Birla sun life

“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with

Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”

SUBMITTED BY

GAURAV SHARMA

Enrollment no.-07919201709

STUDENT OF

LINGAYA’S LALITA DEVI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & SCIENCES

MANDI ROAD, NEW DELHI-110047

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

BACHELOR IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

UNDER THE SUPERVISIONOF

Mr. DEEPAK LALCHADANI

SUBMITTED TO

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPASTHA UNIVERSITY DELHI, INDIA

1

CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life” is the bonafide work of “Gaurav Sharma”who carried out the project work under the supervision of Mr.Deepak Lalchandani

<<Signature of the Head of the Department>> <<Signature of the Class Incharge>> SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

DR. Rakesh Gupta Mr.Deepak Lalchandani

(HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT) (Project Incharge)

B.B.A-3RD SEM.

Lingya’s lalita devi institute of management and science

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Particular Page no.

• Acknowledgement 04 • Preface 06• Executive Summary 07• Research Objectives 08• Research Methodology 08• Research Design 09• Sampling Methodology 09• Sampling Size 10• Limitation 10• Introduction 11• Company Profile 16• Organization Members 20• Products 22• SWOT Analysis 41• Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) 43• Competitors 45• Data Analysis & Interpretation 50• Finding & Suggestions 56• Conclusion 57• Bibliography 58• Questionnaire (Annexure 1) 59

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this report. My deepest thanks to Lecturer, Mr.Deepak Lalchandani (the Guide of the project for guiding) for correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. He has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed. I express my thanks to the hod of, B.B.A Deparment for extending his support. My deep sense of gratitude to Mr.Jayant Dua (Managing Director of Birla Sun Life Insurance Head Office – MUMBAI) support and guidance. Thanks and appreciation to the helpful people at Mr. Saurov Ghosh is Head & Senior Vice President - Human Resources MUMBAI, for their support. I would also like to thank my Institute and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality.

4

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work entitled ““A comparative

study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with Max New York Life &

HDFC Standard Life”submitted to the Guru gobind singh

indraprastha university, is a record of an original work done by me

under the guidance of Mr.Deeepak Lalchandani, Faculty Member,

(Lingya’s lalita devi institute of management and science),and this

project work has not performed the basis for the award of any

Degree to the best of my knowledge.

NAME: - Gaurav Sharma

ENROLMENT NO: - 07919201709

[SIGNATURE OF STUDENT]

5

PREFACE

Insurance is very important in today’s world as it provides the measure for

reducing the exposure to risk. There are different types of insurance policies

and the person can take them on the basis of their need. Insurance covers

you not only when you are alive but also after your death in the terms of

benefit which accrues to your family members.

The concept of insurance is not the new one. The insurance is

prevalent all over the world from the very beginning either in the form of

traditional or the reciprocal insurance. Mainly insurance have been

categorized into two parts 1. Life Insurance, 2. General Insurance. Life

insurance mainly covers the health related issues and the general insurance

covers the other aspects. Insurance helps in pooling the losses and also leads

to the transfer of losses. It makes the person on the same position as he was

before loss. The investment in insurance is also eligible for tax deductions.

6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project has been a great learning experience for me, at the same time it

gave me enough scope to implement my analytical ability.

The first part gives an insight about the Insurance. It is purely based on

whatever I learned at Birla Sun Life. One can have a brief knowledge about

Insurance and all its basics through the project. Other than that the real

servings come when one moves ahead.

At BIRLA SUN LIFE, initially the trainees were imparted process and

product knowledge. They were given sufficient time to know about the

products and also about sales and distribution channel. They had to work

with sales representative of the distributor and think of ways of improving

the sales and distribution channel and implementing them. The main aim

was to increase sales and for this different ways were tried and implemented.

7

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES :

To analyze Birla Sun Life Insurance strategy against its competitors.

Understanding in detail about Birla Sun Life Insurance.

To study the customer servicing strategy of Birla Sun Life Insurance.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

While making a study we very often look for what type of research

methodology is to be used in this type of study. For implementation of a

proper research methodology we have to first understand the meaning of

research.

Research is a process with the help of which new concepts arises. It is the

increase in the actual knowledge stock. It can be called as movement from

known to unknown and vice-versa. It is also a continuous process. It is a

scientific as well as systematic process, which includes defining and

redefining the problem to develop hypothesis, to collect and define the

8

information/data, to analysis the information and bring out the mother of

Discovery.

Source of data: Primary Data, Secondary Data

Nature of Research: Analytical

Universe: Market Representative, Common

Citizen, Market

Tools of Techniques: Quantitative as will as Qualitative

Observation

Quantitative: Percentage Method

RESEARCH DESIGN

To Achieve our objective a survey is being conducted in public to

understand what does a customer think about the services of BIRLA SUN

LIFE and to comparison with MAX NEW YORK LIFE & HDFC

STANDARD LIFE product and service.

Analytical search with quantitative approach has been done in which the

description of Birla Sun Life Insurance is presented value here the sampling

which is used to analyze random sampling which are conducted in Bhopal

city.

SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

9

Initially, a rough draft of questionnaire was prepared keeping in mind the

objective of the research. A pilot study was done in order to know the

accuracy of the Questionnaire. The final Questionnaire was arrived only

after certain important changes were done. Thus my sampling comes out to

be judgmental and convenient.

Sample Size

We have met 50 people for survey, out of which response was received from

25 People who submitted us the duly filled questionnaire.

LIMITATIONS

Time was the major constraint.

Some of the respondents were not cooperative.

Some respondents were hesitating to give business details.

10

INTRODUCTION

Life Insurance

Life insurance (Life Assurance in British English) is a type of insurance. As

in all insurance, the insured transfers a risk to the insurer. The insured pays a

premium and receives a policy in exchange. The risk assumed by the insurer

is the risk of death of the insured.

How life insurance works

There are three parties in a life insurance transaction; the insurer, the

insured, and the owner of the policy (policyholder), although the owner and

the insured are often the same person. For example, if John Smith buys a

policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Mary

Smith, his wife, buys a policy on John's life, she is the owner and he is the

insured. The owner of the policy is called the grantee (he or she will be the

person who will pay for the policy). Another important person involved is

11

the beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person or persons who will receive the

policy proceeds upon the death of the insured. The beneficiary is not a party

to the policy, but is designated by the owner, who may change the

beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation.

With an irrevocable beneficiary, that beneficiary must agree to changes in

beneficiary, policy assignment, or borrowing of cash value.

The policy, like all insurance policies, is a legal contract specifying the

terms and conditions of the risk assumed. Special provisions apply,

including a suicide clause wherein the policy becomes null if the insured

commits suicide within a specified time for the policy date (usually two

years). Any misrepresentation by the owner or insured on the application is

also grounds for nullification. Most contracts have a contestability period,

also usually a two-year period; if the insured dies within this period, the

insurer has a legal right to contest the claim and request additional

information before deciding to pay or deny the claim.

The face amount of the policy is normally the amount paid when the policy

matures, although policies can provide for greater or lesser amounts. The

policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age. The most

common reason to buy a life insurance policy is to protect the financial

interests of the owner of the policy in the event of the insured's demise. The

insurance proceeds would pay for funeral and other death costs or be

invested to provide income replacing the deceased's wages. Other reasons

include estate planning and retirement. The owner (if not the insured) must

have an insurable interest in the insured, i.e. a legitimate reason for insuring

another person’s life. The insurer (the life insurance company) calculates the

policy prices with an intent to recover claims to be paid and administrative

12

costs, and to make a profit. The cost of insurance is determined using

mortality tables calculated by actuaries. Actuaries are professionals who use

actuarial science which is based in mathematics (primarily probability and

statistics). Mortality tables are statistically based tables showing average life

expectancies. The three main variables in a mortality table are age, gender,

and use of tobacco. The mortality tables provide a baseline for the cost of

insurance. In practice, these mortality tables are used in conjunction with the

health and family history of the individual applying for a policy in order to

determine premiums and insurability. The current mortality table being used

by life insurance companies in the United States and their regulators was

calculated during the 1980s. There is currently a measure being pushed to

update the mortality tables by 2008.

Many companies use four general health categories for those evaluated for a

life insurance policy. These categories are Preferred Best, Preferred,

Standard, and Tobacco. Preferred Best means that the proposed insured has

no adverse medical history, is not under medication for any condition, and

his family (immediate and extended) have no history of early cancer,

diabetes, or other conditions. Preferred is like Preferred Best, but it allows

that the proposed insured is currently under medication for the condition and

may have some family history. Most people are in the Standard category.

Profession, travel, and lifestyle also factor into not only which category the

proposed insured falls, but also whether the proposed insured will be denied

a policy. For example, a person who would otherwise be in the Preferred

Best category will be denied a policy if he or she travels to a high risk

country.

13

Upon the death of the insured, the insurer will require acceptable proof of

death before paying the claim. The normal minimum proof is a death

certificate and the insurer's claim form completed, signed, and often

notarized. If the insured's death was suspicious and the policy amount

warrants it, the insurer may investigate the circumstances surrounding the

death, before deciding whether there is a legal obligation to pay the claim.

Proceeds from the policy may be paid in a lump sum or as an annuity paid

over time in regular recurring payments for either for the life of a specified

person or a specified time period.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH INSURANCE

CUSTOMERS

While making cold calls, we need to have:

Good communication skills (voice quality is clear and accurate).

Persistent and able to bounce back from rejection.

Good organizational skills.

Ability to project a telephone personality (Enthusiasm, Friendliness).

14

Flexibility: can adapt to different types of clients and new situation.

Using a good database is very essential:

“80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers” is a frequent

statement at any sales convention. There’s hardly a sales executive who is

not aware of the 80/20 rule.

