentage

Advertisement 65 65

Advisors / agents 30 30

Words of mouth 3 3

Others 2 2

Total 100 100


RESPONDENTS MODE OF AWARENESS ABOUT VARIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES OPERATING IN INDIA

65%

30%

3% 2%

Advertisement Advisors / agents Words of mouth Others

Inference

The table shows that majority of the respondents became aware of the company

through advertisement. while 30% became of them aware of it through advisors/

agents the remaining were aware of it through words of mouth and other sources.

Here it is evident that advertisement does play an important role in the promotional

activities of the firm.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PARAMETERS FOR RATING AN INSURANCE

COMPANY



Usually people use certain tools for rating a firm. It may be in the form of goodwill,

brand image, services provided etc. The strength of a company depend on its

acceptability in the society. In case of insurance companies the society may expect the

companies to follow certain norms and qualities .

Table No: 13Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Total

Resp

onse

Mark Resp

onse

Mark Res

Ponse

Mark Res

ponse

Mark Res

ponse

Mark

Reliability54 5 46 4 454

Ethics /Transparency

46 5 40 4 14 3 432

Brand Image

14 4 60 3 26 2 288

Services

26 3 60 2 14 1 212

Flexibility in plan

14 2 86 1 114

Total

100 10 100 12 100 9 100 6 100 2 1500

Chart No: 9



Inference

From the above observation it is evident, that the parameters for rating an insurance

company can be ranked in the following order

First Preference - Reliability

Second Preference - Ethics/ Transparency

Third Preference - Brand Image

Fourth Preference - Services

Fifth Preference - Flexibility in plan

OPINION REGARDING THE RELEVANCE OF ETHICS AND

TRANSPARENCY IN INSURANCE BUSINESS



Ethics and transparency in dealings has been one of the major success factors of

insurance companies like LIC etc. Customers would prefer companies that follow

certain norms and standards and at the same time be transparent in its dealings.

Table No: 14

Opinion No: of Respondents Percentage

Very important 77 77

Important 23 23

Not important NIL NIL

Not at all important NIL NIL

Total 100 100


OPINION REGARDING THE RELEVANCE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY IN INSURANCE BUSINESS

77%

23%

0%

0%

Very important Important Not important Not at all important

Inference

The table shows that 77% of the respondents consider ethics and transparency to be

very much important for an insurance company. While 23% of them suggests that

ethics and transparency are important none is of the opinion that it is neither not

important nor not all important ,thereby showing that ethics and transparency is very

much relevant for insurance business.

RESPONDENTS RATING OF THE BEST INSURANCE COMPANY WITH

HIGH ETHICAL STANDARD



An analysis of the respondents rating of the best insurance company with high ethical

standards will help the company to understand the difference between the leader and

the home company. They can identify as to what make the company different from

the other.

Table No: 15


LIC 48 48

BAJAJ ALLIANZ 18 18

ICICI 12 12

TATA AIG LIFE 7 7

HDFC 6 6

AMP SANMAR 3 3

ING VYSYA 3 3

BIRLA SUN LIFE 3 3

Total 100 100


Chart No: 11



RESPONDENTS RATING OF THE BEST INSURANCE COMPANY WITH HIGH ETHICAL

STANDARD

48%

18%

12%

7%

6% 3% 3% 3%

LIC BAJAJ ALLIANZ ICICI

TATA AIG LIFE HDFC AMP SANMAR

ING VYSYA BIRLA SUN LIFE

Inference

From the above observation it is found that LIC is considered as the number one

player with high ethical standard. 48% of the respondents agreed to this opinion. the

second rank goes to Bajaj Allianz with 18% of the respondents support. The third

place goes to ICICI with 12% of the respondents opinion. The fourth place rests with

TATA AIG LIFE having 7% of the respondents in favor of it. The fifth place rests

with HDFC, with 6% of the respondents opinion. The sixth, seventh and eighth

position was shared by AMP SANMAR, ING VYSYA, and BIRLA SUN LIFE,

equally with 3 % of the respondents favoring each.

RESPONDENTS REASON FOR CHOOSING THE BEST INSURANCE

COMPANY



An analysis of the respondents reason for choosing the best insurance company helps

to understand the core competence of each company.

