“COMPARATIVE STUDY ON RECRUITMENT OF FINANCIAL

CONSULTANT AND INDIAN LIFE INSURANCE SECTOR”

Industry Guide Faculty Guide

Mr. KAMAL KANT Mr. Ved Prakash
SHARMA BLS INSTITUTE OF
Sales development TECHNOLOGY
manager MANAGEMENT
HDFCSLIC

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED

Submitted by : HEMANT KUMAR MUDGAL
Programme : B.B.A.(GEN.)
Roll No. : 1702051707

(Session: 2007-10)

BLS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

HARYANA

PREFACE

Today in the world of competition, for the first time

consumer is the king of market and it was over the way
around when there was no competition and product/service
providers was operating totally in monopolistic condition
market for his product/service. Customer seldom receives
what he demand or want. Prior to 2005 there was only one
company i.e. LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) in the field of
life insurance, which was operating in monopolistic arena.
With the opening of the market, foreign and private Indian
players are keen to convert untapped market potential into
opportunities by providing tailor-made products: The
presence of a host of new players in the sector has resulted
in a shift in approach and the launch of innovative products,
services and value-added benefits. Foreign majors have
entered the country and announced joint ventures in both
life and non-life areas. Major foreign players include New
York Life, Aviva, Tokio Marine, Allianz, Standard Life,
Lombard General, AIG, AMP and Sun Life among others.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) has played a proactive role as a regulator and a
facilitator in the sector’s development.
The size of the market presents immense opportunities to
new players with only 20 per cent of the country’s insurable
population currently insured. This project will take you
through a major player i.e. HDFC Standard Life Insurance.
This project basically includes what all products are
provided by Standard Life. And what procedure is followed
to recruitment.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my humble reverence to Mr.HEMANT

SAHNI (Channel Development Executive) for giving me this
opportunity to work in this esteemed Organization and
giving generous encouragement and support.

I express my deep gratitude to “HDFC Standard Life

Insurance Company” for giving me the chance to pursue my
summer internship.
INDEX

Sr.No. Content

Preface

Acknowledgements

Objective

Chapter-1-Insurance In India
Insurance In India
A Brief History Of The Insurance Sector
Insurance Sector Reforms
Indian Insurance Industry
Insurance Business
Entry Of Foreign Players
Guidelines For Entry Of Insurance
Collaboration Of Indian Companies With Foreign Players

Chapter- 2-
Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority
Government Regulation
Duties, Powers And Functions Of IRDA
IRDA Notification

Chapter – 3
-Hdfc Standard Life Insurance
Industry profile
Company profile
Organizational structure
Research methodology
Market position

Chapter – 4
Competitor profiling
Recruitment
Issues In Recruitment
Recruitment Procedure
Guide Lines Of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Regarding
Recruitment Of Financial Consultants
Highlights
Endless Earning Possibilities
FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions)

Chapter- 5-
Products Of HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Individuals
Group Products
Claim Settlement Process
Premium Delay Procedure
Loans On Policies
Nomination

Chapter – 6-
Faq’s On Insurance

Chapter – 7
-Location Of HDFC Standard Life Branches
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Companies Locations

10. Conclusion
11. Limitation of This Study

12. Recommendation

13. Bibliography
 14. Annexure

Objectives

To study the products available in the market.

Recruiting financial consultants for HDFC standard life

insurance.

To study the foreign players in insurance sector.

CHAPTER-1

INSURANCE IN INDIA
The insurance sector in India has come a full circle from
being an open competitive market to nationalization and
back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the
developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the
360 degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two
centuries.

Introduction

Insurance is system of protection against financial loss of an asset in

which a number of people agree to pay certain sums of money called
premiums to create a common pool of funds. The pool guarantees
compensation to the individual who suffers an accidental loss of his or her
asset.
Every asset has a life. An asset might not complete its life cycle due to
accidental occurrences. Accidental losses can deprive the owner of the
expected economic benefits of the asset.
Insurance is related only with compensation for the losses caused by
accidental occurrences. For Eg, cars cannot be insured against becoming
obsolete but can be insured against road accidents and thefts.
Insurance is a contract between the insurer and the insured that provides
compensation for specific losses in exchange for a periodic payment. An
individual contract is known as an insurance policy and the periodic
payment is known as the insurance premium. Insurance provides a
mechanism for shifting risk from a person, business, or organization to an
insurance company in exchange for the payment of the insurance
premium.
Insurance – Definition:
Insurance can be defined both in financial as well as in legal terms for it
dabbles in both these fields
Financial Definition:: “Transfer or shifting risk from one individual to a
group and sharing losses on an equitable basis by all members of the
group.”
Legal Definition: In legal terms, insurance is a contractual agreement
whereby one party agrees, for a consideration called premium, to
compensate another party for losses. Each of such transaction involves
following:
Insurer - The party agreeing to pay for the losses of the insured.
Insured - The party who insures his risks with the insurer.
Premium - The payment the insurer receives from the insured for
indemnifying losses.
Policy - Policy is the contract between the insurer and insured that sets the
contractual obligations between the two.
Exposure to loss - The insured’s possibility of loss is called the insured’s
exposure to loss.

Insurance Sector
Insurance sector is broadly divided into two parts:
Life Insurance
Non Life/General Insurance
The reform in the insurance sector leading finally to the opening of the
insurance sector for private participation has brought in its wake major
changes not only in the design of the products available in the market but
also the manner in which they are marketed. We have today a host of
products coupled with a large number of intermediaries who market them.
Companies especially life insurance companies are adopting different
types of distribution channels to grab customers. Multi-channel distribution
model is such a new concept that is presently seemed to be alluring to
Indian life insurers. In a multiple distribution model, a single insurance
company uses more than one distribution channel to market its products.
Distribution channels of Life Insurance in Indian Market.

The distribution scenario of life insurance has varied a lot with post
liberalization Policies in Indian market. By any yardstick, India, with about
200 million middle class households, presents a huge untapped potential
for players in the insurance industry. Saturation of markets in many
developed economies has made the Indian market even more attractive
for global insurance majors.
Financial consultant (agent) is one of the most important modes of
distribution of life insurance products. Financial consultant (Agents)
continues 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 distribution system for life insurance products post liberalization

involves various intermediaries between insurer and insured. Following are
the different kind of distribution channels.

1. Agents:
Agents have function of direct selling to the customer; they are main
intermediary between the company and the client. There are two types of
agents, General and Career agents. The General agents work for different
insurers at the same time but career agent’s work for only one insurer.
Prior to liberalization no minimum qualification was laid down for the
people who wanted to become insurance agents. They generally acted as
life brokers and cared more for their commission than the needs of the
customer. As the result they didn’t make the required efforts to educate the
customers about insurance products being offered. But with the entry of
the new players in the Indian market the insurance market has changed
drastically. Private insurers focused more on the technical expertise and
service excellence so they give proper training to the agents and teach
them properly about the insurance products which they are suppose to
sell.

2. Brokers:
Insurance brokers are the organizations who assess the complete
insurance needs of the customers and then work out with insurers to give
a complete solution to customers.
Broker’s attributes:
Brokers must have ability to develop a more comprehensive
understanding of a client’s business and broad spectrum of risks.
They are not tied with particular insurer and are expected to give the best
service to the customer according to the need of the customer.