Insurance customer sales cycle

Service

Follow-Up

Close sale- Purchase

Proposal

15

Sales desire-Response

Information

Inquiry

Awareness

COMPANY PROFILE

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) is a joint venture

between the Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial Inc., a leading

international financial services organization. The local knowledge of the

Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of Sun Life Financial Inc.,

offers a formidable value proposition to customers.

Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets

worldwide, including India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom,

Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, China and Bermuda. Sun Life

Financial Inc. had assets under management of over US$ 386.82 billion, as

on 31 March 2007. Sun Life Financial Inc. is a leading performer in the life

insurance market in Canada.

BSLI in its five successful years of operations has contributed significantly

to the growth and development of the life insurance industry in India. It

16

pioneered the launch of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the

private players in India. It was the first player in the industry to sell its

policies through the Bank assurance route and through the internet. It was

also the first private sector player to introduce a pure term plan in the Indian

market. This was supported by sales practices, which brought a degree of

transparency that was entirely new to the market. The process of getting

sales illustrations signed by customers, offering a free look period on all

policies, which are now industry standards were introduced by BSLI.

Being a customer centric company, BSLI has invested heavily in technology

to build world class processing capabilities. BSLI has covered more than one

and a half million lives since inception and its customer base is spread across

100 cities in India. All this has assisted the company in cementing its place

amongst the leaders in the industry in terms of new business premium

income. Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), one of the leading private life

insurers in India today announced the inimitable achiever, cricketer Kapil

Dev as their corporate brand ambassador. The cricketing supremo will be

endorsing BSLI in all its marketing initiatives. Birla Sun Life Insurance is a

value-driven brand which has a national brand recall of 70 per cent. The

objective of appointing a brand ambassador is to grow its brand recall as it

goes national in its distribution reach and fuel business growth. As a brand

ambassador, Kapil Dev will play a key role in the brand and product

marketing and promotional activities. BSLI has always used an integrated

marketing approach, which will be strengthened further.

Commenting on the association with Kapil Dev, Mr. S. K. Mitra, Director,

Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group and currently in charge of BSLI

expressed, "The Birla Sun Life Insurance business distribution network is

17

national in nature covering more than 1000 points across the country .We

have made our entry in several tier I and tier II towns. It is therefore very

important for the brand to connect at the grassroots level and create trust.

We believe that our association with Kapil Dev as our brand ambassador

will help us create this connect in a shorter period of time. We therefore now

have two strong connects — our parent brand Birla and our brand

ambassador Kapil Dev".

Kapil Dev, also known as the Haryana Hurricane, was born on 6 January

1959 in Chandigarh. He played his first competitive game of cricket at the

age of 13 years and made his test debut on 16 October 1978 at Faisalabad

against Pakistan. Kapil Dev remained India's top strike bowler for almost 15

years. His extraordinary test match figures of more than 5000 runs and 434

wickets along with 64 catches show that he was a world class cricketer and

an all-rounder. He has raised the mantle of India to sporting glory by

winning us the World Cup.

In a study conducted by BSLI, Kapil Dev connected extremely well with the

life insurance category and had high acceptance by the masses. Our survey

suggests that he is seen as a very good fit for the BSLI brand. He is very

much loved and respected by a vast majority of the population.

On 26 November 2006, Birla Sun Life was host the annual golf tournament

at the Chamber Golf Club in Mumbai where Kapil Dev was participate.

About Birla Sun Life Insurance

18

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

Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business houses in India and Sun Life

Financial Inc., a leading international financial services organization. The

local knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of

Sun Life Financial Inc., offers a formidable protection for your future.

Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), in its five successful years of operations,

has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the life

insurance industry in India. It pioneered the launch of unit linked life

insurance plans amongst the private players in India. It was the first player in

the industry to sell its policies through the banc assurance route and through

the internet. It was the first private sector player to introduce a pure term

plan in the Indian market. This was supported by sales practices which

brought a degree of transparency that was entirely new to the market. The

process of getting sales illustrations signed by customers and offering a free

look period on all policies, which are now industry standards, were

introduced by BSLI. Being a customer-centric company, BSLI has invested

heavily in technology to build world class processing capabilities. BSLI has

covered more than a million lives since inception and its customer base is

spread across more than 1000 towns and cities in India. All this has assisted

the company in cementing its place amongst the leaders in the industry in

terms of new business premium income. The company's current capital base

is Rs.520 crore.

About the Aditya Birla Group

19

The Aditya Birla Group has a turnover close to Rs.38,000 crore (as on 31

March 2008) and is one of the largest business houses in India. It enjoys a

leadership position in all the sectors in which it operates. With over 75

business units spanning the South East Asian belt, Africa, Canada and the

UK among others, it is reckoned as India's first multinational corporation.

The group is anchored by 72,000 employees and has seven lakh

shareholders, with a market capitalization of Rs.53,400 crore.