Table No: 16

Opinion No: of Respondents PercentageMore returns 42 42

Less risky 36 36

Wide acceptance 18 18

Others 4 4

Total 100 100

Chart No: 12

RESPONDENTS REASON FOR CHOOSING THE BEST INSURANCE COMPANY

42%

36%

18%4%

More returns Less risky Wide acceptance Others

Inference

The table shows that 42 % of the respondents chose the best insurance company on

the basis of the returns provided by the company . 36% of them considered the less

risk factor in making their choice as to the best insurance company. 18% of them rate

a company on the basis of its acceptance in the market. According to them the

company that is widely accepted is the best one. The remaining 4% of the respondents

rate a company on the basis of other factors like reliability, credibility, etc

IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT

REPRESENT THE BRAND IMAGE OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY



An analysis of the most important factor that represent the brand image of an

insurance company helps the company to concentrate more on the key factor so

identified and thereby improve its Brand Image.

Table No: 17

Factors No: of Respondents Percentage

Ethics 42 42

Advertisement 30 30

Market share 20 20

Work force 8 8

Total 100 100


IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT REPRESENT THE BRAND IMAGE OF

AN INSURANCE COMPANY

42%

30%

20%8%

Ethics Advertisement Market share Work force

Inference

The table shows that 42% of the respondents consider ethics as the most important

factor representing the brand image. 30% of them are of the view that brand image is

developed through advertisements. 20% of the respondents believe that brand image

can be developed by improving the market share and the remaining 8% believe that

having an efficient workforce can improve the brand image.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST DISSATISFYING FACTOR TO BE

CORRECTED BY AN INSURANCE COMPANY



This analysis will help the company to locate the factors with which the respondents

are dissatisfied and there by rectify it. It will also enable the company to analyze its

image with its competitors. In order to become the best player in the market the

company has to create a customer friendly approach. Such an approach can be created

only by eliminating those factors that create dissatisfaction to the customers.

Table No: 18

Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Total

Resp

onse

Mark Resp

onse

Mark Res

ponse

Mark Res

ponse

Mark Res

ponse

Mark

Misleading

Advertisements

84 5 16 4 484

Delay in claim

disbursement

10 5 60 4 30 3 380

Hidden

charges

6 5 20 4 40 3 30 2 4 1 294

Long

verification

procedure

4 4 30 3 40 2 26 1 212

Unawareness

of plan

30 2 70 1 130

Total 100 15 100 16 9 100 6 100 3 1500


Chart No: 14



IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST DISSATISFYING FACTOR TO BE CORRECTED BY AN INSURANCE

COMPANY

484380

294212

1300

100

200300400

500600

Mis

lead

ing

Ad

vert

isem

ents

Del

ay in

cla

imd

isb

urs

emen

t

Hid

den

ch

arge

s

Lon

gve

rifi

cati

onp

roce

du

re

Un

awar

enes

s of

pla

n

Inference

The most dissatisfying factor identified by the respondents is the misleading ads given

by various companies. The next one is associated with delay in claim disbursements.

The respondents are of the opinion that many companies are taking much time in

disbursement of claims. The next dissatisfying factor is the hidden charges . Insurance

companies levy some hidden charges on the customers and the respondents are of the

opinion that such charges should be avoided. The fourth factor is the long verification

procedure and the fifth dissatisfying factor is associated with the unawareness of

plans. It is to be noted that all insurance companies should find out and eliminate

those factors that create difficulties to the customers.



DETERMINATION OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES

OF BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

HIERARCHY –OF- EFFECTS MODEL

The hierarchy of effects model is a response hierarchy model used to determine the

marketing communication objectives. The marketer may be seeking a cognitive ,

affective, or behavioral response that is the marketer might want to put something into

the customers mind, change an attitude or get the consumer to act. In such situations

the response hierarchy model can be used.

The hierarchy of effects model is illustrated below

1. Awareness

If most of the target audience is unaware of the object, the communicators task is to

build awareness.

E.g. Simple messages repeating the product name

2. Knowledge

The target audience may have product awareness but may not have much knowledge

of it. Here the communicators task is to create knowledge of the product in the

consumer

3. Liking

The target audience may have knowledge of the product but they may not have a

liking for it. Here the communicator has to identify why the target audience feels so.

If the unfavourable view is based on real problems, a communication campaign alone

cannot do the job. Here the problem has to be corrected and then communicated.

