FOR

BIRLA SUNLIFE INSURANCECOMPANY LIMITED

A Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of MBA Program

In Guidance With

SUNDIP KUMAR PARIDABUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Submitted By:

SUBASH CHANDRA BEHERARoll No : 12MBAS02045

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EXAMINER CERTIFICATE

This Project is Submitted by Subash Chandra Behera “EXPLORING

THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE INSURANCE PRODUCT

FOR BIRLA SUNLIFE LIFE INSURANCE” of MBA under DDCE,

Sambalpur University and forwarded for evalution.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

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DECLARATION

I, Subash Chandra Behera, do hereby declare that the project report

have been prepared by me under BIRLA SUNLIFE INSURANCE. This report

EXPLORING THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE

INSURANCE PRODUCT FOR BIRLA SUNLIFE LIFE INSURANCE CO.

LTD. Being the result of original and authentic work, have not been submitted

any where earlier to this for publication from any sources. This is a completely

true and genuine work to the best of our knowledge & belief. The data

collected during the survey is supposed to be kept confidential and not to be

used for any commercial purpose. The facts and findings presented in this

project are true to the best of my belief.

Place :Date : SUBASH CHANDRA BEHERA

Roll No : 12MBAS02045

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BIRLA SUNLIFE INSURANCECOMPANY LIMITED

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Subash Chandra Behera, a student of DDCE,

Sambalpur University has prepared under BIRLA SUNLIFE

INSURANCE. The Project Report Titled EXPLORING THE

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE INSURANCE

PRODUCT FOR BIRLA SUNLIFE LIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD.

as a partial fulfillment of MBA. This has not formed a basis for the award

of any Degree /Diploma by this university or any other university.

We wish all success in his future endeavor.

Place:

Date: SANDIP KUMAR PARIDA(Business Development Manager)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The sense of contentment and elation that accompanies the successful

completion of this project would be incomplete without mentioning the names

of the people who helped me in accomplishing this project, people whose

constant guidance, support and encouragement resulted in its realization.

First of all express my sincere thanks to BIRLA SUNLIFE for showing

confidence in me and giving me an opportunity to complete my on job training

in this esteemed organization. It will always be a matter of pride for me to

express my experience here.

This project bears the imprint of many people. I am highly indebted to

SANDIP KUMAR PARIDA (Business Development Manager) for the

constant guidance and support given by him. No study is complete without

understanding the practical aspects of the same. Sir ensured that I got a

practical overview; this report of that exposure.

I owe a lot to my faculty guide Mr. Binayak Behera for the constant

encouragement and help extended to me.

Last but not least are my parents, whose financial support and

encouragement help me to give this project a final touch in time.

SUBASH CHANDRA BEHERARoll No : 12MBAS02045

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CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

This is to certify that the Project Report Entitled:“EXPLORING THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE

INSURANCE PRODUCT FOR BIRLA SUNLIFE LIFE INSURANCE”

Submitted by Subash Chandra Behera (Roll No. 12MBAS02045), Sambalpur

University, towards partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree

of Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a bona fide record of the work carried

out by him under the able guidance of Mr. Binayak Behera, Veer Surendra Sai

Institute, Angul.

(Approval of the Center Director)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE NO.

CHAPTER-IINTRODUCTION

THE CONCEPT OF INSURANCE INSURANCE SECTOR REFORMS CLASSIFICATION OF INSURANCE SECTOR

CHAPTER-IIOBJECTIVE

CHAPTER-IIICOMPANY BACK GROUND

ABOUT BIRLA SUNLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY VISION MISSION VALUES MARKET SHARE

CHAPTER-IVINTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

UNDERSTANDING ABOUT CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER-VMETHODOLOGY

COLD CALL APPROACH REFERENCE MARKETING APPROACH

CHAPTER-VITHEORITICAL ASPECT

(A) COMPANY’S PRODUCT FLEXI LIFE LINE GOLD PLUS II

(B) THE SALES PROCESS COLD CALL APPROACH SALES PRESENTATION CHALLENGES FACED DURING SALES PROCESS MISTAKES IN SALES

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CHAPTER-VIIDATA COLLECTION

SAMPLE SIZE SAMPLE FRAME DESCRIPTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS

CHAPTER-VIIIA SWOT ANALYSIS

CHAPTER-IXANALYSIS OF DATA

CHAPTER-XFINDINGSCUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION CONCEPT OF THE PERFORMANCE GAP

CHAPTER-XIRECOMMEDATION TO THE COMPANY

CHAPTER-XIICONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

QUESTIONNAIRE

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ABSTRACT

The entry of competition into the insurance sector has altered the rules of the game to a notable extent. The market today is witnessing a wide array of products from players whose numbers seem to grow by leaps and bounds. Today the number of insurance companies has grown to a total of 42. The main aim of the project is to study the consumer behavior in the process of forwarding insurance products of BIRLA SUNLIFE INSURANCE Company limited. When players are in plenty the factors that give one player an edge over the others are products, services and of course pricing. Insurance has started gaining ground as an investment vehicle today, security and tax benefits being the traditional benefits.

For undertaking any project it is important to have a basic knowledge of the various aspects of the field and to be suitably qualified to work therein and hence keeping this in mind the project was started by the theory classes on the fundamentals of insurance and detailed of various products. The theory classes help to develop the function structure on the basis of which the rest of the project is conceived and developed.

In the subsequent stage the task given was to implement the theory classes given on the products and sales process to generate results for the company i.e., to try and achieve the objectives for which project was taken up viz.

The aim of the project is to throw light on the skills, which are required in good sales personnel in order to push any product in the market.

To analyze consumer behaviour towards different insurance products in the present scenario and understand their psychology.

Understanding customer’s needs and priorities. Bringing out different issues on the surface related to insurance

products with respect to customers and sellers.

In order to achieve the objectives of the project my primary duty was to work as an insurance advisor who could use various methods to forward the products and services of the company and to make a record of the various reactions of the customers and to reason out the possible causes for or for not making a sale.

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CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

THE CONCEPT OF INSURANCE

The business of insurance is related to the protection of the economic value of an asset for which a normal lifetime exists during which it is expected to perform. However if the asset gets damaged, destroyed or is made non functional by the occurrence of some unfortunate event the owner of the assets suffers. Insurance is a mechanism to reduce the financial implications of such consequences. The insurance is a mechanism by which the financial loss experienced, due to the damage or losses of asset because of happening of uncertainties or not happening of certainties, is transferred to an insurance pool.

The insurance is a risk transfer mechanism by which one organization can exchange its uncertainties and losses to ascertained loss, by receiving the contribution from the common fund to the insurance business.

Early Attempts

Life insurance in its modern form came to India from England in1818 with the formation of the oriental life insurance company in Kolkata with the passage of time Indians were also covered by this company. By 1868 there were 285 companies operating in India and were primarily into insuring the European lives, those Indians who offered were charged an Extra premium of 15 to 20% and treated as substandard lives.

First Indian Company

The first insurance company under the title “the Bombay life insurance Society” started its operation in 1870 and started insuring lives of Indians at standard rates. Later “Oriental Government Life Insurance Company” was established in 1874 which emerged as the leading insurance company in India.

Pre-Independence history

With the various freedom movements various leaders encouraged domestic life insurance companies to enter the fray. In 1914 there were only 44 companies and in 1940 this number grew to 195. From here on the growth of life insurance was quiet steady except in 1947-48 during the partition of India.

Nationalization of Insurance Business (1956)

After independence our nation was moving a socialist pattern of society and with the main aim of spreading the concept to rural areas and to channel the money into nation building activities the government of India nationalized the life insurance business and formed “ the Life Insurance Corporation of India started functioning from 01.09.1956 and is today the largest insurer in the country with one central office,

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seven zonal offices and over 2048 branch offices with a workforce of 125000 employees and over 800000 life insurance agents.