KEY PEOPLE OF ORGANIZATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mr. Kumar M Birla Mr. Donald A Stewart, Mr. Bishwanath N Puranmalka Mr. Ajay Srinivasan Mr. Gary M Comerford Mr. Suresh N Talwar Mr. Gian P Gupta His Highness Maharaja G Singh Mr. Stephan Rajotte Dr. Bharat K Singh

20

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

• Mr. B. N. Puranmalka• Mr. Eugene Lundrigan• Mr. Vikram Mehmi• Mr. Fabien Jeudy• Mr. Vikram Kotak

21

Management Team

Mr. Vikram MehmiPresident & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mayank BathwalChief Financial Officer

Mr. Mario BraganzaChief Operating Officer

Mr. E.N. GoveiaHead - Direct Sales Force

Mr. Amit PunchhiSenior Vice President - Third Party Distribution

Mr. Bhavesh SanghviHead - Group Life & Pensions

Mr. Snehal ShahSenior Vice President – Operations

Ms. Anjana GrewalSenior Vice President - Marketing & Communications

Mr. Rajesh BhojaniSenior Vice President - DSF Expansion

Mr. K.H. VenkatachalamVice President - Human Resource

Mr. Fabien JeudyVice President, Chief & Appointed Actuary

Mr. Lalit VermaniVice President - Compliance

Mr. Melvyn D'souzaVice President - Risk Management and Internal Audit

Mr. Vikram KotakVice President - Investments

Mr. Bhalachandra NayakVice President – Strategy

22

PRODUCTS

DETAIL OF PRODUCTS

Individual Life

23

Protection

Birla Sun Life Term Plan

Premium Back Term Plan

Saving Birla Sun Life Insurance Gold-Plus

Supreme Life

Dream Plan

Classic Life Premier

Simply Life

Prime Life Premier

Prime Life

Life Companion

Flexi Cash Flow

Flexi Save Plus

Flexi Life Line

Single Premium Bond

Retirement

Flexi Secure Life Retirement Plan II

24 Children

Children's Dream Plan

Life is unpredictable. But in face of adversity, our

responsibilities towards our parents, children and loved ones

need not be compromised. Insurance planning equips you to

smooth out the uncertainties and adversities that life might send

your way, so that the best that life has to offer, secure in the

knowledge that your beloved ones are well provided for.

BSLI offers a complete range of insurance products

1. Protection Plans

2. Savings Plans

3. Child Plans

4. Investment Plans

5. Retirement Plans

6. Group Plans

25

Insurance Plans

Children Children's Dream Plan

7. Rural Plans

8. Plans for NRIs

9. Keyman Plans

10. Riders

BSLI offers LifeGuard - a set of pure protection plans. Choose

from amongst three different product structures to insure your

life and provide total security to your family, at a very affordable

cost.

Level Term Assurance with return of premium

• On death the entire sum assured will be paid.

• On maturity, all the premiums paid will be returned .

Level Term Assurance without return of premium

• On death the entire sum assured will be paid.

• No survival or maturity benefits.

26

Protection Plans

You can also enhance the above two policies by adding

Accident & Disability Benefit Rider and Waiver of Premium

Rider (WOP) .

BSLI offers a variety of policies that give you the benefits of

protection and the opportunity to save for important assets or

events, like a home, a car or a wedding.

A regular premium unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance

of Capital Guarantee# with the added advantage of flexible

liquidity option. An ideal plan for long term planning with the

benefit of liquidity.

The key features of the plan are:

• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection (Sum

Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium. You

can also choose the term of the plan.

27

Savings Plans

• At the end of the term, the higher of the value of units or

the guaranteed value* is paid. On death, Sum Assured along

with the higher of value of units or the guaranteed value is

payable.

• Facility of Automatic Premium Payment- With this facility

you can take a temporary break from premium payment. **

• Total transparency with the premium allocations, and other

charges declared upfront.

• The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all

invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with

the declared bonus interests.

With Automatic Premium Payment facility, you can avail a

temporary break from premium payment for a maximum of 1

year. This facility is available once if the premium paying

term is less than 15 years and twice, if it is 15 years or more .

A regular premium unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance

of Capital Guarantee# An ideal plan for your long-term savings

and protection requirement.

28

The key features of the plan are :

• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection ( Sum

Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium. You

can also choose the term of the plan.

• Additional insurance for 10 years after the maturity, for an

amount of 50% of the Sum Assured.

• Flexibility to make additional investment with the help of

the top-up facility.

• Flexibility to increase / decrease your annual premium

amount

• Facility of Automatic Premium Payment- With this facility

you can take a temporary break from premium payment.

The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all

invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with

the declared bonus interests.

With Automatic Premium Payment facility, you can avail a

temporary break from premium payment for a maximum of 1

year. This facility is available once if the premium paying

term is less than 15 years and twice, if it is 15 years or more.

The capital guarantee is applicable only on the invested

premium and the declared bonus interests.

29

You can also enhance your policy by adding Accident &

Disability Benefit Rider, Waiver of Premium Rider and Critical

Illness Rider.

A unit-linked insurance plan with an assurance of Capital

Guarantee which offers you the benefit of a limited premium

payment term. An ideal plan for protection with wealth creation

that offers the flexibility of a limited premium paying term.

