COMPREHENSIVE

ANALYSIS OF GUARIDAN
LIFE INSURANCE

TEAM
BREAKING BOUNDARIES
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TEAM
INFORMATION

MD. RAIHAN FERDOUS SHOABUL HAQUE EULAD

ID: 1717 ID: 1718

IRFAN UL KIBRIA MD. BORHAN UDDIN

ID: 1721 ID: 1734

SK ABDULLAH AL MAMUN A S M SAYEEM

ID: 1740 ID: 1742

KAMRUL KAYES JONI

ID: 2312

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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
From the perspective of Guardian Life Insurance Ltd, this paper contains a multitude
of critical information about Bangladesh's insurance industry. Initially, the policy
portfolio of the company has been discussed to clarify its service structure. The
following part consists of a comprehensive review of the Bangladesh insurance
industry. After that, a critical analysis of the policies of GLIL in the context of
Bangladesh has been explored. To clarify further industry conditions, the barriers of
the insurance industry growth opportunities has been highlighted in which GLIL can
make possible strategy correction. This paper ends with a strategy recommendation
that may help to deal with the possible industry barriers. After going through the whole
report, readers will have an extensive knowledge of the insurance industry including
the market situation and service offerings by Guardian Life Insurance Ltd.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………………………….………..03
INTRODUCTION…………….…………………………………………………………….………..05
POLICY PORTFOLIO……… ……………………………………………………………….……..06
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF BANGLADESH INSURANCE INDUSTRY…….………… 09
GUA RDIA N LIFE INSURANCE POL ICY ANALYSIS IN THE CONTEXT OF
B ANGLA DESH………….. …………………………….………….…..………………………..12
INDUS TRY BARRIERS HINDERING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR GLIL
………………………………………………………………………………… .……………16
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS …………….…………………….………………………..18
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………..21
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………22

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INTRODUCTION
Insurance is the financial security that gives tremendous risk mitigation opportunities for
individuals, a group of people or an organization in their day-to-day life. It does not only
mitigate losses but also gives financial stability as well as promotes trade and commerce
activities. In terms of sustainable economic growth and development, insurance plays one of
the fundamental roles for a country. Although Bangladesh still lacks major development in the
insurance industry, it is still getting heavy economic benefits from the industry. This report
here, produces some key information related to the Insurance Industry focusing on Guardian
Life Insurance (GLIL). Through effective governance, this insurance company strives to
maintain stakeholder trust. The journey of GLIL started with the goal of offering world-class
insurance service and exceptional customer care to assist the valued clients to build a better
and more secure future. Throughout the report we will discuss its operations, insurance
policies and organizational structure. Various insurance related principles and concepts have
been discussed from the perspective of Guardian Life Insurance Ltd. Overall, this report will
provide a wide range of information and practical theories. Hope readers find it effective for
their extensive research.

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POLICY PORTFOLIO
In Bangladesh five of the most common insurance policies are- Life Insurance, General
Insurance, Reinsurance, Micro-insurance, Islami Insurance. Guardian Life Insurance has
many different insurance policies and services that fit the individual needs of different customers
and potential policyholders (Guardian Life Insurance, 2020). These services are specially crafted
for the different demands and the purposes which are applicable in different scenarios. Let us see
more about the different policies and services that they provide to their customers.

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There are six main policies that expand GLIL branches to different areas which are the best
fit for the customers. But this diversified portfolio is often confusing to the customers which
serves a negative impact and complicates the customer acquisition process.

Digital Innovation
Guardian Life Insurance is a pioneer in the digitization of the insurance sector in Bangladesh.
They have two different apps that are Easy Life and My Guardian through which they provide
digital services to their customers. Easy Life is a sub-brand of its own under the umbrella of
Guardian Life Insurance as they have different policies and features unique to the app
(Guardian Life Insurance, 2020). Besides, the GLIL website offers useful features like a
premium calculator, policy advisor, Dr. Guardian, etc. to make the journey of the clients
easier and smoother to get started. 
Operational Excellence
GLIL innovative insurance products and superior service quality at a fair price have been
recognized internationally with the Three consecutive Insurance Asia winner Awards.
Guardian Life Insurance needs to synchronize the services and make a streamlined and simple
approach to their policies to make them more attractive.

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COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF
BANGLADESH INSURANCE INDUSTRY

The insurance sector in Bangladesh is still growing but operating in a much smaller market
compared to other Asia Pacific countries in the region. The insurance penetration rate in GDP
percentage stands around only 0.40% (Lowest in the South Asia region) whereas
neighboring countries like India, Sri Lanka have 4.2% and 1.2% penetration rates accordingly
(Data BD, 2019). However, the projection says the market has many more potential to be
unlocked in the coming years with enhanced penetration to its bigger portion of the market.
The regulatory authorities and contributors should work together to provide policy support to
secure the projected development of the industry.