INSURANCE SECTOR REFORMS:

Why it became Inevitable?Despite the phenomenal success of The Life Insurance Corporation of India the government and the public at large were not satisfied with it and by signing the GATT accord the government of India was committed to open up the insurance sector to both domestic and international firms.

A committee under the chairmanship of late Mr. R. N. Malhotra was formed (Ex Governor RBI) and came to conclude that the monopoly of LIC lead to the lack of sensitivity towards policy holders and only 22 % of the insurable population was insured.

The committee thus recommended a number of measures to revamp LIC and to allow foreign companies to operate in India with an Indian partner; It left that this would lead to a greater scope in product innovation and services improvement as well.

In 1999 the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill was passed by the government to facilitate the growth and regulate the newly opened insurance sector and to guarantee the investments made by the people.

On August 15, 2000 the sector was finally opened for foreign sector participation.

Deregulation came with certain conditions:

Firstly all new foreign players entering the Indian market must set up a joint venture with a local company.

Secondly, the maximum share the foreign player can hold is 26 % with the local company or companies holding the balance. Regulators are currently reconsidering the foreign equity cap of 26%.

CLASSIFICATION OF INSURANCE SECTOR:

Insurance sector can be classified using different yardsticks such as time period of insurance policy, nature of risk coverage, nature of risk and happening of event, nature of subject matter or insurable interest, external nature insurance business and purpose of insurance business but broadly for the common understanding this sector can be divide into life and non-life insurance.

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Some of the Life Insurance Services providing companies are

SL. No Name of the Life Insurance Company

1 Life Insurance Corporation of India

2 Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd

3 ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd

4 HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd

5 Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd.

6 Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd

7 Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited.

8 SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd

9 Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited

10 ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd

11 Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited

12 Cholamandalam

13 Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited

14 Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited.

15 Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd.

16 Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd

17 Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd.

18 Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited

19 IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd.,

20 Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd.

21 AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited.

22 DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

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CHAPTER-II

OBJECTIVEThe project deals with exploring of selling skills and understanding

consumer behaviour for products of BIRLA SUNLIFE insurance Company.

The aim of the project is:

To understand the psychology of customer behaviour and the reaction

of the customers when they are approached.

To develop an overall view of the insurance sector in the company.

Bringing out different issues on the surface related to insurance

products with respect to customers and sellers.

To understand the selling mechanism and various techniques involved

in the marketing of insurance products.

To throw light on the skills, which are required in good sales personnel

in order to push any product in the market.

To understand customers perceptions regarding for opting of life

insurance.

To understand customers perceptions regarding insurance products

(What features are important for them).

To understand various life insurance players in the market and reasons

for their preferences. To understand the customer’s perceptions about

BIRLA SUNLIFE brand image.

To understand the customer’s perceptions related to sales calls (What

makes them interested and what annoys them).

CHAPTER-III

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COMPANY BACKGROUND A collaboration of the US$ 28 billion Aditya Birla Group and the US$404.7 billion Sun Life Financial of Canada, the group brings together global and Indian expertise to the area of financial service

Aditya Birla Group

The Aditya Birla Group (www.adityabirla.com), a US $28 billion conglomerate, is among the largest business houses in India.

It enjoys a leadership position in all the sectors in which it operates. It is anchored by a force of 100,000 employees, belonging to 25 nationalities. Its operations span 25 countries across six continents and are reckoned as India's first multinational corporation. Aditya Birla Group Headquartered in Mumbai, India, over 60 per cent of the Group's revenues flow from our overseas operations. The Group nurtures a work culture where success is built on learning and innovation. The Aditya Birla Group has been adjudged "The Best Employer in India and among the top 20 in Asia" by the Hewitt, Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

Sun Life Financial Inc.

Sun Life Financial Inc. is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to individuals and corporate customers.

Tracing its roots back to 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of March 31st, 2010, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of US$ 404.7 billion. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol "SLF". Additional information can be found at www.sunlife.com

About Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

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Birla Sun Life Insurance pioneered the unique Unit Linked Life Insurance Solutions in India.

Within 4 years of its launch, BSLI has cemented its position as a leading player in the Private Life Insurance Industry.

There has been focus on Investment Linked Insurance Products, supported with protection products to maintain leadership in product innovation.

Multi Distribution Channels- Direct Sales Force, Alternate Channels and Group offering convenient channels of purchase to customers.

Web-enabled IT systems for superior customer services. First to have issued policies over the Internet. Corporate governance and a high degree of transparency in all business

practices and procedures. First to have an operational Business Continuity Plan. Strong fundamentals based on the Aditya Birla group's local insight and Sun

Life financials's global expertise.

BIRLA SUN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

A COMING TOGETHER OF VISIONSBirla 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.

The Aditya Birla Group has a turnover of close to Rs. 119000 crores, with a market capitalization of Rs. 133875 crores (as on 31st March 2010). It has over 100,000 employees across all its units worldwide. It is led by its Chairman - Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. Some of its key companies are Hindalco, Grasim and Aditya Birla Nuvo.

Sun Life Financial Inc. and its partners, have operations in key markets worldwide. These include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. Sun Life Financial Inc. has assets under management of over US$404.7 billion (as on 31st March, 2010). It is a leading performer in the life insurance market in Canada.

Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) has been operating for 7 years. It 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 Bancassurance route and through the Internet. It was the first private sector player to introduce a Pure Term plan in the Indian market. BSLI has covered more than 2 million lives since it commenced operations. And its customer base is spread across more than 1500 towns and cities in India. The company has a capital base of Rs. 1274.5 crores as on 31st March 2010.

Vision

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To create long term value along with market leadershipMission

To help people mitigate risks of life, accident, health and money at all stages and under all circumstances enhance the financial future of our customers, including enterprises.

Values Integrity Commitment Passion Seamlessness Speed

Market Share

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd. (BSLI), the pioneer of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the private life insurers in India, has registered strong growth amongst the private life insurers, as per reports for the Q1 of the fiscal 2010-11. As per the Q1 FY 2010-11 figures, BSLI has a market share of 8.15% amongst private life insurance players as compared to BSLI's market share for Q1 FY 2007-08, which was 4.9%, indeed a significant leap. BSLI's life insurance business has achieved a growth rate of 194%. The total APE (Annualized Premium Equivalent) is at Rs.507.4crores.

CHAPTER-IV

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INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPICUnderstanding about Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is a vast and complex subject. Understanding consumer behaviour and knowing consumers are not that simple. It is almost impossible to predict with 100 % accuracy how consumer(s) will behave in a given situation. Marketers are interested in watching people behave in different ways as they gain an insight in a wide variety of behaviour they display. The efforts of all the marketers are to influence the behaviour of consumers in a desired manner. The success or failure in this pursuit determines the difference between success and failure of marketing efforts or even the business itself.Consumer behaviour is an applied science. Though, the nature of the subject is such that there are few definitive answers. The study of consumer behaviour goes well beyond the mere act of acquiring or using the product or service. The study also includes of how having or not having things affects our lives and our possessions or use of products and services influence the way we feel about others and ourselves.The survey conducted on consumer behaviour includes responses from the consumers for various situations and conditions posed. The data retrieved from them is subjected to analysis by using various qualitative as well as quantitative tools. The survey is a combination of qualitative and quantitative findings. The sample size consists of 150 respondents, which is basically a simple random sample in which almost every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.The sample is even stratified as it is divided on the basis of gender ratio and different sectors of the society. The sample also falls in the category of quota sample, as the subdivisions are equally male and female. The findings of the sample can be projected as well as can act as a representative of the whole population.Since the survey is totally based on market segmentation i.e., the consumer as a whole is divided in to various segments based on the occupation, gender, martial status etc. since all the customers are not same as they have different needs, wants, tastes, educational level, background and experience. Due to this variation and variety the market today is totally heterogeneous. Hence the market is divided into relatively distinct homogeneous subgroups of consumers with common needs and characteristics. To survey these segments about the insurance products floating in the market and explore the consumer behaviour is the objective of the project. Segmentation is important in consumer behaviour analysis because understanding the consumer will allow us segment the market more meaningfully.The findings of the survey are about the behaviour of consumers towards the insurance products and the status of different insurance products in the market offered by the companies. These findings are totally derived from the data personally collected from those consumers who are using these products and belong to different sectors of the society (broadly divided as government sector and private sector).Apart from these major divisions there are several sub-divisions which are also worked upon to explore the consumer behaviour about insurance products. By combing the results of the different segments I came to certain conclusions that are being presented in the report.