Good Public Relations calls for

“ good deeds followed by good words”

4. Preference



The target audience may like the product but they may not prefer it to others. Here

the task of the communicator is to build consumer preference promoting quality,

value, performance and other features

5. Conviction

The target audience may prefer a particular product but may not have developed the

conviction about buying it. Here the communicators job is to build conviction among

the target audience to make the purchase.

Table No: 19

Factors No: of Respondents

Yes No

Awareness 100

Knowledge 20 80

Liking 100 Nil

Preference 40 60

Conviction 20 80


DETERMINATION OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES OF BAJAJ ALLIANZ

LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

100

20

100

4020

8060

80

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Awareness Knowledge Liking Preference Conviction

Yes No

Inference



The table shows that cent percent of the respondents are aware of the company but

only 20% of them have knowledge of the company and its products . 100 % of the

respondents have a liking for Bajaj Allianz and 40% of them are willing to prefer it to

other companies. But only 20% of the respondents have developed a conviction to

insure with Bajaj Allianz.

Hence the marketing communication objective should focus on creating knowledge of

the company’s products on the public. It is because of the lack of knowledge of the

company’s products that, even though 100% of the respondents have a liking for the

company and 40% of them prefer it to other companies, only 20% have developed a

conviction to insure with Bajaj Allianz.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT BAJAJ ALLIANZ SHOULD CONCENTRATE MORE TO WITHSTAND

COMPETITION



In the present scenario insurance companies are facing heavy competition from its

competitors and hence each company has to find out some remedies to with stand

competition. An analysis of the core factors will help the company to identify the

most important factor that it has to concentrate more so as to withstand competition.

Table No: 20

Factors RANK 1 RANK 2 RANK 3 RANK 4 RANK 5 TotalResp Mark Resp Mark Resp Mark Resp Mark Resp Mark

Increase Ads54 5 20 4 26 3 428

Promotional activities of Bajaj Allianz

24 5 60 4 12 3 4 2 404

Technology Up gradation

12 5 10 4 40 3 30 2 8 1 288

Increaseefficiency of workforce

10 5 10 4 20 3 42 2 18 1 252

Others2 3 24 2 74 1 128

Total

100 20 100 16 100 15 100 8 100 3 1500


Chart No: 16



Inference

From the above observation it is evident, that the important factors that Bajaj Allianz

should concentrate more to withstand competition can be ranked in the following

order of preference

First Preference - Increase Ads

Second Preference - Increase promotional activities of Bajaj Allianz

Third Preference - Technology Up gradation

Fourth Preference - Increase efficiency of workforce

Fifth Preference - Other activities like customer guidance etc

In order to be the market leader the company should concentrate more on the above

factors giving special emphasis to each of the factors in the given order of preference.

RESPONDENTS RATING OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY



Table No: 21

Factors RANK 1 RANK 2 RANK 3 RANK 4 RANK 5 RANK 6 TotalRes M

ark

Res Mark

Res Mark

Res Mark

Res Mark

Res Mark

Customer Meet 34 6 36 5 30 4 504

Reminder 30 6 40 5 20 4 10 3 490

Advisor 16 6 20 5 40 4 20 3 4 2 424

Local Office 12 6 4 5 10 4 40 3 20 2 141

306

Direct

Collection

8 6 30 3 42 2 20 1 242

Promptness of

all service

34 2 66 1 134

Total 100 30 100 20 100 16 100 12 100 8 100 3 2100 Source : Primary Data

Chart No: 17



Inference

From the above analysis it is evident that the services provided by Bajaj Allianz can

be ranked in the following order based on the priorities assigned to it by respondents

First Priority - Customer Meet of the company

Second Priority - Reminder services of the company

Third Priority - Advisors of the company

Fourth Priority - Local offices of the company

Fifth Priority - Direct collection

Sixth Priority - Promptness of all service

RESPONDENTS OPINION REGARDING THE PUBLICATIONS BROUGHT

OUT BY THE COMPANY



An analysis of the respondents opinion regarding the publications brought out by the

company will help the company to determine as to whether the publications brought

out by the company are satisfactory or not. It also enables the company to determine

whether further publications are required or not.

Table No: 22


Satisfied 18 18

Not satisfied 82 82

Total 100 100


RESPONDENTS OPINION REGARDING THE PUBLICATIONS BROUGHT OUT BY THE COMPANY

18%

82%

Satisfied Not satisfied

Inference

The table shows that 18 % of the respondents are satisfied with the publications

brought out by the company while 82% of the respondents are of the opinion that

further publications are required

6.1 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

All the respondents are aware of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company.