Broker versus Agent

A broker may sell the products of a number of insurers whereas an
insurance agent has the Insurer as his principal and works in the interest
of the Insurer and not the Insured.
An insurance broker differs from an insurance agent in that a broker is
considered an agent of the Insured even though he or she may receive a
commission from the insurance company

3. Banc assurance:
This refers to the distribution of the insurance products through banks.
Products are distributed through a bank’s branches and also through new
distribution systems such as electronic banking. Bancassurance is
believed to be the best because banks are familiar with the target
customers needs and have a strong delivery mechanism. The reasons
why banks have pushed the life insurance products are:
1) Mature and highly competitive banking markets
2) Broadening of the product base
a) One - stop shopping
b) Complementary Products
3) Leverage bank’s competitive edge on the marketing side
a) Frequency of contacts
b) Customer knowledge
c) Image/Brand name
Some of the disadvantages of the bancassurance are initial investment
and training of people and lack of awareness about this new concept.

4. Corporate Agents:
Corporate agents function the same way as brokers do, barring the fact
that they can sell only one insurance company’s products. Some corporate
agents, however, have tried to circumvent this regulation by setting up two
or three sister firms so that they can offer a basket of products to their
clients. This term refers to the corporate that acts as agents to the
insurance companies. The insurance company chooses a third party which
is financially sound and assigns it the responsibility of covering a given
location. This third party is called corporate agent.

Winds of Change:
Reforms have marked the entry of many of the global insurance majors
into the Indian market in the form of joint ventures with Indian companies.
Some of the key names are AIG, New York, Allianz, Prudential, Standard
Life, 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.

Players in Life Insurance industry in India:

LIC
HDFC STANDARD
ICICI PRUDENTIAL
ALLIANZ BAJAJ
ING VYASA
BIRLA SUNLIFE
MAX NEWYORKLIFE
METLIFE
OM KOTAK MAHINDRA
AVIVA
SBI Life
TATA-AIG
AMP SANMAR(Now A Reliance Group Company)
SRIRAM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY( A New Entrant)
BHARTI-AXA ( A New Entrant)

A brief history of the Insurance sector

The business of life insurance in India in its existing form
started in India in the year:
1818: with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance
Company in Calcutta.
Some of the important milestones in the life insurance
business in India are:
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as
the first statute to regulate the life insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to
enable the government to collect statistical information
about both life and non-life insurance businesses.
1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by
the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the
interests of the insuring public.
1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident
societies taken over by the central government and
nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC
Act,
1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the
Government of India.
The General insurance business in India, on the other hand,
can trace its roots to the Triton Insurance Company Ltd.,
the first general insurance company established in the year
1850 in Calcutta by the British.
Some of the important milestones in the general insurance
business in India are:
1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first
company to transact all classes of general insurance
business.
1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance
Association of India, frames a code of conduct for ensuring
fair conduct and sound business practices.
1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments
and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff Advisory
Committee set up.
1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act,
1972 nationalized the general insurance business in India
with effect from 1st January 1973.
107 insurers amalgamated and grouped into four
companies viz. the National
 Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance
Company Ltd.

Insurance sector reforms

In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance
Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra, was formed to
evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its
future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with
the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the
financial sector. The reforms were aimed at “creating a
more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for
the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the
structural changes currently underway and recognizing that
insurance is an important part of the overall financial
system where it was necessary to address the need for
similar reforms…”
In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of
the key recommendations included:

i) Structure.
Government stake in the insurance Companies to be
brought down to 50%.
Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its
subsidiaries so that these subsidiaries can act as
independent corporations.
All the insurance companies should be given greater
freedom to operate.

ii) Competition
Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of
Rs.1bn should be allowed to enter the industry
No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance
through a single entity
Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in
collaboration with the domestic companies
Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the
rural market
Only one State Level Life Insurance Company should be
allowed to operate in each state

iii) Regulatory Body

The Insurance Act should be changed.
An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up.
Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance
Ministry) should be made independent.

iv) Investments
Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government
securities to be reduced from 75% to 50%.
GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any
company (There current holdings to be brought down to this
level over a period of time)

v) Customer Service
LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30
days
Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit
linked pension plans
Computerization of operations and updating of technology
to be carried out in the insurance industry
The committee emphasized that in order to improve the
customer services and increase the coverage of the
insurance industry should be opened up to competition. But
at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise
caution
as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the
public confidence in the industry.
Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way
by stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs.100
crores. 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 had
proposed setting up an independent regulatory body.
INDIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Insurers
Insurance industry, as on 1.4.2000, comprised mainly two
players: the state insurers:
Life Insurers:
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
General Insurers:
General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) (with
effect from Dec'2000, a National Reinsurer)
GIC had four subsidary companies, namely (with effect from
Dec'2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from the
parent company and made as independent insurance
companies.
The Oriental Insurance Company Limited
The New India Assurance Company Limited,
National Insurance Company Limited
United India Insurance Company Limited.

Yr: 2000-2001: (From 2nd April '2000 to 31st

December'2001)
Insurance Industry in the year 2000-2001 had 16 new
entrants, namely:
Life Insurers:
S R D Name of the Company
. e a
N g t
o i e
. s
t o
r f
a
t R
 i e
o g
n .

N
u
m
b
e
r

1 1 2 HDFC Standard Life

0 3 Insurance Company Ltd.
1 .
1
0
.
2
0
0
0

2 1 1 Max New York Life

0 5 Insurance Co. Ltd.
4 .
1
1
.
2
0
0
0

3 1 2 ICICI Prudential Life

0 4 Insurance Company Ltd.
5 .
1
1
 .
2
0
0
0

4 1 1 Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual

0 0 Life Insurance Limited
7 .
0
1
.
2
0
0
1

5 1 3 Birla Sun Life Insurance

0 1 Company Ltd.
9 .
0
1
.
2
0
0
1

6 1 1 Tata AIG Life Insurance

1 2 Company Ltd.
0 .
0
2
.
2
0
0
1
7 1 3 SBI Life Insurance Company
1 0 Limited .
1 .
0
3
.
2
0
0
1

8 1 0 ING Vysya Life Insurance

1 2 Company Private Limited
4 .
0
8
.
2
0
0
1

9 1 0 Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

1 3 Company Limited
6 .
0
8
.
2
0
0
1

1 1 0 Metlife India Insurance

0 1 6 Company Pvt. Ltd.
7 .
0
8
 .
2
0
0
1

General Insurers :
S. Registra Date of Name
No tion Registr of the
. Number ation Comp
any

1 102 23.10.2 Roya

000 l
Sund
aram
Allia
nce
Insur
ance
Com
pany
Limit
ed

2 103 23.10.2 Relia

000 nce
Gene
ral
Insur
ance
 Com
pany
Limit
ed.

3 106 04.12.2 IFFC

000 O
Toki
o
Gene
ral
Insur
ance
Co.
Ltd

4 108 22.01.2 TATA

001 AIG
Gene
ral
Insur
ance
Com
pany
Ltd.

5 113 02.05.2 Bajaj

001 Allia
nz
Gene
ral
Insur
ance
Com
pany
Limit
ed
6 115 03.08.2 ICICI
001 Lomb
ard
Gene
ral
Insur
ance
Com
pany
Limit
ed.

Yr: 2001-2002: (From 1st Jan 2001 to Dec. 2002)

Insurance Industry in this year, so far has 5new entrants;

namely

Life Insurers:
S R D Name of the Company
. eg a
N ist t
o ra e
. ti o
on f
N R
u e
m g
be .
r

1 12 0 AMP Sanmar Life

1 3 Insurance Company
. Limited.
0
1
.
2
 0
0
2

2 12 1 Aviva Life
2 4 Insurance Co. India
. Pvt. Ltd.
0
5
.
2
0
0
2
General Insurers :
S Regist Date Name of
. ration of the
N Numbe Regis Company
o r tratio
. n

1 123 15.07 Cholama

.2002 ndalam
General
Insuranc
e
Company
Ltd.