CHAPTER-V

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METHODOLOGY

The main aim of this project is to study the consumer behaviour and various reactions of customers in reference to BIRLA SUNLIFE Insurance Company for this I have planned to use the methodology adopted is

Cold call Approach Reference Marketing Approach Questionnaire survey Direct Interviews

THE SALES PROCESSThe two widely followed methods of selling insurance policies are:

The cold call approach

In the cold call approach the insurance advisor does not know the prospect personally but has the database of the various prospects and thus his main aim is to appointment over the phone and then make the sales presentation and follow up the prospect as the case may demand. The hurdles in this process are gatekeepers who are those people who obstructs the way to meet the right pers0on and hence sales like the assistants, secretaries and other.

The reference marketing approach

In this case the insurance advisor approaches his existing contacts of friends and acquaintances and does not follow any specific methodology. Here the aim lies in developing a vast network of friends and acquaintances by various means in order to prospect a larger size of the population to whom he knows personally. The drawback of this process however is that the advisor may soon run out of references as he would have finished approaching all his close circles of influence

The sales presentation

The sales person is recognized as a surrogate for the service and in the case of life insurance may be perceived as being the service. The sales person should have thorough knowledge of the products with which he is dealing with and the sales process should offer what could not be delivered- especially where abstract words are used to describe the product or service.

Generating Interest What really interest the prospect in the product? What are the needs concerns worries of the customers?

Refer to a customer who is of similar background and his decisions taking up a policy.

CHAPTER-VI

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THEORITICAL ASPECTS

Consumer BehaviourThe study of consumer behaviour is of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources. It includes the study of what they buy, when they buy, where they buy it and how often do they use it.

The term consumer is divided in two sub categories

The individual customer or personal customer who buys good and services for his own use as in this case for his own investments and tax needs as well as for his family’s insurance coverage.

The organizational customer including government agencies institutions and commercial establishments and industries that purchase the insurance policies as key man insurance cover or group cover for their employees.

The customer and the markets are diverse and thus for any marketer it is important to know why and how individuals make their consumptions decisions thus to make better strategic marketing decisions. Thus by gaining an insight into the consumer behaviour it may be possible to predict how they react towards different information and thus gaining a competitive advantage in the markets. Thus if we can model behaviour then we can predict it and help us to examine the strengths and weakness of brand positions and develop marketing strategies designed to maximize attraction/ minimize defection as well as identify individuals of ‘opportunity’ and ‘risk’.

As a student of human behaviour we are concerned in understanding consumer behaviour with gaining insights into why individuals react in certain consumption related ways and to gain an insight into the internal and external influences that impel to act so thereby helping us to understand our strategies and thereby to become more aware of own purchasing decisions and consumptions.

Market SegmentationMarket segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing the market into distinct subsets of customers with common need or characteristics and selecting each target segment with a distinct marketing mix.Need For Market SegmentationAll customers are not alike thus the concept of mass marketing i.e. of offering the same marketing mix to all the customers cannot be applied here. The strategy of segmentation allows the marketers to avoid head on competition in the market place by differentiating their offerings.Thus after identifying the segments and clustering them into homogeneous groups the marketer must select a segment and design a specific product or services as well a promotional appeal to for each distinct segment and position the same in such a way that it is perceived by the target segment as satisfying the customers need better than the competitive offerings.

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Birla Sun Life Insurance Flexi Life Line Plan

In this policy, the investment risk in investment portfolio is borne by the policyholder

Highlights Lifelong insurance cover till 100 years of age Guaranteed returns of 3% p.a net of policy charges Choice of 3 investment fund options Option for tax free partial withdrawals

UNIT-LINKED LIFE INSURANCE SOLUTIONS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Birla Sun Life Insurance was the first Private Life Insurer in India to introduce Unit-Linked life insurance plans. A Unit-Linked plan is an auspicious coming together of security from life insurance and earnings from investments. Which means, apart from securing your future, they offer efficient returns. What's more, they're transparent, flexible and simple to understand.

With insurance cover till the age of 100 years*, this plan is designed to provide you a lifetime of security. While its compounding factor keeps adding on to your Investment Fund, the flexibility allows you to withdraw money from the Investment Fund whenever you require it in your lifetime. Tax-free ** by nature, it can also be used as a tax efficient pension plan.

Unique Features The plan is a unit linked non-participating plan which gives you efficient

earnings in the long term.#

Lifelong Insurance cover till age 100 years^ in addition to other durations available.

A choice of three Investment Fund Options: Protector, Builder and Enhancer, with the freedom to switch between the Investment Fund Options anytime during the policy tenure. $

Flexibility to make additional lump sum investments (top ups) to increase the savings portion of your policy.

Minimum Guaranteed returns of 3% p.a. on your premium and any top up amounts, net of all Policy Charges. More importantly the entire upside in the performance of the Investment Fund is passed on to you.@

Options to make tax free Partial Withdrawal**from your Fund Value anytime after three years.

Surrender the policy without penalty any time after 4 policy years. Increase the Sum Assured during the premium-paying period depending on

your life insurance requirements. Convenient premium payment options: Short or Regular paying period.

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The Plan

Birla Sun Life Insurance Flexi Life Line Plan

Minimum Entry Age 30 days

Maximum Entry Age 65 years, 59 years for 10 pay.

Minimum Sum AssuredRs. 5,00,000 for 10 yrs Premium Paying Period for all agesRs. 3,00,000 for 15, 20, 25 yrs and Regular Premium Paying Period for minors.Rs. 2, 00,000 for 15, 20, 25 yrs and Regular Premium Paying Period for majors.

Maximum Maturity Age70 years for minors for all pay options70 years for all ages for 10 pay option.100 years for majors for 15,20,25 or regular pay.

Premium Paying Period 10, 15, 20, 25 years or Regular Premium Paying Period

Premium Payment Frequency Annually, Semi-annually, Quarterly (for annual

premium more than Rs. 20,000 only), Monthly (through ECS only).

Premium Payment Mode Cash (upto Rs. 20000), Cheque, Credit Card, Salary Deduction, ECS, Direct debit

Top up Premium You can top up$ the fund whenever you have additional savings during the tenure of the policy. The minimum amount of top ups will be Rs. 5,000. The maximum amount of top up in any policy year will be Rs. 50,000 or the Annual Premium whichever is higher.

The Sum Assured in the plan will increase if the cumulative top up amount exceeds 25% of the Annual premium paid till date. The additional Sum Assured will be 125% of the excess top up premium and is subject to the administrative and underwriting rules of the company.

Guaranteed Returns/Guaranteed Funds

A minimum guaranteed return of 3% p.a. applies on premiums and top-up premium, net of policy charges and survival benefits. This total will constitute the Guaranteed Fund Value. The guaranteed returns are applicable in case of all exits.

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Maturity Benefits The higher of the ‘Fund Value’ or the ‘Guaranteed Fund Value’ (based on 3% net returns)

Amount due to nominee in event of death of the life insured

Higher of ‘Fund value’ or ‘Guaranteed Fund’ or ‘Sum Assured’ less all applicable Partial Withdrawals in the 24 months preceding the death of the life insured.

In case of death at the age of 60 yrs or above then the Sum assured will be reduced by the applicable Partial Withdrawals made since the life insured attained the age of 58 yrs. Where the policy is bought on or prior to the 1st birthday of the life insured, higher of the Fund Value or the Guaranteed Fund Value is payable to the policy owner in the event of death of life insured within the first policy year.

