A PROJECT REPORT

Titled
“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with
Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”

A Project Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award
of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(Industry Integrated)

TO

RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, BHOPAL

(MADURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY, MADURAI )

Submitted by

ARIF IRFAN
Reg No: A8750105

Under the guidance of

Mrs. SUMITA VYAS

RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL

56/1, BHADBHADA ROAD ,
NEAR DEPOT SQUARE, BHOPAL [M.P.]

1
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project Report

Titled
“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with
Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(Industry Integrated)

TO
RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, BHOPAL
(MADURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY, MADURAI)

Is a record of bonafide Training carried out by

ARIF IRFAN
Under my supervision and guidance and that no part of this report has
been submitted for the award of any other degree/diploma/
Fellowship or similar titles or prizes.

FACULTY GUIDE TRAINING GUIDE

Signature:

Name: Mrs. SUMITA VYAS Signature seal of the Learning

Centre
Sr. Lecturer , RBS BHOPAL

2
 STUDENT’S DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Project Report conducted

Titled
“A comparative study on Birla Sun Life Insurance with
Max New York Life & HDFC Standard Life”

Under the guidance of

Mrs. SUMITA VYAS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(Industry Integrated)

TO
RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, BHOPAL
MAURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY, MADURAI

Is my original work and the same has not been submitted for the
Award of any other Degree/Diploma/Fellowship or other similar titles
Or prizes.

Place: Bhopal ARIF IRFAN

Date: 03/01/10 Reg. No: A8750105

3
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Particular Page no.

• Acknowledgement 05
• Preface 06
• Executive Summary 07
• Research Objectives 08
• Research Methodology 08
• Research Design 09
• Sampling Methodology 10
• Sampling Size 10
• Limitation 10
• Introduction 11
• Company Profile 17
• Organization Members 22
• Products 24
• SWOT Analysis 44
• Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) 46
• Competitors 49
• Data Analysis & Interpretation 54
• Finding & Suggestions 60
• Conclusion 61
• Bibliography 62
• Questionnaire (Annexure 1) 63

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At every stage of my project work, I have received encouragement

and support from my parents and friends to whom I am very
thankful for their contributions.

I wish to place my record my deep sense of gratitude to my

project guide Mrs. SUMITA VYAS, Sr. Lecturer (HR) for her
constant motivation and valuable guidance throughout the project
work. I express my gratitude to Mr. Kartik Jain, Director of ‘RAI
BUSINESS SCHOOL’ for his valuable suggestions and advices
throughout the project course. The great efforts put in by H.O.D.
Mrs.Swati Tiwari cannot be quantified.

Finally I would like to thank my all friends for the

cooperation extended to complete this project. I also extend my
thanks to other faculty members for their cooperation during my
course.

Place: Bhopal
Date :03/01/10 ARIF IRFAN

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.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project has been a great learning experience for me, at the
same time it gave me enough scope to implement my analytical
ability.
The first part gives an insight about the Insurance. It is purely
based on whatever I learned at Birla Sun Life. One can have a brief
knowledge about Insurance and all its basics through the project.
Other than that the real servings come when one moves ahead.

At BIRLA SUN LIFE, initially the trainees were imparted process

and product knowledge. They were given sufficient time to know
about the products and also about sales and distribution channel.
They had to work with sales representative of the distributor and
think of ways of improving the sales and distribution channel and
implementing them. The main aim was to increase sales and for
this different ways were tried and implemented.

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

 To analyze Birla Sun Life Insurance strategy against its

competitors.

 Understanding in detail about Birla Sun Life Insurance.

 To study the customer servicing strategy of Birla Sun Life

Insurance.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

While making a study we very often look for what type of research
methodology is to be used in this type of study. For
implementation of a proper research methodology we have to first
understand the meaning of research.
Research is a process with the help of which new concepts arises.
It is the increase in the actual knowledge stock. It can be called as
movement from known to unknown and vice-versa. It is also a
continuous process. It is a scientific as well as systematic process,
which includes defining and redefining the problem to develop

8
hypothesis, to collect and define the 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
Intermediataries, Investors.
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.

9
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

Initially, a rough draft of questionnaire was prepared keeping in

mind the objective of the research. A pilot study was done in order
to know the accuracy of the Questionnaire. The final Questionnaire
was arrived only after certain important changes were done. Thus
my sampling comes out to be judgmental and convenient.

Sample Size

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

received from 25 People who submitted us the duly filled
questionnaire.

LIMITATIONS

 Time was the major constraint.

 Some of the respondents were not cooperative.
 Some respondents were hesitating to give business details.

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 INTRODUCTION

Life Insurance

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

insurance. As in all insurance, the insured transfers a risk to the
insurer. The insured pays a premium and receives a policy in
exchange. The risk assumed by the insurer is the risk of death of
the insured.

How life insurance works

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

the insured, and the owner of the policy (policyholder), although
the owner and the insured are often the same person. For example,
if John Smith buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner
and the insured. But if Mary Smith, his wife, buys a policy on
John's life, she is the owner and he is the insured. The owner of the
policy is called the grantee (he or she will be the person who will
pay for the policy). Another important person involved is 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

11
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

12
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 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

13
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.