Majority of the respondents are yet to insure their lives against various

risks.

Majority of the respondents are insured with LIC and they are of the

opinion that LIC is the best player with high market share.

Cent percent of the respondents are aware of the various insurance

companies operating in India.

LIC is the company that majority of the respondents are able to recall based

on their awareness, followed by Bajaj Allianz and ICICI respectively.

The study shows that advertisement does play an important role in

Marketing Communication for it is the major source through which

majority of the respondents have come to know of various insurance

companies operating in India, followed by advisors or agents.

The study reveals that reliability, ethics/transparency, brand image, services

and flexibility in plan, respectively are the most important parameters for

rating an insurance company.

Ethics and transparency is very important in the business of insurance

Majority of the respondents have rated LIC as the best Insurance Company

with high ethical standards .

It is based on the parameters like more returns, less risky, wide acceptance

and others respectively that, respondents have rated LIC as the best

insurance company.

The study shows that misleading ads, delay in claim disbursements, hidden

charges, long verification procedure and unawareness of plan are the most

dissatisfying factor that should be rectified by insurance companies.

The Hierarchy _of-Effects Model reveals that all the respondents are aware

of Bajaj Allianz. But, only a few have knowledge of the company’s

products.



The study shows that increasing ads and promotional activities are some of

the ways by which Bajaj Allianz can withstand competition in the market.

The study shows that ethics, advertisement, market share and work force

are the important factors that represent the Brand Image of a company.

The study shows that customer meet, reminders, advisors, local offices,

direct selling, and promptness of all services respectively, are some of the

services of Bajaj Allianz which the respondents value most.

Majority of the respondents are of the opinion that further publications are

required from the part of Bajaj Allianz .

6.2 SUGGESTIONS



Advertisement is one of the most effective means for communicating with

customers. If Bajaj Allianz concentrates more on ads it will be able to attract

more customers and this will also help the company to withstand competition

in the industry.

The company will be able to improve its brand awareness and brand image

through effective marketing communication. (advertisements)

The marketing communication objective of the company if possible should be

based on creating knowledge of the company’s products on the public. It is

because of the lack of knowledge of the company and its products that, even

though all the respondents have a liking for the company and some of them

prefer it to other companies, only few have developed a conviction to insure

with Bajaj Allianz.

Concentrating more on ethics, integrity, advertisement and efficiency of

workforce would help Bajaj Allianz to be the market leader.

More publications from the part of Baja Allianz will attract more customers

and also efficient Financial Consultants who are willing to work for the

company.

The company should attempt to avoid misleading advertisements, hidden

charges, delay in claim disbursement and long verification procedure.

Services such as Customer Meet, etc should be encouraged.

The company has to provide more favorable terms and conditions for

achieving customer satisfaction.

The firm has to make better contact with prospective customers.

The company has to be ethical and transparent in all its dealings.

6.3 CONCLUSION



Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company is the second largest insurance company in

India. The study reveals that the company has achieved this position because of its

efficient market operation and, the ethics and transparency policies adopted by it. The

last years performance of the company shows a drastic upward shift in market share.

In order to improve its growth and to expand its market share in future the company

should concentrate more on advertisement, technology up gradation, and also improve

the efficiency of its workforce. Besides that the company should concentrate strictly

on business ethics and provide maximum services to its customers. From the survey it

was found out that a company can improve its brand image only if it has good ethical

standard, integrity, market share, advertisement, and efficient work force. So it is one

of the areas where the firm should be more alert so as to improve as well as maintain

its Brand Image.

Customers perception of the company and the satisfaction they derive from the

services of the company is an important yardstick by which a company can identify its

position and a study of it will help the company to improve its market position and

also plan for market expansion.

Marketing Communication should always be based on certain objectives. The

Marketing Communication of Bajaj Allianz has to focus on creating knowledge of the

company and its products. Marketing Communication based on such an objective will

help the company to attract more customers.

The study also reveals that misleading advertisements, delay in claim disbursements,

hidden charges, and long verification procedure are some of the aspects with which

people are dissatisfied, with regard to insurance companies. If these aspects are

corrected by insurance companies more and more people will come forward to insure

their life against various risks and thereby leading to the overall growth of the

insurance sector.