Partial Withdrawals In a year two Partial Withdrawals are free of charge.Partial Withdrawals are allowed after three policy years or on attaining the age of 18 years (in case of minors) whichever is later. The Partial Withdrawal is subject to the condition that the minimum Fund Value after the Partial Withdrawal is equal to the 'Guaranteed Fund' or 'One Annual Policy Premium plus Surrender Charges' applicable in that year, whichever is higher.

Surrender Benefits The policy can be surrendered any time during the tenure of the policy. The surrender charges will be zero after the 4th policy year. In case of surrender in the first 3 policy years the benefits will be paid out only after the 3rd policy year

Free Look Period You will have the right to return your policy to us within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy.  We will pay the Fund Value plus all charges levied till date (excluding the Fund Management Charge) once we receive your written notice of cancellation (along with reasons thereof) together with the original policy documents. 

Tax Benefits Under Section 80C and 10 (10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 **

^  For adults $  In a year, two switches between Investment Fund Options are free. For every additional switch, a charge of Rs. 100 will be levied # Please refer Risk Factors given below @ Conditions Apply ** As per the current tax legislation.$  Any top up premium made during the period of the contract cannot be withdrawn for three years from the date of payment of that top up premium. Only amount paid in

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excess of the Annual premium in any policy year only will be considered as a top up amount.

Increase Your Plan Sum Assured

Depending on your changing needs for life insurance during your lifetime, you have the option of increasing the Life Insurance cover under your policy once in every five Policy Years. The minimum amount of increase in Sum Assured will be Rs. 50,000 and will be subject to Underwriting and other rules of BSLI prevailing at the time of increase.

Keep Track of your Fund ValueBSLI will send you an annual policy statement giving details on the number of the units and the NAV of the units, held by you under the various Investment Funds as of the last policy anniversary. The NAV of the various Investment Funds will be available on our website www.birlasunlife.com, as well as in the newspapers.Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)The ECS is a convenient and hassle-free method of paying your premiums through an electronic debit to your bank account

Riders

You can further customize your Birla Sun Life Insurance Plan by adding riders to the base plan at a marginal extra cost.

Accidental death and Dismemberment Benefit Rider: It provides 100% of coverage in case of death due to accident; loss of more than one limb or sight in both the eyes or in case of loss of one limb and loss of sight in one eye; 50% coverage in case of loss of one limb or sight in one eye.

Term Rider:

It provides additional amount of cover in the event of death of the life insured.

Critical Illness Rider:

It provides a cover in the event of life insured being diagnosed as suffering from any of four illnesses specified under the Critical Illness Rider.

Critical Illness Plus Rider:

It provides a cover in the event of life insured being diagnosed as suffering from any of the seventeen illnesses specified under the Critical Illness Plus Rider.

Critical Illnesses Woman Rider:

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It provides a cover against several critical illness including woman specific illnesses like Pregnancy complications and congenital anomalies in a new born child.

Waiver of Premium:

This rider waives payment of future premiums on the happening of any of the unforeseen events as covered under this rider.

Investment Fund ParticularsYou can choose from 3 Investment Fund Options to match your risk profile and help you earn efficient returns on your Investment Funds.The Portfolio and the risk profile of the different Investment Funds are given below:

Investment Fund Option

Risk Profile Asset Allocation * Min. Max.

Protector LowDebt Instruments, Money Market &Cash 90% 100%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 0% 10%

Builder LowDebt Instruments, Money Market &Cash 80% 90%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 10% 20%

Enhancer MediumDebt Instruments, Money Market &Cash 65% 80%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 20% 35%

* In each Investment Fund Option, the Money Market & Cash asset allocation will not exceed 40%. The Investment Funds have a varying amount of debt and equity. You can select the Investment Funds based on your risk preference and switch between them based on your needs.ProtectorObjective: The objective of the Investment Fund Option is to generate consistent returns through active management of fixed income portfolio and focus on creating long-term equity portfolio, which will enhance yield of composite portfolio with minimum risk appetite.Strategy: To invest in fixed income securities with marginal exposure to equity up to 10% at low level of risk. This product is suitable for those who want to preserve their capital and earn steady return on investment through higher exposure to debt securities.BuilderObjective: This Investment Fund Option helps build your capital and generate better returns at moderate level of risk, over a medium or long-term period through a balance of investment in equity and debt strategy: Generate better return with moderate level of risk through active management of fixed income portfolio and focus

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on creating long term equity portfolio which will enhance yield of composite portfolio with low level of risk appetite.EnhancerObjective: This Investment Fund Option helps you grow your capital through enhanced returns over a medium to long term period through investments in equity and debt instruments, thereby providing a good balance between risk and return. This fund is suitable for those who want to earn higher return on investment through balanced exposure to equity and debt securities.Strategy: To earn capital appreciation by maintaining diversified equity portfolio and seek to earn regular return on fixed income portfolio by active management resulting in wealth creation for policyholders.

Policy ChargesThe Premium Allocation Charge* is an up-front charge and varies as per the premium payment term and the Policy Year as given below:Pay period

Policy Year 10-14 pay 15-pay+

1 54.6% 65%

2 7.5% 7.5%

3 7.5% 7.5%

4+ 5.0% 5.0%

*As a percentage of premiumThe Premium Allocation Charge for top ups and on Underwriting Extra (if any) will be 2.0 percent. There is no Premium Allocation Charge on Rider Coverage Premium.The Premium Allocation Charge is guaranteed for the duration of the contract.Charges

1. Mortality Charges for the Life Insurance Coverage will be deducted by cancellation of units at the prevailing NAV on a monthly basis. The annual mortality charges per thousand Sum At Risk for sample ages are as follows:

Sex / Age(Yrs) 20 30 40 50 60

Female 0.896 1.163 1.657 4.030 10.660

Male 1.016 1.171 2.150 5.532 13.732

The Mortality Charges are guaranteed for the entire period of the contract.

2. A Fund Management Charge not exceeding 1.5% p.a. of the Fund Value will be charged by adjustment of daily NAVs. Currently this charge is 1% p.a. for Protector, Builder and Enhancer.

3. A Policy Administration Charge will be recovered by cancelling units on a monthly basis at the prevailing NAV. The annual Policy Administration Charge per 1000 of the Life Insurance Coverage Sum Assured is given in the table below:

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Policy Administration Charge

Life Insurance Coverage Sum Assured

Policy Year For First

Rs.1,00,000On Amount in excess of Rs.1,00,000

1 5.52 2.88

2 17.88 15.24

3 + 5.52 2.88

This annual charge cannot exceed Rs. 20 per thousand of the Life Insurance Coverage Sum Assured:

For example, Suppose you had chosen a Sum Assured of Rs 10, 00,000.  In this case the total Policy Administration Charge in Year 1 is 5.52 * 100 + 2.88 * (1000 – 100) = 3144 and the amount Rs 3144/12 = 262 will be collected on every monthly processing date by cancellation of units during the first Policy Year.

4. A Rider Premium Charge will be recovered monthly by cancellation of Units. The Rider Premium Charge will be the equivalent monthly Rider Coverage Premium payable when the Rider Coverage Payment Period equals the Rider Coverage Benefit Period. Rider Coverage Premiums may be subject to market risks.

Fund Switching Charges In a year, two switches between Investment Fund Options are free. For every additional switch, a charge of Rs.100 will be levied.

Partial Withdrawal Charges

In a year two Partial Withdrawals are free of charge For every additional Partial Withdrawal, a charge equal to Rs.100 subject to a

maximum charge of Rs.500 will be levied.Surrender ChargesThe Surrender Charges are levied in the first four years and varies based on the duration of the Policy. During the first 24 months of the Policy, the charge will be an amount equal to the annualized Life Insurance Coverage Premium payable for this Policy.  For the purpose of Surrender Charges only, annualized Life Insurance Coverage Premium is defined, as the amount that is payable if the Coverage Paying Period is equal to the Coverage Benefit Period.  In the 25th month, the Surrender Charge is 24 percent of the annualized Life Insurance Coverage Premium.  The Surrender Charge per cent reduces by one for every month thereafter.  If the Policy is surrendered at any time after the 49th month, the Surrender Charge is zero.