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.

14
 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).
 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.

15
 Insurance customer sales cycle

Service

Follow-Up

Close sale- Purchase

Proposal

Sales desire-
Response

Information

Inquiry

Awareness

16
 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 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

17
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.

18
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 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

19
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

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

20
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

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.

21
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

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

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

22
Management
Team
Mr. Vikram Mehmi Mr. Mayank Bathwal
President & Chief Chief Financial Officer
Executive Officer

Mr. Mario Braganza Mr. E.N. Goveia

Chief Operating Officer Head - Direct Sales
Force

Mr. Amit Punchhi Mr. Bhavesh Sanghvi

Senior Vice President - Head - Group Life &
Third Party Distribution Pensions

Mr. Snehal Shah Ms. Anjana Grewal

Senior Vice President – Senior Vice President -
Operations Marketing &
Communications

Mr. Rajesh Bhojani Mr. K.H.

Senior Vice President - Venkatachalam
DSF Expansion Vice President - Human
Resource

Mr. Fabien Jeudy Mr. Lalit Vermani

Vice President, Chief & Vice President -
Appointed Actuary Compliance

Mr. Melvyn D'souza Mr. Vikram Kotak

Vice President - Risk Vice President -
Management and Internal Investments
Audit

Mr. Bhalachandra
Nayak
Vice President - Strategy
23
 PRODUCTS

DETAIL OF PRODUCTS
Individual Life

24
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

25
 Children's Dream Plan

Insurance Plans

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

7. Rural Plans

26
8. Plans for NRIs

9. Keyman Plans

10. Riders

Protection Plans

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.

You can also enhance the above two policies by adding

Accident & Disability Benefit Rider and Waiver of
Premium Rider (WOP) .

27
 Savings Plans

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.
• At the end of the term, the higher of the value of
units or the guaranteed value* is paid. On death, Sum

28
 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.

29
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

30
 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.

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.

31
 • 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
• 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.

32
You can also enhance your policy by adding Accident &
Disability Benefit Rider and Critical Illness Rider.

Child Plans

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 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:

33
 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 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.

34
Investment Plans

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 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.

35
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.
Retirement Plans

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.

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

36
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.

Group Solutions

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

37
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.

38
Group Superannuation Plan : A flexible scheme
(defined benefit and defined contribution) to provide a
retirement kitty for each member of the group.

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

39
funds. The plan can also be customized to structure
schemes that can provide benefits beyond the statutory
obligations.

Employee Benefits :

• 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:

40
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.

Rural Plans

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:

41
  Life Cover and Savings
 Regular Premiums
 Age at entry 18 - 45 Yrs
 Premium Mode Half Yearly / Yearly
 Term 5,10,15 Yrs
 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

Plans for NRIs

42
NRI Plans:

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.

43
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.

44
 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.

45
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.

46
 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.

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.

47
 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 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

48
 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 insuranceagents.

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 Endowment

o Life Pay Money Back
o Life Gain Plus 20
o Life Gain Plus 25
o 20-Year Endowment

Unit Linked:

49
 o Life Maker Premium
o Life Maker Gold
o Life Maker Platinum
o Life Maker Pension
o Life Invest

GROUP INSURANCE

o Group Term Life

o Group Gratuity
o Employee Deposit Linked Insurance
o Credit Shield
o Unit Linked Group Gratuity
o Unit Linked Group Superannuation

RURAL INSURANCE

o Max Suraksha
o Easy Term
o Max Mangal Endowment
o 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.

50
HDFC standard life insurance co. profile

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

51
 • 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

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

52
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.

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

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

of policy?

53
 No of Peoples Have BSLI Plan

Health,
10%

Retierment
Health
, 22%
Retierment
Life
Life, 68%

Inference
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?

54
 No. of people satisfied with the plan

28%
Yes
No
72%

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.

Ques.3 Are you satisfied with the services provided by the

company regarding new plans and schemes?

55
 No. of people satisfied w ith the
services provided by the company

18%

Yes
No
82%

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.

56
Ques.4 Are you interested to make more investments in BSLI ?

No. of Peoples want to more

investment in BSLI

33%

Yes
No
67%

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.

57
Ques. 5 Do you have any other Insurance Plan apart from
BSLI?

LIC
12%
8% BSLI

11% BAJAJ ALIYANZ

60% ICICI
9%
Others

58
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.

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

59
 People ready to switch to attractive
Schemes if offered by other
companies

18%
Yes
No
82%

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.

FINDING & SUGGESTIONS

60
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.

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.

Leveraging technology to service customers quickly, efficiently

and conveniently.

1) Developing and implementing superior risk

management and investment strategies to offer sustainable and

stable returns to our policyholders.

2) Company should target each and every class of the

society

3) Company should provide full information to the

customers before targeting so they can take interest .

61
 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.

62
 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

• Birlasunlife New Advisor Book

• www.google.com

63
 (Annexure 1)

QUESTIONNAIRE

I, Arif Irfan Student of Rai Business School, pursuing my

MBA (Industry Integrated), 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 -----------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

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

64
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?

65