• Flexibility to choose a premium payment term of 5, 7 or 10

years for a maturity term of 10, 15 or 20 years respectively.

• Flexibility to choose a specific level of protection (Sum

Assured), based on a multiple of the annual premium.

• At the end of the term (maturity), the higher of the value of

units or the guaranteed value* is paid. On death, Sum

Assured along with the higher of value of units or the

guaranteed value is payable.

• Additional credits payable as a percentage of the initial

annual premium are paid along with the death or maturity

benefit.

• Facility to make withdrawals from the 6th policy year

onwards till the end of the policy term. Every year

withdraw up to 10% of the value of units

30

• Flexibility to make additional investment with the help of

the top-up facility.

• Flexibility to increase / decrease your annual premium

amount

• Total transparency with the premium allocations, and other

charges declared upfront.

• The guaranteed value of the unit fund is the value of all

invested premiums (premiums net of all charges) along with

the declared bonus interests.

The capital guarantee is applicable only on the invested premium

and the declared bonus interests.

You can also enhance your policy by adding Accident &

Disability Benefit Rider and Critical Illness Rider.

As a responsible parent, you will always strive to ensure a hassle-free,

successful life for your child. However, life is full of Uncertainties and even

the best-laid plans can go wrong. Here’s how you can give your child a

100% safe and assured tomorrow, whatever the uncertainties. Smart Kid is

31

Child Plans

especially designed to provide flexibility and safeguard your child’s future

education and lifestyle, taking all possibilities into account. Choose from

amongst a basket of 4 plans:

Smart Kid regular premium

Smart Kid unit-linked regular premium

Smart Kid unit-linked regular premium II

Smart Kid unit-linked single premium II

All these plans offer you:

Financial Benefits: Regular payments at critical stages

in your child’s life, like Board examinations, Graduation

and Post-graduation.

All future premiums are waived : Ensuring that your

family is not financially burdened in your absence.

Policy benefits continue: The educational benefits of

the policy continue, ensuring that your child can realize his

or her dreams without any hassles .

Development Allowance: Smart Kid guarantees regular

income to secure your child’s educational career and also

ensures his or her all-round development, for a nominal

additional amount. The Income Benefit Rider takes care of

32

this through an annual payment of 10% of the sum assured,

to your child, till the maturity of the policy, in the

unfortunate event of the death of the parent.

All SmartKid plans can be enhanced with the Accident &

Disability Benefit Rider and Income Benefit Rider .

You can also an Accident Benefit Rider to a SmartKid

Regular Premium policy, and a Waiver of Premium

Rider (WOP) to SmartKid unit-linked regular premium

policy.

Life Link II is a unique plan that combines the

security of a life insurance policy with the opportunity of

enjoying high returns on your investments, without the market

risks compromising on the protection of your family!

Death Benefit: The Sum Assured under the product has 2

options, either 500% of the initial premium or 105% of the initial

premium. In the event of an unfortunate death, the beneficiary

33

Investment Plans

will receive higher of the value of units or the initial death

benefit, less any withdrawals .

Withdrawal Benefit: One can make partial withdrawals from

the accumulated value of the policy after completion of one

policy year.

Flexibility: Choose from four fund options, based on your

investment objective and risk appetite. If at a later stage your

financial priorities change, you can switch between the various

fund options, absolutely free, 4 times a year .

Life Expectancy has been rising rapidly and today you can expect

to live longer than your earlier generations. For you, this

increase will mean a longer retirement life, stretching into a

couple of decades. BSLI Retirement Solutions that combine the

best of insurance and investment. These solutions are developed

to ensure your peace of mind for the years to come.

34

Retirement Plans

1. Why plan for retirement?

2. How much should I set aside for retirement?

3. The impact of inflation on your retirement savings

4. Why plan early?

5. About Annuities

Why plan for retirement?

For too many people, the joy of retirement after years of

hard work is eclipsed by the financial uncertainties that it brings.

Despite all the planning and saving, you can never sure whether

your money will last a lifetime. Retirement planning offers a way

to ensure a more enjoyable, stress free tomorrow. A prudent plan

will ensure that increasing life expectancy, higher inflation and

increasing taxes do not eat away into your hard earned savings.

In an era of competitive parity, the only asset that makes a

decisive difference between corporate success and failure is the

quality of human capital. Employee benefits have proven to be an

excellent tool to optimize the retention of talent and improve an

organization’s bottom-line. The quality of an organization’s

employee benefits establishes and maintains a company's image

35

Group Solutions

as a caring employer. Optimum care of employees is a long-term

investment that results in a sustained competitive advantage for

an organization in the times to come.

BSLI Group Solutions Advantage:

• An integrated basket of employee benefits solutions that

offer incomparable flexible benefits.

• Sound investment management that focuses on safety,

stability and profitability of the portfolio.

• Personalized financial planning for your employee that

takes care of his/her changing financial needs at every stage

of life.

• Quality service initiatives and transparency across all

operations, promising superlative operational efficiency.

Group Term Assurance : Helps provide affordable cover to

members of a group.