2 124 27.08 Export

. .2002 Credit
Guarant
ee
Corporat
ion Ltd.

3 125 27.08 HDFC-

. .2002 Chubb
 General
Insuranc
e Co.
Ltd.

Yr: 2003-2004 : ( From 1st Jan 2003 till Date)

Insurance Industry in this year, so far has 1new entrants;
namely

Life Insurers:
S Re Da Name of the
. gis te Company
N tra of
o tio Re
. n g.
Nu
mb
er

1 12 06 Sahara India
7 .0 Insurance
2. Company Ltd.
20
04

Yr: 2004-2005 :
Insurance Industry in this year, so far has 1new entrants;
namely

Life Insurers:
S Re Da Name of the
. gis te Company
N trat of
o ion Re
. Nu g.
mb
er

1 128 17 Shriram Life

.1 Insurance
1. Company Ltd.
20
05

INSURANCE BUSINEES:
Insurance business is divided into four classes :
1) Life Insurance
2) Fire Insurance
3) Marine Insurance and
4) Miscellaneous Insurance.
Life Insurers transact life insurance business; General
Insurers transact the rest.
No composites are permitted as per law.
LEGISLATION (as on 1.4.2000):
Insurance is a federal subject in India. The primary
legislation that deals with insurance business in India is:
Insurance Act, 1938, and Insurance Regulatory &
Development Authority Act, 1999.
INSURANCE PRODUCTS (as on 1.4.2000) (for latest
information get in touch with the current insurers – website
information of insurers is provided at the web page for
insurers.

Life Insurance:
Popular Products: Endowment Assurance (Participating),
and Money Back (Participating). More than 80% of the life
insurance business is from these products.
General Insurance:
Fire and Miscellaneous insurance businesses are
predominant. Motor Vehicle insurance is compulsory.
Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) lays down tariff rates for
some of the general insurance products (please visit
website of GIC for details )

2001
New products have been launched by life insurers. These
include linked-products. For details, please visit the
websites of life insurers.
INFORMATION
About the insurance industry, the following documents may
be helpful:
Malhotra Committee Report (The Report of the Committee
on Reforms in the Insurance Sector);
IRDA's First Annual Report - 2001

ENTRY OF FOREIGN PLAYERS

As a few of these players are also in different areas of

financial services, the revenue figures do not relate only to
insurance related income. However, most of the global
insurance majors wish to participate in the opening up of
the industry in India. Players like ING Group, Prudential of
the U.K., Standard Life, Sun Life of Canada and Zurich
Financial Services have already made an entry into the
asset management business in India. Further, a few such as
AIG, Allianz and Zurich Financial Services have started
offering risk management services to Indian corporates.
The entrants into the insurance business in India can be
divided into the following categories:

Major international insurance groups,

Large private groups such as the Tatas, Birlas and Reliance,
who can enter the insurance industry on their own strength
in terms of funds, but who require technical/ managerial
support from foreign participants; the number of Indian
groups belonging to this category is limited as insurance
demands substantial investment in ventures with long
gestation periods. Such groups may involve foreign
insurance companies as they feel that this would be the
best way to proceed,
Indian groups/companies which are not financially very
strong but would still like to enter this new field opening up.
They can, however, enter the business only in joint ventures
with foreign insurance majors. The foreign majors would
provide technical, managerial and equity support. However,
the amount of equity that would be required over the years
is substantial and given the fact that insurance projects
have long gestation, such groups may have difficulty in
meeting fund requirements on their own at a later date;
Banks and financial institutions such as State Bank of India
and ICICI.

GUIDELINES FOR ENTRY OF INSURANCE

Commercial banks in India have a huge distribution network
that cannot be matched by other financial service
organizations. Hence commercial banks have been eyeing
banc assurance as a logical diversification. The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has come out with detailed guidelines
on the entry norms of commercial banks into insurance.

Basically for banks wanting to enter the insurance field,

there are three options. Strong banks, subject to eligibility
norms, will be permitted to set up joint ventures for
undertaking insurance business with risk participation. The
maximum equity contribution such a bank would hold in the
joint venture would normally be 50 per cent of the paid-up
capital of the insurance company. However, a higher level
of equity contribution may be permitted, subject to
divestment of equity within the prescribed period.
Banks which are not eligible as joint venture participants
can make investments up to ten per cent of the net worth of
the bank or Rs. 50 crores, whichever is lower, in the
insurance company for providing infrastructure and services
support. Such participation shall be treated as an
investment and should be without any contingent liability
for the bank.

Finally, any scheduled commercial bank would be permitted

to undertake insurance business as agent of insurance
companies on fee basis, without any risk participation.
Subsidiaries of banks will also be allowed to undertake
distribution of insurance products on agency basis.
However, it may be added here that marketing/ selling of
insurance products is different from banking products,
hence the selling techniques will be different.

Norms for NBFCs

In the case of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) also,
the RBI has come out with detailed guidelines for
diversification into the insurance area. All NBFCs registered
with the RBI and satisfy the eligibility criteria will be
permitted to set up a joint venture company for undertaking
insurance business with risk participation. In fact there are
very few NBFCs which meet the stringent norms laid down
by the RBI. However, any NBFC registered with the RBI
having net owned fund of Rs. 2 crores would be permitted to
undertake insurance business as agent of insurance
companies on fee basis, without any risk participation.

COLLABORATION OF INDIAN COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN

PLAYERS

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company

Limited
Birla Sun Life Insurance is the
coming together of the Aditya Birla
group and Sun Life Financial of
Canada to enter the Indian insurance sector. The Aditya
Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate has over 75
business units in India and overseas with operations in
Canada, USA, UK, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia
and Egypt to name a few.

Foreign Partner:
Sun Life Assurance, Sun Life Financial's primary insurance
business, has excellent ratings with the world's top rating
agencies. With assets under management as on September
30, 2000 totalling more than CDN billion, it ranks amongst
the largest international financial services organisations in
the world.

Today, the Sun Life Financial Group of companies and

partners are represented globally in Canada, the United
States, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India and
Bermuda.

HDFC - Standard Life

HDFC Standard Life Insurance HDFC Standard Life
Insurance Company is a joint
venture between India's largest
housing finance provider, HDFC
and Europe's largest mutual life
assurance company - The Standard Life Assurance
Company (U. K).

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited is the First

Private Sector Life Insurance Company to be granted a
license.

Foreign Partner: Standard Life, UK

Standard Life, UK, founded in 1825, has been at the
forefront of the UK insurance industry for 175 years by
combining sound financial judgement with integrity and
reliability. It is the Largest Mutual Life company in Europe
and has total assets of Rs. 5,50,000 crore.

It is one of the very few insurance companies in the world

to have received 'AAA' rating from two of the leading
international credit rating agencies, Moody's and Standard
& Poor's. Standard Life was recently voted 'Company of the
Decade' in U.K. by the Independent Brokers called IFAs.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

ICICI Prudential Life
Insurance is a joint
venture between the ICICI
Group and Prudential plc,
of the UK. ICICI started
off its operations in 1955 with providing finance for
industrial development, and since then it has diversified
into housing finance, consumer finance, mutual funds to
being a Virtual Universal Bank and its latest venture Life
Insurance.

Foreign Partner:
Established in 1848, Prudential plc. of U.K. has grown to be
the largest life insurance and mutual fund company in U.K.
Prudential plc. has had its presence in Asia for the past 75
years catering to over 1 million customers across 11 Asian
countries.

Prudential is the largest life insurance company in the

United Kingdom (Source : S&P's UK Life Financial Digest,
1998).