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
This industry comprises 44 general insurance and 18 life insurance companies. Among
them, life insurance represents most of the insurance policy market (73.5%) and non-life
insurance makes the less significant proportion (26.5%). In 2020 alone, BDT 11,300 crore
was paid in insurance premium among which BDT 8,100 crore was paid in life
insurance. Insurance companies are monitored under the Insurance Development and
Regulatory Authority (IDRA) while there are Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA)
to represent these companies (IDRA, 2018). Now, the market information clearly highlights
the over dependence of life insurance policy which still falls behind than other developing
countries. And there is also low volume of financial products in the market. Among the
financial products, 44% are current accounts whereas only 18% are savings account.

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 Low Penetration of Financial Products and Services, beyond Current
Accounts

Current Account 48

Personal Loan 21

Debit/Credit Card 13

Long-term Deposit 11

Short-term Deposit 5

Regular Saving Plan 2

House Loan 2

Other Fixed Term 0

None 8.2

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

On the other hand, micro-insurance and Islamic insurance have contributes to the overall
market and issues nearly 4.56 million policies (2017). Overall, the market has many under
development areas to look into.

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GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE
POLICY ANALYSIS IN THE
CONTEXT OF BANGLADESH

Guardian Life Insurance Limited (GLIL) has provided policies to thousands of customers
from the beginning. It has provided nearly BDT 400+ crore in claims and 1.1 crore lives
have been covered. Now, we evaluate these policies and services from the GLIL.
Strength
Digital Technology Integration: GLIL has introduced many digital technologies to remove
the internal barriers between the customers and the company. It has launched two mobile
apps (Guardian Life Insurance, 2020)- My Guardian and EasyLife to ease customer
access to its range of policies. Moreover, it has a rich website platform to help the
customers to know about their services.

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Besides, it has partnered up with Mobile financial service providers to ease customers'
payments options.

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Policy Innovation: Changes in customer demand and behavior influenced GLIL to bring
new policies like Guardian Shomriddhi, Guardian Probridhi, কমপ্লিট রিটায়ারমেন্ট সল্যুশন, Dr.
Gurdian telemedicine service, etc. which boost their service portfolio and ensure a
competitive advantage over their competitors.

Micro Insurance Policies: Integrating a large population into insurance has been a
major obstacle for most of the companies. GLIL has brought micro insurance plans for
these rural communities which will assist in the adaptation of insurance in the villages. 

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Weakness
Lack of mass-market focused policy: GLIL has multilateral insurance policies targeting
different types of customers. But these policies often lack verities and are limited to
certain groups of customers. Moreover, they lack a ground workforce to cover mass
areas in our country as well which hinders the market expansion of GLIL. 

Lack of strong regulatory support and cooperation: The insurance industry in our
country is strongly regulated and overlooked by government agencies. Since its
inception, GLIL hasn’t been able to bring government support to take supportive
measures to expand the local industry. Furthermore, it created a challenge for the
company to bring foreign investment as well. 

Discontinuation of insurance policies: Many customers fail to continue their life

insurance policies after the first year which creates challenges for GLIL to retain
customers and maintain financial profitability. Besides, a lack of qualified sales agents
fails to ensure regular customer updates. 

Overall, Guardian Life Insurance has a strong digital presence and expertise to provide
insurance policies in the era of digital Bangladesh. But it will have to adapt and improvise
the operations & policies for further expansion in the market.

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INDUSTRY BARRIERS
HINDERING GROWTH
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GLIL

Bangladesh insurance industry review highlights the overall situation of this industry. As
an emerging developing nation, Bangladesh’s insurance industry has an untapped
potential to integrate 170 million population into the mainstream insurance market. Now,
the analysis of industry barriers will denote the overall situation of GLIL and show the
pathway for a strategic recommendation.

Poor financial literacy of the customers-is a major hurdle in the Bangladeshi market
which is reflected in the insurance premium ranking of our country.

Presence of social capital and strict religious views- Bangladesh societies are
collective in a culture where individuals depend on families, relatives for sudden
economic losses (LightCastle Partners, 2021). This social dependency along with strict
religious views bars the public to use insurance policies.

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The predominance of asymmetric information & Claim settlement Issues- The
microinsurance growth is impacted heavily due to asymmetric information in village areas.
Individuals tend to take risky action without properly understanding the insurance terms
which results in no claim. This creates false stories regarding insurance plans among the
rural public (LightCastle Partners, 2021). Moreover, many companies delay and stop
paying claim settlements.

Lack of sector-specific models- Most companies haven't been able to bring sector-
specific models which could cater to different types of individuals, communities and
businesses.

Higher Client Acquisition costs and capped premium- Lack of digitalization and skilled
workforce led companies to spend more on customer acquisitions which increases the
operational cost.

