A

Summer Internship Project (SIP) Report

On
“A Study on Customers Satisfaction of Aditya Birla Sun Life
Insurance”

SUBMITTED TO ALL INDIA COUNCIL OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION (AICTE) FOR

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

Masters in Management Studies

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Amit Ahire

INDIRA INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SANPADA
NAME: MANDAR SUNIL BORSE
COLLEGE ROLL NO.: 2022063
COURSE: MASTERS IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES
SPECIALISATION: FINANCE
SESSION: 2022- 2024

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DECLARATION:

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the Project Report entitled “A Study on Customer
Satisfaction of Life Insurance with special reference to Aditya Birla Sun Life
Insurance.” Is written and submitted by me to AICTE in the partial fulfilment of the
requirement for the award of degree of Masters in Management Studies (MMS) under the
Guidance of Prof. Amit Ahire. This is my original work and the conclusions drawn therein
are based on the material collected by myself.

Place: Sanpada Name of the student

Date: 31/10/2023 Mandar Sunil Borse

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to Prof. Amit Ahire, my project guide,
Indira Institute of Business Management, Sanpada for his invaluable guidance, continuous
encouragement and help for completing the present research work.

I would also like to thank Mr. Jitendra Bapna, Mr. Jignesh Bapna and Mr. Ramashish
Viswakarma for their able guidance and support in completing the project.

Last but not the least I would like to acknowledge my family members, friends and relatives
for providing help and support for completing this project. Lastly, I convey my gratitude to
all those who or directly or indirectly related to this project and helped me to complete this
project report.

Regards,

Mandar Sunil Borse

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In today’s world, every individual wants to secure his future and one of the ways is
investment. While investing their money they expect capital appreciation along with security
and minimum risk involved in it.

Some investment avenues involve huge risk and some less risk. Depending on the changing
risk environment and emerging investment opportunities, investments need to be evaluated
on a regular basis and form strategies which will help in minimizing the risk and maximizing
the returns to the investor.

For a vast country like India, there are two aspects which are most important for a company’s
progress. First is the customer & second being the way in which company reaches the
customer. Company may make the best products but it’s useless if it doesn’t have the
capacity to distribute it to the customers or if the customers don’t feel satisfied of the product.

In this project, I am studying about the Customer Satisfaction of Life Insurance with
special reference to Aditya Birla Sun Life. I have taken surveys to see what a customer
looks for before buying a Life Insurance Policy and what motivates him/ her to make their
decision regarding investment.

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CONTENTS:
CHAPTER PARTICULARS PAGE
NUMBER NUMBER
INTRODUCTION 6- 9
1.1 Need of the Study 8
1 1.2 Objectives of the Study 8
1.3 Scope of the Study 8
1.4 Limitations of the Study 9

PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION 10-19

2.1 Company Name and History 11
2.2 Philosophy 12
2 2.3 Higher Committee of Birla Sun Life 13- 14
2.4 Products by Birla Sun Life 14- 17
2.5 Awards and Recognition 18- 19

CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND 20- 27

3.1 Insurance 21
3.2 Life Insurance 21
3 3.3 Basics of Insurance 21- 22
3.4 Types of Insurance 21
3.5 Concept of ULIP 22
3.6 Portfolio Management 23- 27

RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY 28- 31

4.1 Research Methodology 29
4 4.2 Method of Data Collection 30
4.3 Method of Data Analysis 31

5 DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS 32- 53

FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 54- 55

6 6.1 Findings 55
6.2 Suggestions 55

CONCLUSION AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 56- 58

7 7.1 Conclusion 57
7.2 Bibliography 58

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8 ANNEXURE 59- 63

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 CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION:
The project titled “A Study on Customer Satisfaction of Life Insurance with special
reference to Aditya Birla Sun Life” is done as a partial fulfilment of MMS curriculum and
also for the company perspective.

The project explains why a person buys Life Insurance Policy and also what are the factors
that affects their decision and satisfies their needs.

During my project duration, I had done the following-

• Attended trainings based on insurance policies, marketing and selling insurance
policies and also portfolio management.

• I also attended trainings that were concerned with different marketing and finance
aspects.

• I also went for calls with the probable clients to sell the insurance policies.