ICICI and Prudential came together in 1993 to provide

mutual fund products in India and today are the largest
private sector mutual fund company in India.
Their latest venture ICICI Prudential Life plans to take care
of the insurance needs at various stages of life.

OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance

Established in 1985 as Kotak

Capital Management Finance
promoted by Uday Kotak the
company has come a long way since its entry into corporate
finance. It has dabbled in leasing, auto finance, hire
purchase, investment banking, consumer finance, broking
etc. The company got its name Kotak Mahindra as
industrialists Harish Mahindra and Anand Mahindra picked a
stake in the company. Kotak Mahindra is today one of
India's leading Financial Institutions.
Old Mutual
Old Mutual plc is an international financial services group
based in London with expanding operations in life
assurance, asset management, banking and general
insurance. Old Mutual is listed on the London Stock
Exchange (where it is included on the FTSE 100 Index) and
also on the South African, Namibian, Malawi and Zimbabwe
stock exchanges. It has 156 years of experience in the life
insurance business.
OM Kotak Mahindra
OM Kotak Mahindra is the coming together of Kotak
Mahindra Finance Ltd., and Old Mutual plc to enter the
Indian insurance arena to offer a wide range of innovative
life insurance products.
Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd
Royal Sundaram marks the coming together of Sundaram
Finance, one of India’s most respected and trusted finance
companies, and Royal and SunAlliance, one of the largest
insurance groups in the world. Royal Sundaram, aims to
bring the customer innovative products, developed and
delivered on par with international standards. This vision is
built on the foundation of expertise and superior service
laid by the parent companies, well known as they are of
creating benchmarks in customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Sundaram Finance
Founded in 1954, Sundaram Finance is one of India’s
leading finance companies. Quality in lending, transparency
in transactions, caring for the customer and commitment to
be the best, have made Sundaram Finance one of the most
respected finance companies in India. From being a leader
in automobile financing, Sundaram Finance has expanded
its range of financial services and products to encompass
deposits, leasing, mutual funds and housing finance.

Tata AIG General Insurance Company

The Tata AIG jont venture is a tie up between the
established Tata Group and American
International Group Inc.The Tata Group is one of
the largest and most respected industrial houses
in the country, while AIG is a leading US based
insurance and financial services company with a
presence in over 130 countries and jurisdictions around the
world.

Max New York Life

Max India:
Max India Limited is a multi-
business corporation that has
business interests in telecom
services, bulk pharmaceuticals,
electronic components and
specialty products. it is also the
service-oriented businesses of healthcare, life insurance
and information technology.

New York Life:

New York Life has grown to be a Fortune 100 company and
an expert in life insurance. It was the first insurance
company to offer cash dividends to policy owners. In 1894,
New York Life pioneered the then unheard-of concept of
insuring women at the same rate as men. Thereafter, it
continued to introduce a series of firsts - a disability benefit
clause in 1920, unemployment insurance in 1992, and
complete customer care on the Web in 1998.

Today New York Life has over US billion in assets under

management and over 30,000 agents and employees
worldwide. The October 2000 Fortune Survey named New
York Life amongst the top three most admired life and
health insurance companies worldwide. With over 3 million
policy holders, New York Life is a leading provider of
insurance in a host of countries worldwide.

Metropolitan Life
MetLife India proudly carries a
135 year old legacy of helping
build financial freedom for
everyone.
Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company ("MetLife"), a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:
MET), is a leading provider of insurance and other financial
services to individual and institutional customers. The
MetLife Companies serve approximately 12 million
individuals in the U.S. and companies and institutions with
33 million employees and members, including 88 of the
Fortune 100 companies. MetLife also has, through its
subsidiaries and affiliates, international insurance
operations in 12 countries. For more information about
MetLife, please visit the company's web site at
www.metlife.com.

The Joint Venture

MetLife India Insurance Company Private Limited ("MetLife
India") is the Indian affiliate of Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company ("MetLife"), the number one life insurer in the U.S,
based on approximately US$ 2.4 trillion in life insurance in-
force as of December 31, 2002. MetLife India was
incorporated in April 2001 as a joint venture between
MetLife International Holdings, Inc., The Jammu and
Kashmir Bank, M. Pallonji and Co. Private Limited and other
private investors.
MetLife India benefits from its affiliated company's 135-year
old expertise and track record of establishing successful
operations in emerging markets, in addition to the unique
strengths of its Indian promoters. MetLife India offers a
range of innovative products and aims to build financial
freedom for everyone. MetLife India is headquartered in
Bangalore and has offices in 9 cities and an additional 1,000
outreach points through its distribution channel partners.
For more information about MetLife India, please visit the
company's web site at www.metlifeindia.com.

About ING Vysya Life

ING Vysya Life Insurance
Company Private Limited
entered the private life
insurance industry in India in
September 2001, and in a short span of 18 months has
established itself as a distinctive life insurance brand with
an innovative, attractive and customer friendly product
portfolio and a professional advisor force. It also distributes
products in close cooperation with its sister company ING
Vysya Bank through Bancassurance. Currently, it has over
3000 advisors working from 22 locations across the country
and over 300 employees.
ING Vysya Life Insurance Company is headquartered at
Bangalore and has established a strong presence in the
cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai. In
addition ING Vysya Life operates in Vizag, Vijaywada,
Mangalore, Mysore, Pune, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana
and Jaipur.
 Chapter – 2
Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA)

INSURANCE REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT ACT

(IRDA):
On the recommendation of the Malhotra
Committee Indian Parliament passed Insurance
Regulatory Development Act. (IRDA) in the year
1999. Government of India has set up on interim
Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) for proper
monitoring and control of the insurance industry. The IRA is
headed by a chairman who also controller of insurance and
Chairman of IBC.

IRDA, for the time being prohibits 100% foreign equity in

insurance. It requires the Indian promoters to invest either
wholly in an insurance venture or team up with a foreign
insurer with a cap of 26% of equity for a foreign partner.
The Indian promoter is permitted to divest only after 10
years to the Indian public, through a public offering of
shares, at which tune the equity structure will provide for
equal participation between the Indian and foreign partner
with a share of 26% each in the share capital. IRA is a sole
authority responsible for awarding of licenses. There is no
restriction on the number of licenses and no composite
license for life & non life business.
Composition of Authority under IRDA Act, 1999
As per the section 4 of IRDA Act' 1999, Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA, which was
constituted by an act of parliament) specify the
composition of Authority .The Authority is a ten member
authority consists of:

a chairman
5 whole-time members
4 part-time members

IRDA proposals for new license are:

New players should commence business within 15-18
months.
Trafficking of licenses not to be permitted and shares are
not Transferable without approval.
Report 1999
Report 2000
REPORT 2000:
(General Insurance - Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
In exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 114A of the
Insurance Act, 1938(4 of 1938), the Authority in
consultation with the Insurance Advisory Committee hereby
makes the following regulations, namely:

PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement
These regulations may be called the Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority (Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
and are issued in pursuance of Section 114 of the Act.
They shall come into force from the date of its publication
in the Official Gazette.
These regulations apply to all general insurers transacting
direct insurance business.

The General Insurance Company

The business of general insurance is the monopoly of
General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), owned by the
Government of India. This entity is a single organization
with four subsidiaries. GIC was incorporated as a holding
company in 1992 under the General Insurance Act, 1972.
The insurance business is subject to regulations under the
Insurance Act. 1938, and General Insurance Act, 1972.
Being a fully owned subsidiary of GOI, the paid-up capital of
the GIC is fully subscribed by the govt. and GIC, in turn
owns fully, the paid-up capital of its four subsidiaries.