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The Surrender Value is calculated after deducting the Surrender Charges from the Fund Value.

Premium DiscontinuanceIn the first three Policy Years:

To keep the Policy in force, you must contribute, within the grace period of 30 days, the amount of Policy Premiums, which is due but unpaid. At the end of the grace period if the premium is not received, then the Policy will lapse and all Coverage will terminate immediately.

Once the policy lapses it has to be revived within two years from the lapse date, failing which the Surrender Value as at the lapse date will be paid out at the end of the third Policy Year or at the end of the revival period whichever is later. In case the Policy is surrendered during the revival period, then the Surrender Value as at the lapse date will be paid out at the end of the third Policy Year or the date of Surrender whichever is later.. The Surrender Value will be calculated by deducting the Surrender Charges applicable on the lapse date. The Surrender Value will not be affected by the market fluctuations and will remain constant till the time it is paid out. There will be no deduction of the Policy Charges (as set out in the Policy Charges section) thereafter from the Surrender Value. If the life insured dies while the policy is not yet revived, we will pay the Fund Value as of the lapse date immediately and terminate the contract.

After the first three Policy Years:

To continue the Policy, you must contribute, within the grace period of 30 days, the amount of Policy Premium due but unpaid. At the end of the grace period if the premium is not received, you will be given a period of two years to pay all due and unpaid Policy Premiums. During these two years all Coverage will continue to be in force and all applicable charges will continue to be deducted from the Fund Value till the Surrender Value falls to one Annual Policy Premium. At this time the Policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value will be paid out.

At the end of the two year period we will give you an option to continue the Policy. If you do not opt to continue the Policy, the Policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value will be paid out.

If you decide to continue with the Policy, the Company will not accept further Policy Premium under this Policy. All Coverage will continue to be in force and all applicable charges will continue to be deducted till the Surrender Value falls to one Annual Policy Premium. At this time the Policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value will be paid outPolicy RevivalShould your Policy lapse due to non-receipt of premiums within the first three Policy Years; you can request that it be revived within two years from the lapse date. Revival or Reinstatement of the Life Insurance Coverage is subject to the following:

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Evidence of insurability satisfactory to us with respect to the Life Insured (if applicable); and

Contribution in full of an amount equal to all Policy Premiums due but unpaid till the Effective Date of Revival.

The Effective Date of Revival is the date on which the above requirements are met and approved by the Company. On this date, the Fund Value as on the lapse date will be re-invested in the Investment Fund at the NAV applicable on the Effective Date of Revival. All outstanding Policy Charges, if any, for the period between the lapse date and the Effective Date of Revival shall be deducted from the Fund Value.  

We reserve the right to levy a charge subject to our administrative rules then in force to cover the Underwriting costs arising at the time of Revival. The Revival charge currently is Rs 100. This charge cannot exceed Rs. 1000.

In case of non-receipt of premium after the first three Policy Years, you can request that it be continued within two years from the end of grace period after non-receipt of premium by contributing all Policy Premium due but unpaid from the date of premium discontinuance.

Closure of Policy

After first three Policy Years, if the Fund Value falls to one Annual Policy Premium net of Surrender Charges, we will terminate the Policy and pay the Surrender Value to you.

Service Tax and other leviesService Tax and other levies, as applicable, will be levied as per the extant tax laws

NAVSThe basis used for calculation of NAV would be the appropriation price and expropriation Price. The Appropriation price shall apply in a situation when the company is required to purchase the assets to allocate the units at the valuation date.The Expropriation price shall apply in a situation when the company is required to sell assets to redeem the units at the valuation date.The NAV per unit of each Investment Fund will be calculated as per the prevailing IRDA guidelines mentioned below.When Appropriation price is applied: The NAV shall be computed as:(Market Value of Investments held by the fund + The Expenses incurred in Purchase of the Assets + Value of Any Current Assets + Any Accrued Income Net of Fund Management Charges - Value of any Current Liabilities - Provisions, if any)Divided by the number of units existing at valuation date (before any new units are allocated)When Expropriation price is applied: The NAV shall be computed as:(Market Value of Investments held by the fund - The Expenses incurred in Sale of the Assets + Value of Any Current Assets + Any Accrued Income Net of Fund Management Charges - Value of any Current Liabilities - Provisions, if any)Divided by the number of units existing at valuation date (before any new units are allocated)

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Terms used Premium- The amount one has to pay during the premium paying period in

order to subscribe to a particular plan for a given level of plan benefit. Premium Paying period- The period over which you agree to pay the

premiums. Policy Period- the period for which the insurance plan has been taken. Sum Assured- Is the amount of life insurance cover chosen by you.

Maturity- The time when the insurance plan taken comes to an end for example the maturity for 10 year plan will be at the end of the 10th year.

Age- As per the last birthday.

Top up the Lump sum investment that you can make to enhance the savings portion of the Policy.

Sum at Risk - is the Sum Assured less the Fund Value.

Suicide

  “ If the Life Insured dies by suicide within one year of the issue of the policy or the reinstatement of the Life Insurance Coverage whichever is later, we will not pay the life insurance cover. In such a case, we will refund the higher of the premiums paid towards the policy since the issue date or the Fund Value on the date of death”.

Section 41 of Insurance Act

No person shall allow or offer to allow, either directly or indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take or renew or continue an insurance in respect of any kind of risk relating to lives or property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of the commission payable or any rebate of the premium shown on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or renewing or continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebate as may be allowed in accordance with the published prospectuses or tables of the insurer.

Section 45 of Insurance Act

No Policy of Life Insurance effected before the commencement of this Act shall after the expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this Act and no Policy of Life Insurance effected after the coming into force of this Act shall, after the expiry of two years from the date on which it was effected be called in question by an Insurer on the ground that statement made in the proposal or in any report of a medical officer, or referee, or friend of the Life Insured, or in any other document leading to

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the issue of the Policy, was inaccurate or false, unless the Insurer shows that such statement was on a material matter or suppressed facts which it was material to disclose and that it was fraudulently made by the Life Insured and that the Life Insured knew at the time of making it that the statement was false or that it suppressed facts which it was material to disclose. Provided that nothing in this section shall prevent the Insurer from calling for proof of age at any time if he is entitled to do so, and no Policy shall be deemed to be called in question merely because the terms of the Policy are adjusted on subsequent proof that the age of the Life insured was incorrectly stated in the application.

Risk Factors / Disclaimers

This policy is underwritten by Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI).

This is a non-participating Unit-Linked Plan.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Flexi Life Line, Protector, Builder and Enhancer are only the names of the Company, Policy and the Investment Funds respectively and do not in any way indicate the quality of the Policy, Investment Funds or their future prospects or returns.

The above mentioned charges are applicable to the base coverage only and do not include riders.

The charges mentioned above are applicable to all the three Investment Fund Options offered at present.

All the policy charges (except Premium Allocation Charge and Mortality Charge) can be modified by the company subject to approval of the IRDA.

The value of the Investment Fund reflects the value of the underlying investment. These investments are subject to market risks and change in fundamentals such as tax rates etc affecting the investment portfolio.

The premium paid in Unit Linked Life Insurance policies are subject to investment risk associated with capital markets and the NAV of the units may go up or down based on the performance of Investment Fund and factors influencing the capital market and the insured is responsible for his/her decisions. There is no guarantee or assurance of returns above the guaranteed returns from the Investment Funds.

BSLI reserves the right to recover levies such as the Service Tax levied by the authorities on insurance transactions. If there be any additional levies, they too will be recovered from you.

This brochure contains the salient features of the plan. For further details please refer to the policy contract.

Insurance is the subject matter of the solicitation. For more details and clarification call your BSLI Insurance Advisor or visit

our website and see how we can help in making your dreams come true.