• Apart from that I also did a research on the satisfaction of customers of Life Insurance
with special reference to Aditya Birla Sunlife Insurance.

As per the market study it has been observed that markets are doing extremely well in-service
sector especially in this pandemic situation. After the analysing of customer perception
insurance found that the Indian financial market is having lots of potential customer. There
are many people who are not insured and in near future people will realize the need of having
an insurance policy. Only 4% of people have adequate money for their retirement & so there
is a big market in this sector.

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 1. Need of the study-
Birla SunLife Insurance Company Ltd is a 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.
The vision of Birla SunLife is “To be a leader and role model in a broad based and integrated
financial services business.”
To achieve this vision, the company has to understand what Insurance Advisor & Customer
think about itself and accordingly make necessary changes to make the whole experience of
connecting with Birla SunLife a good one for both the Insurance advisor & Customers.

2. Objectives of the Study-

• To study what motivates a person to invest in Insurance.

• To study Customer Perception towards Life Insurance.
• To study Customer Perception towards Birla SunLife Insurance.
• To Study how they feel satisfied of the services provided.
• To study what re the aspects they look for in the advisor and the service.

3. Scope of the Study-

Why customer buy Life Insurance Policy?

We all have dreams for our lives – the dream house, the luxury car, the holiday
abroad and many more. In order to achieve these dreams, it is important to have a
financial goal in mind and work towards achieving it. With Birla Sun Life Insurance
Wealth with Protection Solutions, your dream is secure. Besides providing you a life
cover, these solutions encourage you to save regularly, by offering flexible plans
suited to your goals. A person buys life Insurance according to his need. The study
analyses the facts about why a person buys Life Insurance Product.

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4. Limitations of the Study- of

• It was difficult to find respondent as they were busy & collection of data was
difficult. Therefore, the study is carried out based on the availability of the
respondents.

• Some people were hesitant to opt for insurance policy from Birla SunLife as
they were keener towards insurance policies offered by LIC of India. Some
respondent’s behaviour and attitude were not satisfactory.

• Given the current Pandemic situation because of COVID-19 it was not

possible to have live survey with face-to-face conversations with the
customers.

• Most of the customer data is been taken through a survey form circulated on a
Social Media Messaging Platform and filled by probable clients of Birla
Sunlife Insurance.

• It turned out to be more of a general survey.

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 CHAPTER 2:
PROFILE OF THE
ORGANISATION
PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION:
1. Company Name and History-

COMPANY PROFILE
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) was established on 4th August, 2000 as a
joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group, a well-known and trusted name globally
amongst Indian conglomerates and Sun Life Financial Inc., leading international financial
services organization from Canada.
With an experience of over 20 years, BSLI has significantly contributed to the growth and
development of life insurance industry in India. BSLI currently ranks amongst top 5 private
life insurance companies in the country. Known for its innovation and industry benchmarks,
BSLI has several firsts to its credit. BSLI was the first Indian Insurance
Company to introduce “Free Look Period” and the same was made mandatory by IRDA for
all other life insurance companies. In addition to this BSLI also pioneered the launch of Unit
Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the private players in India. To establish creditability
and transparency, BSLI enjoys the prestige to be the originator of practice to disclose
portfolio on monthly basis. These development benefits have helped BSLI be closer to its
policy holders’ expectations which gets further accentuated by the compete bouquet of
insurance products (viz. pure term plan, life stage products, health plan and retirement plans)
that the company offers.
In addition to this, the extensive reach through its network of 600 branches and 1, 75,000
empanelled advisors. The impressive combination of domain expertise,

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product range, reach and ears on ground, helped BSLI cover more than 2 million lives since it
commenced operations and establish a customer base spread across more than 1500 towns
and cities in India. To ensure that customers have an impeccable experience, BSLI ensured
lowest outstanding claims ratio of 0.00% for FY 2008-09. BSLI also has the best Turnaround
Time according to LOMA on all claim Parameters. Such services are well supported by
sound financials that BSLI has. The AUM of BSLI stood at ₹411,261 million as of March,
2020, while as on March 31, 2020, the company has a Gross Annual Income of ₹ 80,100
million.

2. Philosophy-

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company follows a long-term, fundamental

research-based approach to investment. The approach is to identify companies, which
have excellent growth prospects and strong fundamentals. The fundamentals include
the quality of the company’s management, sustainability of its business model and its
competitive position, among other factors.