Before nationalization in November, 1972, a number of

Indian and many foreign companies did general insurance
business in India and this business was linked with their
branches abroad. In addition, this product was also offered
by LIC, some mutual companies and cooperative societies
In fact, on the eve of nationalisation, 68 Indian (including
LIC)and 45 non-Indian entities carried out insurance
business in India. Nationalisation saw the business of all
National Insurance Co. Ltd.
New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
Oriental Fire and General Insurance Co. Ltd.
United India Insurance Co. Ltd.

These organizations absorbed by the General Insurance

Company (GIC) with its four subsidiaries viz. These
subsidiaries carry out the entire general insurance business
in the country and cede 20% of it to GIC through the
obligatory reinsurance premium on a quota share basis.
GIC's direct business is only in the form of aviation
insurance.
The general insurance business is mainly of three types:
Marine,
Fire and,
Miscellaneous.

As of now, fire insurance contributes the largest share in

the business, although its share has been going down.
Miscellaneous business has been the growth area with
health insurance assuming increasing importance in terms
of potential. Marine insurance is relatively less important in
India.

Acknowledging the trend of growth in miscellaneous

business, GIC has recently come out with a host of new
policies/plans/schemes. Personal Accident Policy for
Visitors in Bank Premises, Mediclaim, Householders'
Comprehensive Insurance Policy, Professional Indemnity
Insurance, insurance against liability and contingency for
members of stock exchanges and joint stock companies,
Rejection Insurance on marine products, Nuclear Insurance
Pool for insurance of nuclear power plants and other
nuclear related risks, hut insurance, and Personal Accident
Insurance Social Security Scheme are examples of such
policies. GIC has also become active in mutual funds and
housing as GIC Mutual Fund, GIC Grih Vitta Ltd. Floating of
Loss Prevention Association of India Ltd., and the National
Insurance Academy are some of the other long term
customer friendly activities.

Duties,Powers and Functions of IRDA

Section 14 of IRDA Act, 1999 laysdown the duties,powers
and functions of IRDA..
Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other law for
the time being in force, the Authority shall have the duty to
regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the
insurance business and re-insurance business.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions

contained in sub-section1, the powers and functions of the
Authority shall include, -
Issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, renew,
modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel such registration;
Protection of the interests of the policy holders in matters
concerning
Assigning of policy, nomination by policy holders, insurable
interest,
Settlement of insurance claim, surrender value of policy and
other
Terms and conditions of contracts of insurance;
Specifying requisite qualifications, code of conduct and
practical training for intermediary or insurance
intermediaries and agents;
Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss
assessors;
Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business;
Promoting and regulating professional organisations
connected with the insurance and re-insurance business;
Levying fees and other charges for carrying out the
purposes of this Act;
Calling for information from, undertaking inspection of,
conducting
Enquiries and investigations including audit of the insurers,

IRDA NOTIFICATION

INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT

AUTHORITY (LICENSING OF INSURANCE AGENTS)
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2002
F.No. IRDA/Reg./ 10/2002.--In exercise of the powers
conferred by section 42 and section 114A of the Insurance
Act, 1938 (4 of 1938), the Authority, in consultation with the
Insurance Advisory Committee, hereby makes the following
regulations to amend the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (Licensing of Insurance Agents)
Regulations, 2000, namely:-

1(1) These regulations may be called the Insurance

Regulatory and Development Authority (Licensing of
Insurance Agents) (Amendment) Regulations, 2002.
They shall come into force on the date of their publication
in the Official Gazette.
In the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000, after
sub-regulation 3(2), the following sub-regulations 3(3) and
3(4) shall be added:-

(3)The designated person shall grant or renew the licence

within a period of 3
months from the date of application.

(4)The designated person shall, if the consideration of the

application is likely to get delayed within 60 days of the
receipt of the application, inform the applicant the reasons
for such a delay, and the likely time it would take to do so.”

3 In the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

(Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000 after
regulation 11, the following regulation shall be added:-

“12. From the date of coming into force of the Insurance

Regulatory and Development Authority (Licensing of
Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2002, the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (Licensing of
Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000 or any part thereof
applying to corporate agents shall cease to have any effect,
except as respects things done or omitted to be done there
under.”

Chapter – 3
HDFC Standard Life
Insurance

INDUSTRY PROFILE
Incorporated in 1977 as a public limited company
To specialize in provision of housing finance to individuals,
co-operative societies & the corporate sector
First private sector retail housing finance company
HDFC is listed on both BSE and NSE
Market capitalization (June 2002) - Rs. 79 billion (US $ 1.6
bn)

P
.

COMPANY PROFILE

COMPANY NAME: HDFC STANADARD LIFE

INSURANCE CO.

INDIAN PARTNER: HDFC BANK

FORIGN PARTNER: STANDARD LIFE

(U.K )

EQUITY RATIO: 74:26

COMMENCEMENT DATE: January 1995

FIELD OF OPERATION: LIFE

INSURANCE

CEO OF THE COMPANY: Deepak

Satawalekar
CEO & MD –
HDFC SL

About the company:

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Limited is a joint venture between HDFC of
India & Standard Life of UK wherein HDFC has a stake of 81.4% and
Standard Life a stake of 18. 6%.
 HDFC is a AAA rated first private sector retail housing finance company.
Strong Brand, High service standard and high quality loan portfolio are
some of its strengths.
Standard Life UK is the largest mutual life insurance company in Europe
with assets over Rs 5, 81,000 crores (£ 83.2 bn)
Achievements
HDFC Standard Life Insurance is the first private life insurer to re-enter the
life insurance market in India. HDFCSL was the first life insurer to be
granted a certificate of registration incorporated on 14th August 2000.
Ranked as India’s most respected private insurance company in 2004,
HDFCSL seeks to mirror the success of its parent company and be a
yardstick by which all other insurance companies are measured.
During the year 2003-04, the company crossed Rs. 13,500 Crore in Sum
Assured covering 450,000 lives and registered a 76% growth in new
business premium.
Growth Strategy
The future growth strategy of HDFCSL is to reach out to more and more
customers. Company is strengthening their presence in the existing
markets and also it is targeting new market, focusing on offering
customized solutions and maintaining excellent service standards.

HDFC Standard Life Products

Life Insurance Products are basically classified into 4 sub segments:
Protection – Low Premium cost, High-Risk Cover
Investment – Aim for long term real growth and steady accumulation of
funds
Pension – Provide for retirement expenses and income at old age.
Savings – Helps to save for a particular event in future

Protection Investment

• Term Assurance Plan • Single Premium

Whole of Life Plan
• Loan Cover Term
Assurance Plan

• Endowment Assurance
Plan
• Personal Pension Plan
• Unit Linked Endowment
Plan
• Unit Linked Pension Plan
• Children’s Plan
• Unit Linked Young Star
Saving
Pension

Main Text

The main objective of the project deals into:

Strengthening the current sales force of the VIKASPURI Branch
(appointing financial consultant) and widening the distribution network.
This is done by appointing more and more new financial consultants for
the company. By appointing a new consultant he adds to the existing
strength of the distribution channel and makes it stronger.
Business development and revenue generation through newly appointed
financial consultant.
As a new consultant not only strengthen the existing sales force but he
also brings some fresh business to the company, as every person has his
or her own natural market which he explores first and after that gets
business from other people and source.
To know the level of interest and behavior shown & follow up of people on
insurance products marketing.
Also this project deals with the interest shown by the people while
approaching them and finally appointing him or her as financial consultant.
Some people have good natural market and existing client base like
Chartered Accountant, tax planner but they are afraid of selling as they
fear rejection. Also some people who don’t have good natural market are
ready to take initiative for earning their commission as life Insurance
company offers good commission which is up to 40% of first premium
received.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN:
This report is basically a collection and perceptive
examination of the Executive channel distribution of HDFC
STANDARD LIFE Insurance Company. The study has been a
blend of field exploration as well desk research.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:
To study the channel distribution of Insurance Industry and
to understand consumer perception with regard to the
Insurance Sector and its upcoming growth stratum.
SAMPLE DESIGN:
The study is conducted upon the Sample survey is
conducted in Delhi and its suburbs with the help of Simple
random sampling method.