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Birla Sun Life Insurance Gold-Plus II

In this policy the investment risk in investment portfolio is borne by the policyholder.

Highlights Eight Fund Options including a 100% equity option - Maximiser: A wide

range of investment funds to choose from depending on your risk appetite. Also, a golden opportunity to higher your return on investments by investing in 100% equity option - Maximiser.

Manage your investment fund portfolio: Free unlimited switches and premium redirection - The plan allows you to monitor your investment fund performance and change its portfolio according to your preferences at different stages through free unlimited switches and premium redirection.

Short pay option-3 pay: Convenient short pay option that allows you to pay your premiums for 3 years only thus avoiding the hassle of paying regular premiums.

Premium Flexibility: The plan offers the flexibility to reduce your premiums from the 2nd year depending upon your financial situation.

Liquidity: The plan offers good liquidity through Partial withdrawals and Surrender. After three years there is no penalty on surrender of policy. Free unlimited partial withdrawals after 3 policy years allowed subject to a minimum withdrawal amount of Rs. 5000.

Your Future, Your SuccessThe Birla Sun Life Insurance Gold-Plus II Plan which gives you much more than a good insurance cover, an opportunity to grow your investments for the medium term.It is worth more than Gold.It is Birla Sun Life Insurance Gold Plus II PlanBirla Sun Life Insurance Gold-Plus II PlanThis plan is a unit linked, non-participating, insurance plan for duration of 8 years. A simple, hassle free plan it helps you strike the right proportion between protection and savings. Our plan offers you the convenience of paying for a limited period of 3 years with the flexibility to reduce premium (subject to minimum of INR 10000) from the second policy year onwards without reduction in sum assured. The plan, also offers you the benefits of top-up besides providing liquidity in the form of partial withdrawals and surrender benefits. Our plan has eight fund options, which empowers you with the flexibility of allocating premiums in varying proportions into different

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fund options and achieves superior investment returns. Free unlimited switches and premium redirection give you an opportunity to optimize your returns.Eligibility

Entry Age: 18 yrs to 70 years. Minimum Premium: INR 50, 000. Minimum Sum Assured: 5 x annual premium.

PremiumsYou can choose your desired premium and the sum assured.

Premium Payment FrequencyYou can pay the policy premium monthly (through ECS only), quarterly, half-

yearly or annually. Premium Paying Mode

You can pay your policy premium by cash (up to INR 50,000), cheque, credit card, salary deduction, ECS and direct debit

Top-Up PremiumYou can top-up the fund whenever you have additional savings prior to the maturity of the policy. The minimum top-up premium is INR 5,000.The sum assured in the plan will increase if the top-up amount exceeds 25% of the policy premium paid till date. The additional sum assured will be 125% of the excess top- up premium and is subject to the administrative and underwriting rules of the company.

Investing Your Premiums

We offer eight investment funds to suit your particular investment needs - Assure, Protector, Builder, Enhancer, Creator, Magnifier, Maximiser, and Multiplier. If you wish to diversify your risk, you can choose to allocate your premium in varying proportions amongst the available investment fund options. You can switch between the fund options or change the allocation into the various funds anytime during the tenure of the policy. The minimum switch amount is INR 5000.

AssureObjective: To provide capital conservation, at a high level of safety and liquidity through judicious investments in high quality short-term debt.

Strategy: To generate better return with low level of risk through investment into fixed interest securities having short-term maturity profile.

ProtectorObjective: To generate consistent returns through active management of a fixed income portfolio and focus on creating a long-term equity portfolio, which will enhance the yield of the composite portfolio with minimum risk appetite.

Strategy:  To invest in fixed income securities with marginal exposure to equity up to 10% at low level of risk. This investment fund is suitable for those who want to preserve their capital and earn a steady return on investment through higher exposure to debt securities.

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BuilderObjective: To build capital and generate better returns at moderate level of risk, over a medium or long-term period through a balance of investment in equity and debt.

Strategy: To generate better returns with moderate level of risk through active management of a fixed income portfolio and focus on creating a long-term equity portfolio, which will enhance the yield of the composite portfolio with low level of risk appetite.

EnhancerObjective: To grow capital through enhanced returns over a medium to long-term period through investments in equity and debt instruments, thereby providing a good balance between risk and return. This investment fund is suitable for those who want to earn higher return on investment through balanced exposure to equity and debt securities.

Strategy: To earn capital appreciation by maintaining a diversified equity portfolio and seek to earn regular returns on the fixed income portfolio by active management resulting in wealth creation for policy owners.

CreatorObjective: To achieve optimum balance between growth and stability to provide long-term capital appreciation with balanced level of risk by investing in fixed income securities and high quality equity security. This fund option is for those who are willing to take average to high level of risk to earn attractive returns over a long period of time

Strategy: To invest into fixed income securities & maintaining diversified equity portfolio along with active fund management policyholder's wealth in long run.

MagnifierObjective: To maximize wealth by managing diversified portfolio.

Strategy: To invest in high quality equity security to provide long-term capital appreciation with high level of risk. This fund option is suitable for those who want to have wealth maximization over long-term period with equity market dynamics.

MaximiserObjective: To provide long term capital appreciation by actively managing a well-diversified equity portfolio of fundamentally strong blue chip companies. Further, the fund seeks to provide a cushion against the sudden volatility in the equities through some investments in short-term money market instruments. Strategy: To build and actively manage a well-diversified equity portfolio of value and growth driven stocks by following a research focused investment approach. While appreciating the high risk associated with equities, the fund would attempt to maximize the risk-return pay off for the long-term advantage of the policyholders. The fund will also explore the option of having exposure to quality mid cap stocks. The non-equity portion of the fund will be invested in good rated (P1/A1 & above) money market instruments and fixed deposits. The fund will also maintain a reasonable level of liquidity.

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MultiplierObjective: To provide long-term wealth maximization by actively managing a well-diversified equity portfolio, predominantly comprising of companies whose market capitalization is close to Rs. 1000 crores and above. Strategy: To build and actively manage a well-diversified equity portfolio of value & growth driven stocks by following a research driven investment approach. The investments would be predominantly made in mid cap stocks, with an option to invest 30% in large cap stocks as well. While appreciating the high risk associated with equities, the fund would attempt to maximize the risk-return pay-off for the long-term advantage of the policyholders. The fund will also maintain reasonable level of liquidity

We record your allocation instructions as per the premium allocation percentage, and our only requirement is that the percentage allocated to each investment fund be in increments of 5%, ranging from 0% to 100%. For added flexibility, you can at any time:

Use our premium redirection facility and change your premium allocation percentage applicable to future policy premiums and top-up premiums; and

Switch part or all of your allocated units in one investment fund to another at the then prevailing unit prices.

Keeping Track Of Your Investments

BSLI will send you an annual policy statement giving details on the number of units and their unit price, held by you under the various investment funds as of the last policy anniversary.

The unit price of the various investment funds will be available on our website www.birlasunlife.com, as well as in the newspapers.

Accessing Your Investments

Fund Value is the balance of all units allocated to your policy multiplied by their respective then prevailing unit price.

Partial Withdrawals

You are allowed to make unlimited partial withdrawals after 3 policy years, free of cost. The minimum withdrawal amount is INR 5,000. The maximum partial withdrawal you can make is the excess, if any, of the fund value over the higher of:

INR 30,000; or Top-up premiums paid by you during the three years preceding the partial

withdrawal date.

Policy SurrenderThe policy can be surrendered any time during the tenure of the policy subject to a surrender charge. The surrender charges will be zero from the 4th policy year. In case of surrender in the first 3 policy years the benefits will be paid out only after the 3rd

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policy year. The surrender value as of the date of your surrender remains constant till paid to you.Policy Loans

We do not offer this facility on this plan.

Benefits

Maturity Benefit

On maturity, your fund value will be paid to you.

