CHAPTER II

Research Methodology
A systematic process and methodology is needed to conduct a research in a successful manner.

This is an exploratory study of LIC and ICICI Prudential Private Insurance Companies in India.
There are twenty two private insurance companies in India out of these LIC and ICICI Prudential
Private Insurance Company both are selected for the study purpose. The questionnaire is framed
and circulated to each of these customers in order to know the performance of the company. In
order to produce the present information tool the methodology is divided into two parts i.e. :

2.1 Objectives of Study

1. To know overall insurance and medical insurance concept

2. To understand the need for Health insurance.
3. To know the principal of insurance indemnity.
4. To know the types and benefits of Health insurance.
5. To analyses the performance of New India Insurance Co Ltd.
6. To know the Precautionary measures to be taken while taking and claiming the policy.
7. To understand the taxable benefits of taking Health insurance.
8. To know the awareness among the people about Health insurance.

2.2 Hypothesis

H0 There is no awareness among the people about Health insurance is not more than 40%

H1 There is awareness among the people about Health insurance is not more than 40%

2.3 DATA COLLECTION:

Primary Data is collected through discussion with the officers and other staff of the particular
insurance companies and circulating the questionnaire among the respondents.

SECONDARY DATA:
Secondary data is collected through the company brochures, manuals, periodicals, newsletters,
articles, internet and other publications, annual reports of the companies and from the websites of
the insurance companies.

2.4 Sample size:

The sample size of the study is LIC and ICICI Prudential Medicliam Insurancecompanies in
Ulhasnagar and Pimpri – Pune city with 10 customers(Investors) of each company likewise. The
total size of 100 customers which will be selected randomly and questionnaire is been prepared.

(i) Advantages of primary data:

• The primary data are original and relevant to the topic of the research study so the degree of
accuracy is very high.

• Primary data is current and it can better give a realistic view to the researcher about the topic
under consideration.

• Reliability of primary data is very high because these are collected by the concerned and
reliable party.

• Data collected is unbiased and is directly collected from the population.

(ii) Disadvantages of primary data:

• For collection of primary data where interview is to be conducted the coverage is limited and
for wider coverage a more number of researchers are required.

• A lot of time and efforts are required for data collection. By the time the data collected,
analysed and report is ready the problem of the research becomes very serious or outdated. So
the purpose of the research may be defeated.

• It has design problems like how to design the surveys. The questions must be simple to
understand and respond.
• Some respondents do not give timely responses. Sometimes, the respondents may give fake,
socially acceptable and sweet answers and try to cover up the realities.

2.5 Selection of Theory

Some of the most prominently used methods of primary data collection include observation,
interview, questionnaire and experiments.

a) Observation is the most commonly used method of data collection in the humanities and
social sciences. To some extent this method is also used in natural sciences. Observation can be
conducted without the knowledge and awareness of the participant’s even, if the participants are
aware or not aware of the observation the observer should understand the ethics of the privacy of
the participants.

b)Interviews are another important method of primary data collection. In the interview the
interviewer collects information from each respondent independently. Due to this reason it
becomes costly as well as time consuming. Interview as a research tool can only be used if the
researcher has plenty of time and resources, otherwise it will be wastage of time and money to
start interviewing. Interviews are more reliable as compared to observation.

c) The questionnaire is one of the most commonly used methods of data collection in research.
Questionnaires are formulated to get to the point information on any subject area. Questionnaires
can be submitted by the vast audience at a time and the responses can be obtained easily. The
only drawback of questionnaire is the low feedback as several people do not return
questionnaires on time.

d)Experiments are the most reliable source of data collection in natural sciences.. Experiments
consist of logical series of actions that result in the answer to your query. Experiments can be
conducted in a controlled environment as well as in natural situations.

e)Survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions to people who are
thought to have desired information. A formal list of questionnaire is prepared. Generally a non-
disguised approach is used. The respondents are asked questions on their demographic interest
opinion.
Secondary Data

Secondary data refers to data that was collected by someone other than the user. Common
sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, information collected by
government departments, organizational records and data that was originally collected for other
research purposes. Primary, by contrast, are collected by the investigator conducting the
research.

Advantages of Secondary data

1. It is economical. It saves efforts and expenses.

2. It is time saving.

3. It helps to make primary data collection more specific since with the help of secondary
data, we are able to make out what are the gaps and deficiencies and what additional
information needs to be collected.

4. It helps to improve the understanding of the problem.

5. It provides a basis for comparison for the data that is collected by the researcher.

Disadvantages of Secondary Market Research

1) The data is collected by third party, so it may not be reliable. So the reliability and
accuracy of data goes down.
2) Data collected in one location may not be suitable for the other one due to variable
environmental factors.
3) With the passage of time the data become more obsolete and very old.
4) Secondary data collected can distort the results of the research. For using secondary data
a special care is required to amend or modify for use.

Some of the Ways to collect Secondary Data:

 Magazines
 Newspaper
 Television and Radio