SAMPLE SIZE: 100 People

Methodology used (Modus operandi)

Setting up of distribution channel, requires identifying potential prospects

that not only have good natural markets but also willing to sell insurance
product with keen interest. For this purpose various activities are done for
the lead generation.
Lead generated is used for the appointment of financial consultant .The
lead is generated by following methods

DATA COLLECTION SOURCES:

PRIMARY SOURCES- Sample survey, Personal Interviews,

Management meetings, Face to face communication with
lawyers, Chartered Accountants and Property Dealers.

SECONDARY SOURCES- Internet archives, Official journals,

magazines, Insurance literature, Web portals.
Segmentation: People Whom Company is approaching for becoming
financial consultant (F.C):

Segmentation

By Professions
Geographically
(Psychographic)

Bandra Chartered Accountant

Khar Tax Planner

Santacruz
Insurance consultant

Vile Parle
Stock Broker

DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS: High Net worth

Graphical representation Individual (HNI)
Statistical Data
Pie Charts
Histograms
FACT/ KEY FINDINGS:
People are ignorant about the Insurance Sector.
LIC dominated Indian Insurance Sector as it is 50 year old
company.
HDFC SLIC 2nd topped amongst private players.
Insurance Sector provides 7% of country’s GDP.
New business premium - Rs. 232.5 crore
Growth - 76%
Corporate agency channel, including its bancassurance
business grew by 150% to Rs 50 cr
Unit linked Products – 27%
 Company with largest distribution network among private
insurers

ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION

After gathering the data, an in-depth analysis was done by
data interpretation process. Then project report was
compiled and formulated for the final assessment.

LIMITATIONS
Survey is restricted to Delhi,NCR and its suburbs only.
The study is limited to Lawyers, Chartered Accountants and
Property dealers and home makers only.
The study was undertaken on a small account due to
paucity of time and resources.
The sample size chosen after random selection through tele
calling thus results of the low as compared to direct
interaction.

MARKET POSITION

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd.

In the total market share, LIC has reduced its share from
91% to 70%. This means that private insurance players
have got more margins in their hands which have increased
from 9% to 30% in last 2years only.
 In the private market share, HDFC SLIC leads with 39% of
the market share in its hand followed by Bajaj Allianz with
18% shares and then comes Birla Sun Life with 15% market
shares.
HDFC SLIC has been maintaining its NO 2nd position since
last 5 years because of its prolific product range and
commanding brand equity. It has a highest capital base of
Rs. 925 crores and a team of more than 56,300 well-trained
advisors. It enjoys a brand recall rate of 92% and gives
credit of its success to the 5 core values-
Integrity
Customer
Boundary Less
Ownership
Passion

Private share in the market

Bajaj Allianz ICICI

18% Prudential
Birla Sun 39%
Life
ICICI Prudential
15% Tata AIG
Max NeSTANDARD
HDFC w
HDFC SLIFE
td HDFC Std Life
York Life Tata AIG Max NewYork Life
Life
8% 6% Birla Sun Life
HDFC Standard 14%
Life Insurance Company
Bajajis az joint
venture
Allian
between India's largest housing finance provider, HDFC and
Europe's largest mutual life assurance company The
Standard Life Assurance Company (U. K).
Standard Life, UK, founded in 1825, has been at the
forefront of the UK insurance industry for 175 years by
combining sound financial judgment with integrity and
reliability.
It is the Largest Mutual Life company in Europe and has
total assets of Rs. 5, 50,000 crore.

Training activities for agents/advisors:

As per IRDA guidelines, 100hrs training is compulsory.
Both online & classroom training are available.
Training is compulsory with both part-time & full time
Options.
A clear exam is conducted by IRDA, the minimum
qualification required is-
12th pass for urban areas
10th pass for rural areas.

Commission Structure:
Depends on the product, like on savings
20-40% 1st year premium.
On investment 2%
On pension 7.5%
Modes & ways through which the company recruits agents:
Direct contacts.
Newspaper adds.
Consultants.
Member of the company can introduce a new member.
Current agent force:
Around 500-700 in Delhi.
Top 5 USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition) Of HDFC Std.Life:
Best insurer according to Outlook.
Well supported by foreign 1st private sector life insurance
Company to be granted a license.
Declared bonus every year from the day of incorporation
(only company)
Provides fast service to the customers in terms of claim

COMPETITOR PROFILING

LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA (LIC)

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) was established about
52 years ago with a view to provide an insurance cover
against various risks in life. A monolith then, the
corporation, enjoyed a monopoly status and became
synonymous with life insurance.
Its main asset is its staff strength of 1.24 lakh employees
and 2,048 branches and over six-lakh agency force.
At the industry level, along with the Government and the
GIC, it has helped establish the National Insurance
Academy. It presently transacts individual life insurance
businesses, group insurance businesses, social security
schemes and pensions, grants housing loans through its
subsidiary; and markets savings and investment products
through its mutual fund. It pays off about Rs 6,000 crore
annually to 5.6 million policyholders.
Training activities for agents/advisors:
As per IRDA, 100hrs training is compulsory for 17 days.
Only classroom training is available.
Only full-time training is given.
(ICICI Prudential advantage: - Part time option available.)
Commission Structure:
Depends on the plan or the product / policy which the
advisor sells to the customer. Every policy has a
commission amount fixed on it as per specifications of
IRDA.

Modes & ways through which the company recruits agents:

- Through development officers.
- Through corporate agencies (Bankers and Brokers).
- Carrier agent branch (i) rural carrier agent
(ii) Urban carrier agent.

Current agent force

Around 30000-35000 agents in Delhi

Top 5 USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition) Of LIC

TRUST (since 1956), ORG marks survey has rated LIC most
trusted branch in life insurance
Having a vast network of 2050 branches and nearly 10 lakh
agents.
Best claim performance in the world by Depth and Maturity
claim.
A government-undertaken company ensuring safe and
corruption free insurance.
Variety of plans available to match the customer’s needs.

MAX NEW YORK LIFE

Max India:
Max India Limited is a multi-business corporation that has
business interests in telecom services, bulk
pharmaceuticals, electronic components and specialty
products. It is also the service-oriented businesses of
healthcare, life insurance and information technology.
New York Life:
New York Life has grown to be a Fortune 100 company and
an expert in life insurance. It was the first insurance
company to offer cash dividends to policy owners.
In 1894, New York Life pioneered the then unheard-of
concept of insuring women at the same rate as men.
Thereafter, it continued to introduce a series of firsts - a
disability benefit clause in 1920, unemployment insurance
in 1992, and complete customer care on the Web in 1998.
Today New York Life has over US billion in assets under
management and over 30,000 agents and employees
worldwide. The October 2000 Fortune Survey named New
York Life amongst the top three most admired life and
health insurance companies worldwide.

Training activities for agents/advisors:

As per IRDA, 100hrs training is compulsory.
Only classroom training is available.
Only fulltime training is given.
(HDFC Standard Life advantage: - Part time option
available.)