I. Vision:

a. To be a leader and role model in a broad based and integrated financial

services business.

II. Mission:

a. To consistently pursue investor's wealth optimization by:

b. Achieving superior and consistent investment results.
c. Creating a conducive environment to hone and retain talent.
d. Providing customer delight. Institutionalizing system-approach in all aspects
of functioning.
e. Upholding highest standards of ethical values at all times.

III. Values:

• Integrity
• Commitment
• Passion
• Seamlessness
• Speed

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 3. Higher Committee of Birla Sun Life-

I. Mr Donald A. Stewart

Mr Donald joined Sun Life Financial in 1969

in London, England, and qualified as a
Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1972.
In 1974, he left the company to pursue a
career in benefits counselling, ultimately
joining William M. Mercer in Toronto.

Mr Stewart re-joined Sun Life Financial in

1980 with overall responsibility for the
Canadian pension division, where he led six
years of rapid growth. From 1992- 1995, Mr.
Stewart restored profitability via re-
structuring and re-engineering as Chief
Executive Officer of Sun Life Financials
trust operations. In May 1995, Mr. Stewart was
appointed Senior Vice- President and Chief Actuary followed by his appointment as
President and Chief Operating Officer followed in 1996.In April 1998.

II. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the

Chairman of the US $ 41 billion
multinational Aditya Birla Group,
operating in 36 countries across 6
continents.

Mr. Birla is a Chartered Accountant and

has also earned an MBA from London
Business School, London. He is also a
Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, which is
among India’s largest business houses. Its
JV operations include Birla Sun Life
Asset Management Company, Birla Life
Distribution Co. Ltd and Birla Sun Life Insurance
Co. Limited. Business World ranked him among
the top 10 of India’s most admired and respected CEOs and the top CEO of coming
millennium. He is also on the Board of various companies.

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 III. Board of Directors of Birla Sun Life

Name Designation

Kumar Mangalam Birla Chairman and Non- Executive Director

Sushil Agarwal Non- Executive Director

Santrupt Mishra Non- Executive Director

Arun Adhikari Independent Director

P. H. Ravikumar Independent Director

Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer Independent Director

S. C. Bhargava Independent Director

4. Products by Birla Sun Life-

There are many products and solutions offered by BSLI such as Individual Solutions,
Group Solutions, Rural Solutions and NRI Solutions. I have done my research on
Individual Solutions. It is also segmented into 6 aspects like-

• Protection
• Wealth with Protection
• Children’s Future
• Health
• Retirement
• Savings with Protection

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 a) Protection

If someone’s dream for themselves and their loved ones is to live life on their own terms,
then they will need to ensure that this dream comes to fruition. The best way to do this is to
take term insurance. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (ABSLI) offers
everyone the chance to take term insurance plans that go a long way in ensuring that their
family is cared for even when storm clouds gather over the horizon.

ABSLI's Protection Solutions offer plans that provide complete financial security for your
family. One simple step you take today - of taking term insurance will offer you the chance to
get sizeable life coverage at low premiums. It involves-

ABSLI Life Shield Plan

b) Wealth with Protection Solutions

Everyone has dreams for their lives- the dream house, the luxury car, the holiday
abroad and many more. In order to achieve these dreams, it is important to have a
financial goal in mind and work towards achieving it.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Wealth with Protection not only provides life cover but also
encourages people to save regularly, by offering flexible plans to suit every
individual’s needs. There are three plans under this category-

• ABSLI Wealth Assure Plus

• ABSLI Wealth Max Plan
• ABSLI Wealth Secure Plan
• ABSLI Fortune Elite Plan
• ABSLI Wealth Aspire Plan

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c) Children’s Future Solution

A child is a source of joy for every parent. Everyone works towards ensuring that they
have the means to meet the big future expenses of your child, be it for higher
education, marriage or any other dreams that you have for your child. Birla Sun Life
Insurance Children’s Future Solutions are designed to help one build a corpus that
allows him to meet the major expenses of your child in future. Besides providing life
cover to ensure that child’s dream is also secured. BSLI Bachat Child Plan is one of
the best plans for children. There are two plans under this category-