Market Opportunities

Impressive economic growth rate and large incoming foreign investment in the business
sectors of Bangladesh will require the total support of the insurance industry. Moreover, the
young populations’ financial literacy and concern will surge the demand for more dynamic
insurance policies.

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S T R AT E G I C
R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S
Targeting mass market with perfectly designed products

As per the analysis, the product lineup and approaches of Guardian Life Insurance are
driven to a very specific group. Hence, the acceleration of business growth in a developing
market like Bangladesh becomes difficult as the big portion of the market is remaining
untapped. So, the recommendation for Guardian Life Insurance would be to the mass
market while offering the right product for the market. However, penetrating this market
would bring some difficulties for Guardian Life Insurance. In facing them, the strategic
approaches in offerings, promotions, and awareness should be integrated together to stand
out in the market.

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Being a specialized provider and focusing on improving the financial literacy of the
customers

One of the core problems that is faced by the whole industry is the less financial literacy of
the people to comply with insurance. However, many other problems are also associated
with the lack of financial literacy. To solve this, the target group of Guardian Life Insurance
should be well mentored with improved strategies for creating awareness on the financial
terms while reducing confusion would be a target as well. At the same time, Guardian Life
Insurance should become a specialized provider in the mass market. Because being the
specialized provider would enable the company with a range of competitive advantages that
would help in generating an edge over the competitors in the market. So, these strategies
should be immediately complied with by Guardian life insurance to strengthen its position in
the market while working on penetrating the larger area of the market.

Regulatory coordination and market penetration

It is necessary for a country to have a robust regulatory system for micro-insurance

programs to assist the companies with a positive market structure and environment. Here,
the recommendation for Guardian Life Insurance would be to have effective regulatory
coordination which will allow the company to influence regulatory frameworks to drive more
business-friendly policies to penetrate into the larger market of the country. Currently, the
core objective of Guardian Life Insurance should be penetrating the microinsurance market
and converting more customers into the industry by reducing the barriers. While penetrating
this market, regulatory support would be very highly required. Because the current
frameworks aren’t still that much support to the companies to encourage customers to
purchase insurance plans. The better frameworks would be very effective to get the desired
market results. And, Guardian Life Insurance should play a good role in influencing the
frameworks.  

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Designing sector-specific models

Guardian life insurance is still lacking in designing sector-specific and better-specialized

models. Here, the recommendation would be to design specific models to attract
customers from specific market areas. For example, the industries are now highly
encouraged to comply with insurance for reducing the risks. Hence, having better specific
models for the industrial customers would enable Guardian Life Insurance to attract
customers and hold better control over the market.

Overall, a range of issues and problems have been identified in the company and
industry. Implying these recommended strategies would help Guardian Life Insurance
resolve company-specific issues as well as the industry issues while holding a better
position in the developing market of Bangladesh.

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CONCLUSION

Guardian Life Insurance’s policy selection and marketing strategies are aimed at the
changing demographic. As a result, in a developing market like Bangladesh,
accelerating business growth is challenging since a large section of the market
remains unexplored. So, Guardian Life Insurance may able stay in the leading market
position with recommended strategies and roadmap.

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REFERENCES

Data BD. (2019). PwC | Potential for growth: Transforming Bangladesh’s insurance sector

Potential for growth: Transforming Bangladesh’s insurance sector.

https://databd.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/07/potential-for-growth.pdf

Express, T. F. (2019). Reviving the insurance sector. The Financial Express.

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/reviving-the-insurance-sector-1617206821

Guardian Life Insurance. (2020). About Us. Guardianlife.com.bd.

https://guardianlife.com.bd/en/about-us

Ibef.org. (2019). Insurance Sector in India: Industry Overview, Market Size & Trends | IBEF.

Ibef.org. https://www.ibef.org/industry/insurance-sector-india.aspx

IDRA. (2018). বীমা উন্নয়ন ও নিয়ন্ত্রণ কর্তৃ পক্ষ. Www.idra.org.bd. http://www.idra.org.bd/

LightCastle Partners. (2021, July 13). Micro Insurance Sector of Bangladesh: Time for

Policy Reformation? LightCastle Partners.

https://www.lightcastlebd.com/insights/2021/07/micro-insurance-sector-of-

bangladesh-need-of-policy-reformation-and-implementation-of-sector-specific-

models?fbclid=IwAR1m1z9Iz3nYuNNDMnECb-

uh6pdZ9zTjlHqixl0y5pMsevh14IW9MyPxPM8

Mishra, M. N., & Mishra, S. B. (2019). Insurance : Principles and practice. S Chand.

The Business Standard. (2021, August 11). Insurance penetration in Bangladesh fell in

2020. The Business Standard. https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/insurance-

penetration-bangladesh-fell-2020-286696

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