Commission Structure:
Minimum - 2%
Maximum – 40%.
Varies from product to product- 25%, 7.5%, 10% & 15%.
Modes & ways through which the company recruits agents:
Reference (only)
Max New York life recruits agents only on basis of
reference.
Current agent force:
Around 2000-3000 in Delhi.

Top 5 USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition) Of Max New York:

Training, which is compulsory for every agent/advisor so
that they work according to the company’s working style.
Emphasizes on whole life products.
Flexibility of the product to adapt to customers changing
needs in future.
Believes in healthy competition with other life insurance
companies.
Agent is the power.

EXECUTIVE CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION

HDFC Standard Life pioneered the multi-channel
distribution model, which encompasses bank tie-ups,
corporate agents, brokers as well as advisors.
The company started with a base of 62 advisors and then
slowly expanded its distribution channels through
bancassurance, direct marketing, and other measures.
HDFC SLIC also ventured into the rural segment through
various state-level and non-government organizations.
Today the company has one of the widest distribution
networks with 153 branches in 110 locations spread across
the country. On service, the focus is to create a variety of
touch points in order to enable customers to interact easily
with the company. There are basically three channels of
distribution under HDFC Standard Life Insurance.
Bancassurance
Direct marketing
Tied-agency / Corporate Agents/ Financial Advisors

BANCASSURANCE
Banc assurance symbolizes the convergence of banking and
insurance. The term has its origins in France and involves
distribution of insurance products through a bank's branch
network.
Banks and Life insurers build a mutually beneficial
relationship and offer their customers a great deal of value-
add in the process. Banks give life insurance companies an
opportunity to increase their distribution presence, and they
also earn a fee income from the arrangement.
Currently HDFC Standard Life Insurance have seven
partners – HDFC Bank,HDFC Security,HDFC Home Loan,
HDFC Mutual Fund,HDFC Reality.com,HDFC Deposit.

ADVANTAGES OF BANCASSURANCE
Advantages to banks
Productivity of the employees increases.
By providing customers with both the services under one
roof, they can improve overall customer satisfaction
resulting in higher customer retention levels.
Increase in return on assets by building fee income through
the sale of insurance products.
Can leverage on face-to-face contacts and awareness about
the financial conditions of customers to sell insurance
products.
Banks can cross sell insurance products E.g. Term
insurance products with loans.
Advantages to insurers
Insurers can exploit the banks' wide network of branches
for distribution of products. The penetration of banks'
branches into the rural areas can be utilized to sell
products in those areas.
Customer database like customers' financial standing,
spending habits, investment and purchase capability can be
used to customize products and sell accordingly.
Since banks have already established relationship with
customers, conversion ratio of leads to sales is likely to be
high. Further service aspect can also be tackled easily.
Advantages to consumers
Comprehensive financial advisory services under one roof.
i.e., insurance services along with other financial services
such as banking, mutual funds, personal loans etc.
Enhanced convenience on the part of the insured
Easy accesses for claims, as banks are a regular go.
Innovative and better product ranges
HDFC SLIC was a pioneer in offering life insurance solutions
through banks. Within a short span of two years, and with
nearly a large number of partners, Bank has emerged as a
vital component of the company's sales and distribution
strategy, contributing to approximately one third of
company's total business.
The business philosophy at Bank is to leverage distribution
synergies with our partners and add value to its customers
as well as the partners. Flexibility, adaptation and
experimenting with new ideas are the hallmarks of this
channel.

DIRECT MARKETING
Direct marketing program of HDFC Standard life insurance
is a powerful way to communicate with best prospects and
customers—targeted direct marketing efforts are necessary
for acquiring more and more customers for the company.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company’s directing
marketing distribution channel gives the opportunity to:
Create an effective direct marketing plan
Acquire new customers
Gain insight into your direct marketing customer base
Leverage relationships with your existing customers
Improve customer retention and decrease churn
Target new direct marketing opportunities
Assist with new product development

The Direct Marketing function at HDFC Standard Life

Insurance covers an array of activities - brand and media
management, channel support, direct marketing and
corporate communications. The Brand and Communications
team is in charge of advertising, consumer research, media
planning & buying and Public Relations; that helps develop
and nurture HDFC Standard corporate identity while
effectively communicating its varied product offerings to
the customer. Channel marketing provides support to the
sales force by streamlining the design and development of
collaterals and sales tools across distribution channels. The
Direct marketing team was set up to generate high quality
leads for profitable business. The team achieves this
through target database acquisition and communicating
customized product information through e-mailers,
telemarketing and innovative direct mailers.
HDFC Standard Life has been advertising in outdoor, TV and
press. The company launched a corporate television
campaign – Saat Phere – which took the emotions and
thoughts of initial Sindoor corporate film a few steps
The company has also undertaken press and internet
campaigns to inform customers about benefits of some of
its products, particularly retirement solutions.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance also introduced some
innovations in the category, such as: having a tax planner
by the name of Chintamani on radio, who would answer
consumer’s queries about the role of insurance in financial
planning.
Other initiatives included tie-up with the Dabbawalla
Organisation in Mumbai for a direct marketing exercise, to
talk to the customer through a non-cluttered route, and
thereby have a higher impact. The direct mailer was about
HDFC SLIC retirement solutions and the tax benefits that
one can avail of buy investing in any of these. About
100,000 direct mailers were attached to the ‘dabbas’, in
areas such as Churchgate, Bandra and Andheri where there
are mostly office-goers.
In addition to advertising, the company has also initiated
several activities to raise consumer awareness about life
insurance and HDFC Standard Life. It includes seminars –
HDFC SLIC regularly holds consumer awareness meets on
‘the need for retirement planning’ in different cities such as
Pune, Aurangabad, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Bangalore and
Mangalore. These are very well attended and have
contributed significantly towards increasing awareness
about the category and the company. Apart from this, They
have also entered into alliances with telecom companies,
as well as companies like BPCL and Dominos.

TIED-AGENCY / CORPORATE AGENTS/ FINANCIAL

ADVISORS
Tied agency comprising a large advisor force that targets
various customer segments. An advisor is a representative
of an insurance company authorized to sell insurance
policies, who has completed the regulatory requirements
for being an advisor as prescribed by the insurance
regulatory and development authority holds a current and
valid license issued by IRDA to act as a life insurance agent
and is registered as an advisor with the Insurance
Company.
The agent draws commissions from the insurer irrespective
of the quality of service he provides to the policyholder and,
as long as the policy is in force and premiums are being
paid.
The IRDA has prescribed a code of conduct for agents and
may cancel the agent’s license in case of gross misconduct
and fraud.
Today in life insurance companies’ advisors are known to
be the backbone of the whole system. Advisors/agents do
not work on monthly payroll basis; they receive a certain
commission on the policies they sell to the clients.
Tied Agency is the largest distribution channel of HDFC
Standard Life. The strength of tied agency lies in an
aggressive strategy of expanding and procuring quality
business. With focus on sales & people development, tied
agency has emerged as a robust, predictable and
sustainable business model.
AWARDS & ACCOLADE
Excellence in service industry by the Indian Institute of
Marketing Management & Top Management Club (Pune) –
1998
Rated as one of the best companies in India for strategy &
management and investor relations by Asiamoney - 1998
Best presented accounts 1994-95 and 1996-97 (3rd place) -
in the SAARC region by the South Asian Federation of
Accounts in the financial sector category
One of the 5 best Indian Boards by Business Today –1997
Most competitive Indian company by Euromoney – 1997
India’s best managed company by Asia money magazine -
1995 and 1996
United Nations Scroll of Honour – 1991
Rated as the Best Non-Banking Financial Company in Asia
by Institutional Investor Research Group – 2002
Euromoney identified HDFC as one of Asia’s top 10 best
managed companies in the finance sector – 2001
Asiamoney declared HDFC as the second best managed
company in India – 2001
CII-EXIM Bank Comendation Certificate for commitment to
Total Quality Management – 2000
IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award in the
service category – 1999
Shield for the best presented accounts for banks and
financial institutions - over 11 times (8 years in a row)
INTERPRETETION:
Data interpretation analysis shows that there is huge
difference in the ratio of Tied agency as compare to other
channels of distribution. The large chunk of market is
covered with the help of Tied agency and rest is through
Bancassurance and direct marketing. The main reason is
that public find it more convenient to associate with the
company through Agents because they provide them help at
every step.
EMPANELMENT OF ADVISORS