Group Gratuity Plan : Helps employers fund their statutory

gratuity obligation in a flexible and hassle-free manner.

Group Superannuation Plan : A flexible scheme (defined

benefit and defined contribution) to provide a retirement kitty for

each member of the group.

36

Group Term Assurance:

BSLI flexible group term solution helps provide affordable

cover to members of a group. The cover could be uniform or

based on designation/rank or a multiple of salary, and can be

extended to all employees between the ages of 18 and 65 years.

The benefit under the policy is paid on the event of the member’s

death to the beneficiary nominated by the member. It is a one-

year renewable policy where one master policy covers all

proposed employees comprising the group, with a minimum

group size of 25 persons. New members can join the group and

outgoing members can leave the group at any point during the

policy term.

Group Gratuity Plan:

BSLI group gratuity plan helps employers fund their gratuity

obligation in a scientific manner. Employers can avail of the tax

benefits as applicable to approved gratuity funds. The plan can

also be customized to structure schemes that can provide benefits

beyond the statutory obligations.

Employee Benefits :

37

• The contribution made by the employer is not included in

the value of taxable perquisites in the hands of the

employee.

• Gratuity received up to Rs 350000 is exempt from

Income tax under Sec 10(10)

Employer Benefits:

• Annual contribution up to 8.33% of salary bill in a financial

year is allowed a deduction for the purpose of computation

of profits and gains of business.

• Contribution towards past service liability is allowed as

deduction as per the Income Tax rules.

Group Superannuation Plan:

BSLI Superannuation Scheme (for both Defined Benefit and

Defined Contribution funds) offers substantial benefits to both

employers and employees. The employer and employee can avail

of tax benefits applicable to an approved superannuation trust.

The scheme will provide for a retirement fund for each

participating employee. An employee would be able to choose

from various annuity options or opt for partial commutation of

corpus at retirement.

38

BSLI Rural Products are designed to meet the needs of the rural

consumers. These products offer the following features:

1. Low and Affordable Premiums

2. Life Cover

3. Savings Option

4. Hassle free procedure

BSLI Endowment Plan:

BSLI offers the following features:

Life Cover and Savings

Regular Premiums

Age at entry 18 - 45 Yrs

Premium Mode Half Yearly / Yearly

Term 5,10,15 Yrs

39

Rural Plans

Sum Assured Rs.5,000 -20,000

Premium / Year Rs. 507 - 553 ( SA: Rs.10,000)

Maturity/Death benefit Sum Assured

BSLI - Regular Premium:

BSLI is a regular premium policy with the following features:

Individual policy

Only Life cover

Term - 3 & 5 Yrs

Age independent premium

Age at entry 18 - 45 Yrs

Sum Assured Single

Premium / Year Rs 50 – 200

Maturity/Death benefit Rs.5,000 - 20,000

Death Benefit Sum Assured

NRI Plans:

40

Plans for NRIs

Being away from India doesn't mean you have to compromise the

safety and security of your loved ones. In fact, your savings from

your time overseas can be easily canalized to meet your family's

needs - now and in the future.

STRENGTH :

• Multi-channel distribution and one of the largest

distribution networks in India.

• Implementing Six-Sigma process.

• Customer centric products and services.

• Superior investment and risk management framework

• 1 Million Policies sold within 3 and half years.

• Training process of the company is very strong.

• Different plan for different peoples

• According to the change in surrounding environment like

changes in customer requirement .

41

WEAKNESS:

• COMPANY does not penetrate on the rural market at a

time.

• There is no plan for the low income group.

• Fees for the advisor is high than the other company .

OPPORTUNITY:

• Insurance market is very big, where company can expand

its horizon in insurance industry .

• Though good investment and insurance it is easy to top

Indian customers.

• The huge insurance market (77%) is left so company has

opportunity to expand our products.

THREATS:

• ‘OLD HABITS DIE HARD’: Its still difficult task to win the

confidence of public towards private company.

• The company is facing major threats from LIC -which is an

only government company.

42

IRDA(INSURANCE REGULATORY

DEVLOPMENT AUTHORITY)

The insurance sector has been opened up in India, as there was an urgent

need. The international experience indicates those country with a liberalized

insurance sector have witnessed a rapid growth in premium volumes

enhancing the domestic saving rate. This happened in China, Malaysia and

Singapore where a competitive market has led to improvement in Services

and quicker settlement of claims. It is also important to note that competition

will bring about advancement in information, communication and

technology. And rightly therefore a decision was taken by the Government

of India to open up Insurance sector. The establishment of IRDA in the

month of April 2000 has been important development in this direction,

making the end of monopoly in the insurance sector.

43

WHY INSURANCE IN INDIA:

• Only 22% of the insurance population has been extended cover.

Market penetration is low and the potential to exploit is high.

• Insurance premium per capita is very low.

• Lack of comprehensive social system benefit and welfare means that

demand for pension products is high.

• Huge middle class of approximately 300 Million.

• Existing insurance company score low on customer service front.