• ABSLI Vision Star Plan

• ABSLI Child’s Future Assured Plan

d) Health

With medical costs increasing considerably, many people find themselves unprepared
for sudden medical emergencies. Birla Sun Life Insurance Health & Wellness
Solutions ensures that an individual never lack the funds to go in for quality treatment
in case of medical emergencies. The plan helps to insure oneself and his family for an
adequate sum, against major illnesses and injuries. BSLI also provides plans that offer
the cashless facility. Some of the health and wellness solution plans are as follows:

• ABSLI Cancer Shield Plan

• ABSLI CritiShield Plan

e) Retirement Solutions

During retirement, income stops but the expenses don’t. With inflation increasing the
cost of basic essentials, savings today might not suffice meeting the cost of necessities
throughout the retired life. It is therefore important to start saving early and in a
planned manner for a comfortable, stress-free retired life. What is also important is to
determine the goal for the retirement corpus basis your projected needs during retired
life. Birla Sun Life Insurance Retirement Solutions ensure that an individual enjoy a
secure and happy retired life. Retirement plans will help to build a corpus that lasts
throughout the retired life. It involves three plans-
• ABSLI Immediate Annuity Plan
• ABSLI Empower Pension Plan
• ABSLI Empower Pension- SP Plan

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f) Savings with Protection Solutions

People spend their working life striving to fulfil the big dreams for their families.
However, in an increasingly uncertain world, everyone needs to ensure that their
family is free from any financial burden in case of any unfortunate events. This is
where life insurance comes in, as one’s assurance of full financial security for their
family. Birla Sun Life Insurance Protection Solutions helps to meet the need for
financial security for one’s loved ones. The plans are designed to give an individual a
life cover as per their need at a reasonable premium. Some of the protection solution
plans are as follows

• ABSLI SecurePlus Plan

• ABSLI Guaranteed Milestone Plan
• ABSLI Vision MoneyBack Plus Plan
• ABSLI Vision Life Income Plan
• ABSLI Savings Plan
• ABSLI Vision Life Secure Plan
• ABSLI Income Assured Plan
• ABSLI Vision Endowment Plus Plan
• ABSLI Jeevan Bachat Plan
• ABSLI Monthly Income Plan

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 5. Awards and Recognitions-

Year Awarded From Title

Golden Peacock Global Awards

2011 Golden Peacock Award
Secretariat
Internet Advertising
Best Insurance Integrated ad campaign
2011 Competition
(NotJobsButPassion campaign)
(IAC)Awards 2011
Advertising Agencies
Association of India & Bronze - Media Abby Awards at Goa Fest 2011 as Best Never
2011
Advertising Club Bombay Before use of Media

Advertising Agencies
Association of India & Gold - Creative Abby Awards at Goa Fest 2011 as Direct
2011
Advertising Club Bombay marketing Dimensional Mail

Advertising Agencies
Association of India & Best use of Outdoor & Ambient media Awards at Goa Fest
2011
Advertising Club Bombay 2011 - Direct marketing Flat Mail

BBC.com-Campaign Gold - "financial services website" category for Birla Sun Life
2011 India Digital Media Awards Insurance - NotJobsButPassion microsite
2011
APPIES 2010 - Asia
Silver Medal & a letter of appreciation for - Wealth with
2010 Pacific Advertising &
Protection Solutions campaign
Marketing Congress
14th Annual Webby Awards Official Nominee - BSLI Email marketing campaign
2010
2010 'Save Forest'
Institute of Chartered
ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting
2009 Accountants of India
- Silver in Insurance Category
(ICAI)
2009 - Recruiting and Staffing Best in Class Awards
Outlook Money Awards 2004
2004 Best Life Insurer (Runner Up) 2004 TROPHY
Outlook Money Awards 2004 Best Life Insurer (Runner Up) 2004 CERTIFICATE
2004
The 8th Asia Insurance
2004 Top five nominees in the category
Industry Awards 2004
The Indo-Canadian Business
2005 'Successful Performance' for 4 years April 2005
Chamber
'The Hewitt Best Employers in India Awards 2004'
2004 Hewitt
Trophy