The eligibility required to become an advisor/agent is that

he/she should be 12th pass to operate in urban area and 10th
pass for rural areas. Before a person becomes an
advisor/agent he/she has to undergo 100hrs training
according to IRDA norms, which is compulsory.
A person who wants to be an advisor has first to fill a
recruitment form and has to pay a fee of Rs. 1000/- in favor
of HDFC SLIC. Then, he has to pass a test, which is
compiled by IRDA. After he gets through that test he is
awarded a license and then his training starts in the
company regarding the insurance business.HDFC SLIC
provides this training in 3 modes as per the suitability of the
advisors viz: -
Classroom training: - it is a Full Time Training with a period
of 15 days regular between 9 am to 5pm at the training
centers allotted to the advisor.
Online training: - it is another mode of training where the
company provides CD’S and books to the advisor for his own
study.
Classroom training: - it is a Part Time Training with a period
of 36 days regular between 5 pm to 8 pm at the training
center only.
Advisor Role:
To provide ongoing financial advice for his/her clients:
Identify future clients
Making appointments
Conduct financial review meetings with prospects/clients.
Close sales
Get referrals
Provide service to clients.
Follows internal sales and reporting system.
Working Environment of an Advisor/Agent
To be a part of world-class sales team.
Liberty to work from any place- office / residence / any
branch in the city.
Work full time or part time (an advisor can work part time
by undergoing only 50hrs of training and 100hrs training is
for full time advisors.)
No constraints of a 9 to 5 office–based job
Set client meetings at his/her own convenience; decide own
working hours
Flexible career.
Opportunities for an Advisor/agent
Start your own business with virtually zero investment.
Flexible working environment.
Be your own boss.
Unlimited earning potential.
Leverage your contacts.
Get national and International reorganization.
To be a part of a world-class team.
Make a positive difference in other’s lives.

BENEFITS OF BEING A FINANCIAL ADVISOR

MONETARY BENEFITS
Commission:- Different products will have different
commission structures. This commission varies between
15% to 40%.
Renewal Commission:- It is paid at the following rates:
2nd yr: onwards.
Bonus: - Every year company declares bonus in favour of
financial advisors depending upon the company’s over all
profit.
Incentives:- Financial advisors are provided incentives
when they achieve certain targets.

NON MONETARY BENEFITS

Rewards & Recognition:-
HDFC Standard Debut Star Club for Newcomers: It is a way
of recognizing new talents and taking top performers to the
exiting locations across India providing them opportunity to
share ideas with one another.
Ongoing contests: Every now and then company conducts
programs and contest to recognize and reward the advisors
with prizes like Gold coins, DVD Players, Laptops, Overseas
Trips and even Mercedes Benz.
Sales convention exotic locales: Top performers get
selected to go to all expense paid Sales Conventions at
exotic locations throughout India and Overseas.
Grand perk program: This program entitles advisors two
special benefits depending upon their categorization into
Platinum, Gold and silver categories.
MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) Eligibility: Advisor who
achieve a premium of over a certain value in a year are
eligible to qualify of member ship of Million Dollar Round
Table (MDRT) which is an International forum that
recognizes the world’s most successful agents in an annual
get together in a global destination.HDFC Standard has the
highest number of MDRT eligibility amongst all private
players.

CAREER PROGRESSION AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

Pinnacle :-
Advisors those who are ambitious go getters, high
performance with leadership ability can lead to a manager
status with in HDFC Standard. Pinnacle is a program of
sustained career progression of advisors to Unit Manager; A
Unit Manager has a full time career within HDFC Standard
Life resulting in increased monetary benefits and better
growth prospects. It is also an opportunity to get promoted
to agency manager and Senior Agency Manager with a
significantly higher earning potential.

Mobile Tigers:- The advisors recognized as “Mobile Tigers”

also become part time trainers who conduct foundation
programs and share best practices with other advisors
while earning remuneration for this training.
Simultaneously, they continue to build their business as Life
Insurance Advisors.
MOST PREFERRED PROFILES TO RECRUIT AS
ADVISORS/AGENTS
Housewives
Income Tax Consultant
Chartered Accountant
Sales Personnel’s working in
Automobile Dealership
Credit Card Co.
Telecom
Mutual Fund
M R’s
Doctors
Teachers
VRS Holders
Advisors of other insurance companies
Post Office Agents
Business Men
Accountants
CEO in an organization
Stock Brokers

HOW DOES AN ADVISOR/AGENT WORK

Firstly an advisor/agent has to make a list of 100 people

that he/she knows.
Then the Advisor/agent makes a call to these clients and
tries to fix an appointment.
When an appointment is fixed the advisor/agent meets the
customer & tries to sell the product.
After that the advisor/agent asks for the reference of
maximum number of people from the client.
The reference is asked in context to make future calls and
the whole procedure is repeated again.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

During my Summer Internship that I did in HDFC Standard
Life Insurance Company, I developed the basic
understanding of how this industry works and the
knowledge gained here helped me a lot to give the
recommendations as stated below:

I observed that people in general have the perception that

insurance is all about getting rebate in tax. People should
be made realize that it is a great way of saving for the
future too. There is a high need for education and
awareness of the benefits that insurance policies provide.

The process of empanelment of financial advisors is very

dragging and tedious thus, it should be made trouble-free
and less time-consuming.

I monitored that LIC Agents by and large complaint of LOW

returns and therefore HDFC Standard can strike on this
circumference of LIC.

It is very essential for HDFC Standard Life Insurance to win

the trust of the people. I noticed that LIC dominates the
market hence; HDFC Standard Life Insurance needs to encash
its brand name.

Analysis revealed that HDFC Standard Life Insurance is

getting only 15% of business through bancassurance and
25% through direct marketing in view of that, Company
should try to give more attention on these two channels of
distribution and at the same time toughen its sales force
(agents).
CONTENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Insurance industry is growing rapidly day-by-day. India itself

has a population of 1.2billion out of which roughly 5% of the
middle class people are insured. This clearly demonstrates
that citizens are not insured merely because they don’t
know much about Insurance sector and its benefits.
Generally Insurance is considered as Tax Saving device
instead of other implied long term financial benefits.
In order to study the environment for the above mentioned
status, I did a market research classifying diverse contour
of the public and giving them a Business Opportunity to join
HDFC Standard Life as an advisor/agent.
A marketplace analysis was done on life insurance
companies. Sample questionnaire was formulated related to
the Insurance Sector.
The vicinity covered up in this analysis was Delhi and its
suburbs. The Analysis inculcates information of public
response with respect to the Insurance Sector and its
upcoming growth stratum.

Power Position Your Agency by Troy Korsgaden.

Insurance Chronicle, ICFAI Press.
Life Insurance revised addition, Insurance Institute of India.
www.hdfcinsurance.co.in
www.google.co.in
www.hdfcbank.com
Official journals of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co.
www.bimaonline.com
Study material provided by the company