Death Benefit

In the unfortunate event of the death of the life insured prior to the maturity date of the policy, we will pay to the nominee the greater of (a) the fund value or (b) the sum assured reduced for partial withdrawals as follows:

Before the life insured attains the age of 60, the sum assured payable on death is reduced by partial withdrawals made in the preceding two years.

Once the life insured attains the age of 60, the sum assured payable on death is reduced by all partial withdrawals made from age 58 onwards.

Premium Allocation ChargePremium allocation charge is deducted from your policy premium when received and before units are allocated. It is guaranteed to never increase. See Schedule B. Fund Management ChargeA fund management charge not exceeding 1.75% p.a. of the fund value will be charged by adjustments of the daily unit prices. The charge is 1% p.a. for funds Assure, Protector, Builder, and Enhancer for Creator, Magnifier, Maximiser funds it is 1.25% p.a. for Multiplier fund it is 1.50%

Policy Administration ChargeA policy administration charge will be recovered by canceling units on a monthly basis proportionately from each investment fund. See Schedule B for the annual rate per 1000 of sum assured. We may increase this charge at any time after the 3rd policy year, subject to a maximum increase of 5% p.a. since inception.Mortality Charge

Mortality charge will be deducted on a monthly basis. We will take these charges by canceling units proportionately from each of the investment funds at that time.

The annual rates per 1000 of sum at risk (sum assured less fund value) for sample ages are provided in table below for your reference. Please visit our website or ask your financial advisor for the rates applicable to you. It is guaranteed never to increase

Sex/Age (in years) 25 35 45 55 65

Female 1.023 1.162 2.385 6.441 15.92

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Male 1.083 1.363 3.110 8.571 21.06

Surrender ChargeThe surrender charge is applied if and when you surrender your policy in the first 3 policy years. The surrender charge as a percentage of the annual policy premium chosen at issue is shown in Schedule B.IRDA ApprovalOnly when specified and within stated limits, we may increase a particular charge at any time in the future. We, however, need to get prior approval from the IRDA before such charge increase is effective. Otherwise, all other charges in this policy are guaranteed to never increase during the tenure of the policy.Schedule A

InvestmentFundOption

RiskProfile Asset Allocation * Min. Max.

Assure Very LowDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 100% 100%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 0% 0%

Protector LowDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 90% 100%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 0% 10%

Builder LowDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 80% 90%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 10% 20%

Enhancer MediumDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 65% 80%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 20% 35%

Creator MediumDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 50% 70%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 30% 50%

Magnifier HighDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 10% 50%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 50% 90%

Maximiser HighDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 0% 20%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 80% 100%

Multiplier HighDebt Instruments, Money Market & Cash 0% 20%

Equities & Equity Related Securities 80% 100%

* In each Investment Fund Option, the Money Market & Cash asset allocation will not exceed 40%.

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Schedule B

Policy ChargesPolicy Years

1 2 3 4+

Premium Allocation Charge on policy premium 8% 4% 4% ---

Premium Allocation Charge on top-up premium 2% 2% 2% 2%

Policy Administration Charge*  19.4  19.4  19.4 14.4

Surrender Charge 15% 12.5% 10% Nil

* Per 1000 sum assured up to INR 50,000. An additional 5 per 1000 will be charged in the first three policy years only on any excess sum assured over INR 50,000.

Current Tax Benefits

You will be eligible for tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Under Section 80C, premiums up to INR 100,000 are allowed as a deduction from your taxable income each year.Under Section 10 (10D), the benefits you receive from this plan are exempt from tax, subject to mentioned exclusions.

Service Tax and other levies

Service Tax and other levies, as applicable, will be levied as per the extant tax laws.

Premium Discontinuance

If you are unable to pay the policy premium by the due date, you will be given a grace period of 30 days during which time all coverage under the policy will continue. If we do not receive the entire policy premium by the end of the grace period the insurance under your policy will cease and your fund value will be held in suspense after deduction of surrender charges. You will then have two years from the lapse date to revive your policy.If the policy is not revived by the end of the two-year revival period, we will terminate the contract and pay the surrender value as of the lapse date to you at that time or at the end of the third policy year, whichever is later. The current charge for

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revival is INR 100. We reserve the right to increase this charge at any time, subject to a maximum of INR 1000.If the life insured dies while the policy is not yet revived, we will pay the fund value as of the lapse date immediately and terminate the contract.

Terms & Conditions

Unit Price

On each business day and for each investment fund, we determine the unit price by dividing the net asset value (NAV) of the investment fund at the valuation time by the number of units in existence for the investment fund in question. We publish the unit prices of all investment funds on our website www.birlasunlife.com as well as in the newspapers.The NAV is determined based on whether we are purchasing (appropriation price) or selling (expropriation price) assets in order to meet the daily transactions of unit allocations (redemptions) associated with the investment fund. When appropriation (expropriation) price is applied, the NAV of the investment fund is the market value of investment held by the fund; plus (less) the expenses incurred in purchasing (selling) assets; plus the value of current assets; plus any accrued income net of fund management charges; less the value of any current liabilities or provisions. This NAV divided by the number of units existing on the valuation date, before units are allocated (redeemed), gives the amount of money we put in to (take out of) the investment fund per unit allocated (redeemed).

Suicide

We will refund higher of the fund value or policy premiums paid to date in the event the life insured dies by suicide, whether medically sane or insane, within one year after the issue or revival date, whichever is later.

Free-Look Period

You will have the right to return your policy to us within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy. We will pay the fund value plus all charges levied till date (excluding the fund management charge) once we receive your written notice of cancellation (along with reasons thereof) together with the original policy documents.

Section 41 of the Insurance Act, 1938

No person shall allow or offer to allow, either directly or indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take or renew or continue an insurance in respect of any kind of risk relating to lives or property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of the

38

commission payable or any rebate of the premium shown on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or renewing or continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebate as may be allowed in accordance with the published prospectuses or tables of the insurer.

Section 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938

No policy of life insurance effected after the coming into force of this act shall, after the expiry of two years from the date on which it was effected be called in question by an insurer on the ground that statement made in the proposal or in any report of a medical officer, or referee, or friend of the life insured, or in any other document leading to the issue of the policy, was inaccurate or false, unless the insurer shows that such statement was on a material matter or suppressed facts which it was material to disclose and that it was fraudulently made by the policyholder and that the policyholder knew at the time of making it that the statement was false or that it suppressed facts which it was material to disclose.

Provided that nothing in this section shall prevent the insurer from calling for proof of age at any time if he is entitled to do so, and no policy shall be deemed to be called in question merely because the terms of the policy are adjusted on subsequent proof that the age of the life insured was incorrectly stated in the application.

Risk Factors & Disclaimers

This policy is underwritten by Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI). This is a non-participating unit linked savings plan. Birla Sun Life Insurance, Gold-Plus II, Assure, Protector, Builder, Enhancer, Creator, Magnifier, Maximiser, Multiplier are only the names of the Company, Policy and the Investment Funds respectively and do not in any way indicate the quality of the Policy, Investment Funds or their future prospects or returns. The charges mentioned above are applicable to all the eight Investment Funds offered at present. Only the policy administration charge and fund management charge can be modified by the company subject to specified limits and approval of the IRDA. The value of the Investment Fund reflects the value of the underlying investments. These investments are subject to market risks and change in fundamentals such as tax rates etc affecting the investment portfolio. The premium paid in Unit Linked Life Insurance policies are subject to investment risk associated with capital markets and the unit price of the units may go up or down based on the performance of Investment Fund and factors influencing the capital market and the policy owner is responsible for his/her decisions. There is no guarantee or assurance of returns from the Investment Funds. BSLI reserves the right to recover levies such as the Service Tax levied by the authorities on insurance transactions. If there be any additional levies, they too will be recovered from you. This brochure contains the salient features of the plan. For further details please refer to the policy contract. Tax benefits are subject to changes in the tax laws. Insurance is the subject matter of the solicitation. For more details and clarification call your BSLI Insurance Advisor or visit our website and see how we can help in making your dreams come true.