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 Anil Sachdev
(Chairman & MD of
Grow Talent Company
2007 Ltd) Robert Levering 'The Great Place to Work Seminar Series 2007'
(Co-founder Great
Place to Work Institute) and
Jehangir Pocha
(Business World Magazine)
Dr. Bhishma Narain
Singh (Former
Governor of Tamil Nadu The Bhartiya Shiromani Puraskar for Enhancing the image of
2006 & Assam) in association with India
the "Institute of
Economic Studies (IES)"

The Mayor, David Miller -

2005 A letter sent to BSLI - A Message
Toronto
2004 Hewitt Hewitt Best Employers in India 2004
Sponsorship Acknowledgement for - The Asia
2004 Asia Insurance Review
Insurance Review
The Institute of
2012 Chartered Accountants of 'Gold Trophy' for Financial Reporting
India (ICAI)
The South Asian
'Best Presented Accounts & Corporate Governance
2012 Federation of
Disclosures Awards
Accountants (SAFA)
2012 Golden Peacock Award Excellence in Corporate Governance
2012 Effies Gold in the 'Services category'
2012 Kaan awards Best use of Radio
Asian Confederation of
2012 Best Employer Brand Award
Businesses
Golden Peacock HR Excellence
2012 Golden Peacock HR Excellence Award

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 CHAPTER 3:
CONCEPTUAL
BACKGROUND
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND:
1. Insurance-
Today insurance is a tool for investing money that provides an assurance of security with
attractive returns. Insurance is a risk transfer tool. Insurance means “it covers all uncertain
risk of financial assets” .as we know that assets have some economic value. Same that
concept is followed on the human being. Insurance protect the economic value of all financial
assets.
2. Life Insurance-
Life insurance is also an attractive financial instrument for the security purpose and sharing
of the uncertain risk. Life insurance may be the other form of saving investment with safety
returns. Like as the following ways: -
• Saving through life insurance guarantee financial protection against risk of death of
policy holder.

• Liquidity means providing loan and conversion of cash easily. When you need
money, it will provide in proper way.

• Tax rebate is also another form for saving.

• Providing the full sum assured when any loss of the financial assets.

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• Long term savings can be made in a relatively painless manner because of the easy
instalment facility.

• Providing all the basic benefits which are coming under the life insurance plans.

3. Basics of Insurance-

• Sum Assured (S.A.) – It represents the face value or the insurance contract.

• Premium- It is one of the periodic payments that a policyholder pays for their
benefits through the policy.

• Term- It is the period during which the contract is effective between the
insurers and insured.

• Mode- It is the mode of payment of premium which may be Monthly,

Quarterly, Half Yearly and Yearly.

• Premium paying term (PPT) - It is the number of years, premium payable

under the policy. Under certain plans the PPT is less than the actual term of the
policy.

• Grace Period- Policyholder are expected to pay premium on due date but for
their convenience a period of 15- 30 days is allowed as graces.

• Paid –up-value- According to rules & regulation, once the premium has been
paid on three policy year the policy does not become wholly void even if no
subsequent premium is paid. Such policies are known as paid-up policies.

• Surrender Value- A policy can be surrendered for cash after the policy has
acquired the paid-up value.

• Accident Benefit- It provides payment of an additional benefit equal to the

sum assured investment in case of the death due to accident or investment in
case of permanent disability.

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 • Term rider- Riders are provided with additional benefits on payment of a
little extra premium. This is an optional benefit.

• Death Benefit

• Maturity Benefit

• Switching option

4. Types of Insurance Plans-

There are various kinds of insurance plans. Some life insurance plans are as follows.
• Term Insurance Plan
• Whole Life Insurance Plan
• Endowment Insurance Plan
• Pension Plan
• Unit Link Insurance Plan

An Amount of up to Rs. 1 lakh gets deduction in Income Tax which makes these
plans more lucrative then other investment option & when you get approximately
same returns. If the client is in the highest tax bracket, then the customer can save up
to Rs. 33000 by avoiding paying tax.

5. Concept of ULIP-
Unit Linked Insurance Plans are plans which have the combination of Insurance &
Investment. The Customer paying premiums is divided into 2 parts, one goes for
Insurance & the other is invested in the market.
The Fund Manager invests the Investment Fund into different securities depending on the
risk profile of the customer. The Fund is invested in the following categories:
• Equity
• Debt
• Mutual Fund
Both the advisor & the customer should know where the money is invested. A brief
training on the above parameters was given to the advisor. An advisor would be more
confident about the fund if he himself knows the funds & the composition.