BIBLIOGRAPHY



1. PHILIP KOTLER , Marketing Management, Prentice Hall , 2001

2. PHILIP KOTLER , Marketing Management, Pearson Education,

New Delhi, 11th Edition 2002

3.CR KOTHARI , Research Methodology Methods And Techniques, New

Age International Publishers, New Delhi

4.GC BERI, Marketing Research, Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi, 3rd

Edition-2003

5. MATHEW, Insurance: Principles and Practice

6.WEBSITES

www.irda.org

www.indiainfoline.com

www.insuremagic.com

www.bajajallianz.com

QUESTIONNAIRE

Respected Sir,


http://www.bajajallianz.com/

http://www.insuremagic.com/

http://www.indiainfoline.com/

http://www.irda.org/


I, Anish Dileep fourth semester MBA student of MES College of Engineering

would like to do a project on “the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

Company”

Given below are some of the questions based on the topic. Please tick your

answers in the appropriate boxes. The information provided by you will be

strictly confidential and will be used only for my study purposes.

I will be grateful to you if you spare a few minutes of your precious time to fill up

this questionnaire.

1. Name of Respondent :

2. Age : Less than 20 [ ] 0-30 [ ] 31-40 [ ] 41-50 [ ] Above 50

3. Gender : Male [ ] Female [ ]

4. Marital Status : Married [ ] Single [ ]

5. Educational Details : PG & Above [ ] Graduate [ ] Diploma [ ]

12th Pass [ ] 10th Pass [ ] Uneducated [ ]

6. Job Professional [ ] Business [ ] Self Employed [ ]

Others [ ]

7. Are you an insured person?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

8. If yes with which company are you insured?

………………

9. Are you aware of Private Insurance Companies operating in India

Yes [ ] No [ ]

10. Recall the Brands among private Life Insurance companies according to your



Awareness

a. ………………….. b. ……………………

c. ………………….. d. ……….……………

11. How did you become aware of these companies?

Advertisement [ ] Friends / relatives [ ] Agents [ ] others [ ]

12. What are the parameters on which you rate Insurance Company (scale 1-5)?

Brand Image [ ] Reliability [ ] Ethics/ Transparency [ ]

Service [ ] Flexibility in Plan [ ]

13. What is the relevance of Ethics & Transparency in Insurance?

Very important [ ] Important [ ]

Not important [ ] Not at all Important [ ]

14. Whom do you think as the best Insurance Company With high Ethical Standard?

LIC [ ] Bajaj Allianz [ ] ICICI [ ]

HDFC [ ] Others Specify …………………..

15. What Aspects of the above make you feel so?

Less risky [ ] More returns [ ] Wide acceptance [ ] others [ ]

16. Which is the most important factor that represents the Brand Image of Insurance Company?

Advertisement [ ] Work Force [ ] Ethics [ ] Market Share [ ]

17. what according to you is the most dissatisfying factor that should be corrected by insurance companies ( Scale 1-5 )

Delay in claim disbursement [ ] Hidden Charges [ ] Long Verification procedure

[ ] Misleading Ads [ ] Unawareness of plan [ ]

18. Hierarchy -Response Model

Are you Aware of Bajaj Allianz Yes [ ] No [ ]

Do you have knowledge about Bajaj Allianz Yes [ ] No [ ]

Do you have a liking for Bajaj Allianz Yes [ ] No [ ]



Do you prefer Bajaj Alliance to other companies Yes [ ] No [ ]

Have you developed a conviction to Bajaj Allianz Yes [ ] No [ ]

19. What according to you is the most important factor that Bajaj Allianz should concentrate more to withstand competition? (scale 1-4)

Increase efficiency of work force [ ]

Increase Ads [ ]

Technology Up gradation [ ]

Promotional activities of Bajaj Allianz [ ]

20. Rate the following services provided by Bajaj Allianz in the order of your preference ranging from 1-5 (1 – highest and 5 lowest)

Customer Meet [ ] Reminder [ ] Advisor [ ]

Local Office [ ] Promptness of all service [ ] Direct Collection [ ]

21. Are you happy with the publications brought out by Bajaj Allianz for use of members?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

22. Please give any additional suggestions for improving the trading volume of Bajaj Allianz?

.………………………………………………

.………………………………………………

.………………………………………………

.………………………………………………


A Study on the Brand Image of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance c

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