The insurance market registered growth in the Asian region even though

India’s share in global insurance is less than 0.5% (1988) as compared to

USA (24.2%) and Japan (21%). Studies have reveled that in an emerging

market, as disposable income rises, Insurance premiums as a ratio of GDP

shoots up. The confederation of Indian Industry projected a growth of Life

Insurance premiums from Rs. 350 Billion at present to Rs.140 Billion. The

growth of non-life insurance premium is expected to increase from 75 billion

to 375 billion. Out of which, only 10% is tapped by the existing insurer.

How many Indians are aware that LIC has more than

60Products and GIC has more than 180Products? Not only there is a

reduction in the premiums of Life Insurance products have long overdue

since Indian morality rate has decreased three folds in the last 50years. There

is also scope to increase the yield on life insurance policies (presently 6%)

with proper risk management in place.

44

It is been debated that insurance business does not produce profit in

the first five years cross subsidization is a feature of Indian market. Even the

first portfolio vote that is considered profitable, cross subsidizes other

departments. Tariffs reduction is likely to reduce profits; further insurers

have to institute proper claims management progress in order to extract

efficiencies. At present life insurance business in the country is taxed at

12.5% of the profit in financial year. The government is soon to present a

new model of taxing life insurance companies at international rates.

New entrants should be well advised to look ahead to the stage where

brand strength will be a competitive advantage and sketch their alliances

accordingly. In fact, we believe that alliance related to distribution rather

than to produce or technology will prove most valuable in the long run.

COMPETITORS

Max new york life insurance co. profile

Max New York Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between New

York Life International Inc., a Fortune 100 company and

America's largest life insurance provider and Max India Limited

one of the leading multi-business corporations in India. Max New

45

York Life Insurance Co Ltd is a Rs. 250 crore joint venture with a

paid up capital of Rs. 807 crore.The insurance agents employed at

Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd are trained in-house with a

rigorous training program of over 152 hrs, much higher than the

standard 100 hrs of mandatory training laid down by the IRDA.

Around 345 Max New York Agent Advisors qualified for Million

Dollar Round table (MDRT) membership in 2006.

It is an internationally renowned congregation of world's top

insurance agents.

Max New York Life brings to you specially customized

products and services that are flexible and can e customized to

suit your needs. It now has 30 life insurance products and 8 riders

that can be customized to over 800 combinations enabling

customers to choose the policy or plan that best fits their need.

These include:

INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE

Protection Plans:• Whole Life• Level Term• Five Year Term R & C• Life Partner Plus

Savings:o Life Gain Endowmento Life Pay Money Backo Life Gain Plus 20o Life Gain Plus 25o 20-Year Endowment

46

Unit Linked:o Life Maker Premiumo Life Maker Goldo Life Maker Platinumo Life Maker Pensiono Life Invest

GROUP INSURANCEo Group Term Lifeo Group Gratuityo Employee Deposit Linked Insuranceo Credit Shieldo Unit Linked Group Gratuityo Unit Linked Group Superannuation

RURAL INSURANCEo Max Surakshao Easy Termo Max Mangal Endowmento Max Vriksha Money Back

Many insurance companies provide medical insurance, general insurance,

premium insurance, company insurance and group insurance policies. But

the qualities of a true leader shine out. The annual report of Max New York

Insurance Co. shows that they have achieved this by their sheer dedication to

their customers and the hard work of their insurance agents.

HDFC standard life insurance co. profile

47

Established on 14th August 2000, HDFC Standard Life

Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Housing

Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited) -

India's leading housing finance institution, and a Group Company

of the Standard Life Plc, UK. The Company is one of leading

private insurance companies, offering a range of individual and

group insurance solutions, in India. Being a joint venture of top

financial services groups, HDFC Standard Life has adequate

financial expertise to manage long-term investments safely and

resourcefully.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance offers a range of individual

and group solutions , which can be easily personalized to

specific needs.

Protection Plans• HDFC Term Assurance Plan• HDFC Loan Cover Term Assurance Plan• HDFC Home Loan Protection Plan

Children's Plans• HDFC Children's Plan• HDFC Unit Linked Young Star II• HDFC Unit Linked Young Star Plus II• HDFC Unit Linked Youngster Champion

Retirement Plans • HDFC Personal Pension Plan• HDFC Unit Linked Pension II• HDFC Unit Linked Pension Maximiser II• HDFC Immediate Annuity

48

Savings & Investment Plans• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Plus II• HDFC SimpliLife• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment II• HDFC Unit Linked Enhanced Life Protection II• HDFC Unit Linked Wealth Maximiser Plus• HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Winner• HDFC Endowment Assurance Plan• HDFC Money Back Plan• HDFC Single Premium Whole of Life Insurance Plan• HDFC Assurance Plan• HDFC Savings Assurance Plan

Health Plans • HDFC Critical Care Plan• HDFC SurgiCare Plan

Group Plans • Group Term Insurance Plan• Group Variable Term Insurance Plan• Group Unit Linked Plan - Gratuity• Group Unit Linked Plan - Superannuation• Group Unit Linked Plan - Leave Encashment

Its group solutions have been planned to offer complete flexibility, together

with a low charging structure. As of 31 December, 2008, the

Company's new business premium income stood at Rs. 1,839.70

Crores; it has covered over 812,811 lives so far. Given below is a

comprehensive list of policies and products on offer by HDFC

Standard Life Insurance.