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 6. Portfolio Management-

A Portfolio Management consists of the following:

I. Equity Shares:

The market in which shares are issued and traded, either through exchanges or over-
the counter markets are known as the stock market, it is one of the most vital areas of
a market economy because it gives companies access to capital and investors a slice
of ownership in a company with the potential to realize gains based on its future
performance.

Differences between Primary Market and Secondary Market

BASIS FOR COMPARISON PRIMARY MARKET SECONDARY MARKET

Meaning The market place for new shares is The place where formerly issued
called primary market. securities are traded is known as
Secondary Market.

Another name New Issue Market (NIM) After Market

Type of Purchasing Direct Indirect

Financing It supplies funds to budding It does not provide funding to

enterprises and also to existing companies.
companies for expansion and
diversification.

How many times a Only once Multiple times

security can be sold?

Buying and Selling Company and Investors Investors

between

Who will gain the amount Company Investors

on the sale of shares?

Intermediary Underwriters Brokers

Price Fixed price Fluctuates, depends on the

demand and supply force

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Organizational difference Not rooted to any specific spot or It has physical existence.
geographical location.

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Debt Market:

Debt market refers to the financial market where investors buy and sell debt
securities, mostly in the form of bonds. These markets are important source of funds,
especially in a developing economy like India. India debt market is one of the largest
in Asia. Like all other countries, debt market in India is also considered a useful
substitute to banking channels for finance.

The most distinguishing feature of the debt instruments of Indian debt market is that
the return is fixed. This means, returns are almost risk-free. This fixed return on the
bond is often termed as the 'coupon rate' or the 'interest rate'. Therefore, the buyer (of
bond) is giving the seller a loan at a fixed interest rate, which equals to the coupon
rate.

a. Classification of Indian Debt Market:

• Government Securities Market (G-Sec Market)- It consists of central and

state government securities. It means that, loans are being taken by the central
and state government. It is also the most dominant category in the India debt
market.

• Bond Market- It consists of Financial Institutions bonds, corporate bonds and

debentures and Public Sector Units bonds. These bonds are issued to meet
financial requirements at a fixed cost and hence remove uncertainty in
financial costs.

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b. Debt Instruments:

• Government Securities- It is the Reserve Bank of India that issues

Government Securities or G-Secs on behalf of the Government of India. These
securities have a maturity period of 1 to 30 years. G-Secs offer fixed interest
rate, where interests are payable semi-annually. For shorter term, there are
Treasury Bills or T-Bills, which are issued by the RBI for 91 days, 182 days
and 364 days.

• Corporate Bonds- These bonds come from PSUs and private corporations
and are offered for an extensive range of tenures up to 15 years. There are also
some perpetual bonds. Comparing to G-Secs, corporate bonds carry higher
risks, which depend upon the corporation, the industry where the corporation
is currently operating, the current market conditions, and the rating of the
corporation. However, these bonds also give higher returns than the G-Secs.

• Certificate of Deposit- These are negotiable money market instruments.

Certificate of Deposits (CDs), which usually offer higher returns than Bank
term deposits, are issued in demat form and also as a Promissory Notes. There
are several institutions that can issue CDs. Banks can offer CDs which have
maturity between 7 days and 1 year. CDs from financial institutions have
maturity between 1 and 3 years. There are some agencies like ICRA, FITCH,
CARE, CRISIL etc. that offer ratings of CDs. CDs are available in the
denominations of Rs. 1 Lac and in multiple of that.

• Commercial Papers- There are short term securities with maturity of 7 to 365
days. CPs are issued by corporate entities at a discount to face value.

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I. Mutual Funds:

A mutual fund is simply a financial intermediary that allows a group of investors to

pool their money together with a predetermined investment objective. The mutual
fund will have a fund manager who is responsible for investing the pooled money into
specific securities (usually stocks or bonds). When one invests in a mutual fund, he is
buying shares (or portions) of the mutual fund and becoming a shareholder of the
fund. The income earned through these investments and the capital appreciations
realized are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the number of units owned by
them. Thus, a Mutual Fund is the most suitable investment for the common man as it
offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of
securities at a relatively low cost.

a. Concept of Mutual Funds:

A Mutual fund is a trust that pools the savings of a number of investors who share a
common financial goal. The money thus collected is then invested in capital market
instruments such as shares, debentures and other securities. The income earned
through these investments and the capital appreciation

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realized is shared by its unit holders in proportion to the number of units earned by
them. Thus, a mutual fund is the most suitable investment for the common man as it
offers an opportunity to invest in the diversified professionally managed basket of
securities at a relatively low cost. The flow chart below describes broadly working of
a mutual fund:

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 CHAPTER 4:
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
Research can be defined as systematized efforts to gain knowledge. A research is carried out
by different methodologies, which have their own pros and cons.
Research methodology is a way to solve research problem along with the logic behind them.
First of all, it is necessary to create research design.
I. Research Design-

Basically, there are three of approaches-

• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Experimental

I have used descriptive research. Descriptive research includes surveys and fact
finding enquire of all kinds.

II. Research Instrument- Survey Method

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III. Sampling-

We can say that sampling is the collection of information about an entire population
through examining a part of it. This is the best way for getting information which
going to help me to analysis the product performance and current market position of
the company.

a. Types of Sampling-

• Probability Sampling
• Non- Probability Sampling

I have used non-probability sampling. Under this I have chosen convenience

sampling.

2. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION:

While deciding about the method of data collection to be used for the study, there are
only two types of data –

• Primary Data
• Secondary Data

I. Reasons for Selecting Primary Data-

In terms of primary data, a structured questionnaire was prepared to interview
the potential advisor of Birla SunLife & those who have at least one Life
Insurance policy.

II. Secondary Source-

• Internet (Google.com)
• Various journals report, magazine etc was used.
• Reports of the financial institute providing financial services.

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20.Did COVID- 19 affect your investment decision?
Effect of COVID- 19
Yes 46.2%
No 53.8%

Effect of COVID - 19

46.2% Yes

53.8% No

Interpretation:

The results show that the decisions of the investors aren’t much affected by the
adverse situations caused by COVID- 19. Only 23 respondents’ decision was affected
by the pandemic.

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21.If yes, then how?

Ways in which
COVID-19 affected

Increased need for Insurance 7.7%

Money Crunch 23.1%

Low Premium 11.5%

Others 57.7%

Ways in which
COVID - 19 affected
7.7%

23.1% Increased need for Insurance

57.7% Money Crunch
11.5% Low Premium
Others

Interpretation:

About 12 respondents said COVID- 19 caused Money Crunch to them, 6 respondents

faced low premium issues and only 4 felt the increased need for insurance. But about
29 of them faced other issues or were not affected at all.

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 CHAPTER 6:
FINDINGS AND
SUGGESTIONS
FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS:
1. Findings-

• LIC is the market leader in Life Insurance with approx. 78% market share
followed by SBI Life, Birla SunLife, Tata AIG & HDFC Standard Life.

• People were hesitating to buy Private Company’s Insurance Policy.

• Investors are ready to take little risk (by buying Traditional and Term plans) if
the brand of the company is good.

• In recent times with the popularity of ULIP’s, the traditional plans have taken
a back seat.

• People are not taking term plan which is the most basic form of Insurance.

• Surprising respondent was taking a Life Insurance not for protection but for
Investment followed by Tax- benefit & Protection & Retirement.

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2. Suggestions-

• Company should concentrate on making Birla SunLife a positive & secure

brand.

• Company should create awareness about various Insurance Plans.

• Most of the customer buy Insurance policy from advisors

 Give training from time to time.

 Motivation Program
 Contest to motivate Advisor.

• Company should give timely intimation to Advisor & Customer Relating to

Policy document, Policy statements, New Programmes, plans & Contests.

• Company should make the diversified distribution by having tie-ups with

Banks, Broking Firms etc.

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 CHAPTER 7:
CONCLUSION AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONCLUSION AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Conclusion-

• Birla SunLife have maintained very good brand image in the mind of the customers.

• Insurance Sector is booming, less than 4% of people have adequate money after
retirement.

• Birla SunLife should advertise & spread awareness about Insurance, Term & Child
Plan which will help the distribution network also.

• Insurance business depends on the distribution. Birla SunLife should invest in training
advisors & making the distribution system strong.

• Birla SunLife should concentrate on giving better after sale service and ensure their
agents are high on knowledge and understanding.

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