49

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Ques 1. If Insurance policy of Birla Sunlife, what kind

of policy?

No of Peoples Have BSLI Plan

Health, 10%

Retierment , 22%

Life, 68%

Health

Retierment

Life

Inference

50

On the basis of above analysis it has been concluded that around 68% of the

policy holders are having life plan, 22% of them are having Retirement plan

and rest of them are having the health plan.

Question.2 Are you satisfied with the Insurance plan you have?

No. of people satisfied with the plan

72%

28%

Yes

No

Inference

On the basis of the analysis it has been concluded that around 72%of the

people are satisfied with plan they and rest if them are not satisfied.

51

Ques.3 Are you satisfied with the services provided by the company regarding new plans and schemes?

No. of people satisfied with the services provided by the company

82%

18%

Yes

No

52

Inference

On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 82% of

the policy holders are satisfied with the services provided by the

company and rest of them are not satisfied.

Ques.4 Are you interested to make more investments in BSLI ?

53

No. of Peoples want to more investment in BSLI

67%

33%

Yes

No

Inference

On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 67% of

the policyholders are interested to make more investments in BSLI and

rest of them are not interested.

54

Ques. 5 Do you have any other Insurance Plan apart from BSLI?

60%9%

11%

8%12% LIC

BSLI

BAJAJ ALIYANZ

ICICI

Others

Inference

From the above analysis it has been concluded that around 89% of policy

holders are having other insurance plans apart from BSLI , in which

around 60 % are having LIC insurance plans, 11% are having Bajaj

Allianz, 9% are having Birla Sunlife, 8% are having ICICI Pru. and 12%

are having other company insurance plans.

55

Ques. 6 If you get any attractive plan than are you ready to switch over?

People ready to switch to attractive Schemes if offered by other

companies

82%

18%

Yes

No

Inference

On the basis of the above analysis it has been concluded that around 82% of

the policy holders are ready to switch over if they get good attractive

insurance plan and rest of them don’t.

56

FINDING & SUGGESTIONS

1) Even though most of the policy holders are satisfied with

policies, plans they have but some new attractive insurance plans should

be introduce to bind them not to switch over to other companies

insurance plans.

2) The company should find out the no. of people who are not

having any of the insurance plans through an intensive market research

and motivate them to get insured.

3) Leveraging technology to service customers quickly, efficiently

and conveniently.

4) Developing and implementing superior risk management and

investment strategies to offer sustainable and stable returns to our

policyholders.

5) Company should target each and every class of the society

6) Company should provide full information to the customers

before targeting so they can take interest .

57

CONCLUSION

In the conclusion it can be said that the Birla sun Life Insurance deserves a

special position in the life insurance sector. The various policies provided by

the company reduces the risk exposure of different segment of the society.

In the project the different policies of the company have been studied in

order to know about the different criteria for the pension amount, how to

claim, what are the benefits, what are the added risk covered by the policy

etc. The criteria for claiming and the premium amount is very reasonable so

even a lay man can take the policy very easily.

The company should try to tap the rural and the semi urban sector as it is

lacking on in this sphere. It has to come up with new policies and the

strategies in order to compete with the new emerging private players.

58

BIBLIOGRAPHY

By the help of Books

• Business Environment written By

“Francis Cherunilam

• Marketing Management written BY

“ Phillip Kotlar”

By the help of Other Sources

• By the head’s and the consultant of the Birla Sun Life.

By the help of Websites

• www.BirlaSunlife.com

• www. irda. gov. in

59

• Birlasunlife New Advisor Book

• www.google.com

(Annexure 1)

QUESTIONNAIRE

I, Gaurav Sharma Student of Lldims, pursuing my BBA ,

carrying out a project work in partial fulfillment of my live project.

I am undertaking a project

“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with

Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”

In view of this, I hereby request you to give your feed back

on the questionnaire given below. Please note that your response

will be kept confidential. Please mark the appropriate answer.

NAME ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------AGE ----------- Nationality ----------------------- Income ------------------------Contact --------------------------------, -------- ------------------------------------Address ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------

60

----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

Occupation:a) Businessman [ ] b) Professional [ ]c) Students [ ] d) House wife [ ]

61

Ques. 1 Do you have any insurance policy?

Ques. 2 Which insurance policy do you have?

Ques 3. If Insurance policy of Birla Sunlife, what kind

of policy?

Ques 4 Are you satisfied with the Insurance plan you have?

Ques.5 Are you satisfied with the services provided by the

company regarding new plans and schemes?

Ques.6 Are you interested to make more investments in BSLI ?

Ques. 7 Do you have any other Insurance Plan apart from

BSLI?

Ques. 8 If you get any attractive plan than are you ready to

switch over?

62