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THE SALES PROCESS

COLD CALL APPROACHSteps involved to cold call processProspecting:The various leads of prospects can be obtained from various sources or number of ways. The most predominant methods used is records of existing customers, enquiries, database of other concerns and referrals of existing prospects etc.

Preparation and planning

The sales person should try and get as much information as possible about the client before contacting him or taking an appointment. He can get this information from the person who has given the reference. In the case of database the various prospects are likely to have some common interests like they may all be the members of a social service organization and have the similar interests.

Determine your sales approach and plan your sales call. Determine which products and services best suit particular prospects. Uncover reasons why you should not pursue some prospects, saving your

valuable time and resources.

Tele calling

After the above two stages are complete the next stage is to contact the prospect over the phone. This is one of the most crucial stages in the sales process as it involves the generation of interest by the customer and his agreeing to affixed appointment

Factors that make Tele calling effective

Effective script

Ability to articulate the script correctly

Ability to handle the customer’s queries and resistance

Availability of a large database

Silent surroundings

Correct pronunciation of words

Moderate pitch and tone

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Moderate speech rate

Absence of any interruptions and noise

ScriptThe script is a standard set of words each prospect over the phone. It is scientifically designed such that it enables the message to get across to the prospect over the phone.

Parts of the script

Opening

Introduction and confirmation

Main body

Reasons for calling What do you want to do? Why do you want to do?

Close Alternate close Take details from the prospect Confirmation of appointment

The sales presentation

The sales person is recognized as a surrogate for the service and in the case of life insurance may be perceived as being the service. The sales person should have thorough knowledge of the products with which he is dealing with and the sales process should offer what could not be delivered- especially where abstract words are used to describe the product or service.

Generating interest

What really interests the prospect in the product? What are the needs, concerns, worries of the customers? Refer to a customer who is of similar background and his decisions taking up a

policy.

The presentation process

Introduction and salutation exchange. Reconfirm that it is the right time for the meeting Explain the purpose of the meeting and what they expect at the end of it Propose the next step and carry on with it

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Agreement on need

You will summarize for your prospect the information you gathered in above steps to verify and clarify these facts. You will be demonstrating your understanding of the prospect’s unique problems and needs. Your prospects buy from you not because they understand your product and service, but because they believe you understand them. Most of the success you will have in selling engagements or software solutions depends on the job you do in these three steps.

Sell the companyYour prospects second buying decision is about your company. Does it operate with integrity? Does it have the competence and capability to perform as promised? You will supply your prospects with the information they need to make the decision positively.Fill the Need

Your prospects next two buying decisions are about the product or service you sell and the price. In this step, you will show your prospects how your product or service solve their problems or fill their needs precisely and the value they will receive for their purchase price. Review the key features and related benefits of the product. Outline the role your services will play and other ways you answer their unspoken question. “What will it do for me”?

Act of commitment

There is always a best time to ask for the order and close the sale and that is when the only buying decision left is when to buy. In the accounting and software professions, the majority of selling opportunities do not conclude with the seller asking for the engagement or sale. It concludes with the prospect saying they need to think over the proposal and will call back. However the sales professionals know now is the time to ask for the order or the act of commitment. In step six, you will ask for the engagement or software sale more than once, if necessary- without applying any pressure. In professional selling, when the previous steps are properly handled, closing the sale becomes the logical conclusion to a well given presentation. Peak performers know that closing the sale is no more important or difficult than any other step in the selling process.

Cement the sale

People buy emotionally, then justify their buying decisions logically. In this step you will cement in your prospects minds the logical reasons that made their purchasing decisions sound and intelligent so that your sales will wear well.

Handling Objections

During the sales process one probably meets a familiar obstacle; the objection “Objections are prospects” statements about why they don’t plan to buy your product or service. It may be statement such as “I don’t need that service right now” or “I already buy those products from ABC Company”

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Don’t be afraid of an objection: Its simply part of the sales process. In fact objections oftentimes are a signal that the sale is progressing and you’re getting closer to “yes”. Objections are oftentimes a prospects way of saying “I am not convinced yet: but I could be”

Anticipate objections Rehearse answers to standard objections. Learn to ask questions of prospects to drill down to their real objections.

Techniques for overcoming objections

Treat every objection with respect and diplomacy

Employ the “yes, but” technique. Agree with your customers (the yes) and then offer them new information (the but)

Question prospects when they make statements about why they won’t buy or what they don’t like about your product. Ask “why” they feel as they do: this will help you get to the root cause of their concerns.

Restate the objection so the customer can hear it. This tends to reduce the magnitude of an objection or allows prospects to modify your statement (really theirs) to get closer to the true objection.

Tactfully respond directly to the customer’s statement. You might even contradict your customer. Use this approach carefully; however, it will offend some while proving to be the best approach for others.

Closing the sale

Although one should never be shy about “asking for the business” prospects will probably give you some signals when they are ready to become customers. Familiarize yourself with the following readiness signals:

Asking about availability such as” how soon can someone be here?” Asking specific questions about rates, prices or statements about affordability. Asking about features, options quality, guarantees or warranties. Asking positive questions about your business. Asking for something to be repeated Making statements about problems with previous vendors: they might be

seeking reassurance from you that you won’t pose the same problems. Asking about follow-up service or other product you carry. Requesting a sample or asking you to repeat a demonstration for them or for

others in their company or family. Asking about other satisfied customers. You should have a list of satisfied

customers ready to give to prospects who, ask (Make sure you’ve already contacted your customers and gained their approval for providing their names.

Follow-Up and service after the sale

After the sale follow-up after the sale is just as important as making the sale. That’s when your relationship with a customer really takes hold. It helps to build long-term

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relationship with the customer and helps in retaining him and referring the products to his peers.

CHALLENGES FACED DURING SALES PROCESS

There were many hurdles and challenges faced during the sales process, which made the process really exciting

People were not even ready to give time for appointment. Most of the time gatekeepers objected the path to the concerned person Customer psyche was also a problem, for people insurance means LIC that is

what impression people are carrying in their mind, which was posing a problem in forwarding the products of BIRLA SUNLIFE. Sometimes people are not even ready to listen about other company’s products.

The number of products in hand was limited. So when sometimes people asked for other products they were not in my possession.

Going to government offices was only an option left with us, which was already occupied by the great LIC.

MISTAKES MADE DURING SALES PROCESS

A sale is basically the process of closing a deal, because selling is first and foremost a transaction between the seller and the prospective buyer or buyers. Selling is the art of persuading the consumer that buying the product or service will benefit him or her. A perfect salesman is a person who can sell ice to an Eskimo. But still there are some mistakes, which sales people generally make without paying attention that they are actually committing them. There are very few basic things we should keep in mind before starting the sales process and this could be really of immense use.

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CHAPTER-VIIDATA COLLECTION

SAMPLE SIZECollection of data was done randomly from different sectors of employees who are basically falling into the tax slab. In order to retrieve basic data from them, a comprehensive tool was adopted which comprised a set of 13 close ended and 1 open ended question.A total of 150 people were interviewed and were subjected to the questionnaire for the retrieval of data required.

SAMPLE FRAME

The whole sample size was divided into different categories as follows

First two primary categories were Government employees -10 Private employees -40

(MEN=32 WOMEN=18)

Further the two main categories were divided into six sub categories as

1. Total no of Advocates -12

2. Total no of Doctor -03

3. Total no of Businessman -07

4. Total no of Sahara members -10

5. Total no of chartered Accountants -10

6. Total no of Others -08

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DESCRIPTION OF THE QUETIONNAIRE ITEMS

The questionnaire consists of 15 close ended questions. These questions are quite comprehensive in nature. Each question is designed in such a way that it directs the consumer to give the detail description of what he thinks about the insurance products and what is the value of these products in his or her life. The question helps in retrieving the necessary data from the consumer, which in turn will help in exploring the behaviour.

First two questions finds out whether the person is having any insurance policy or not and if not then what is the reason for not having one?

Then third one tells about if the person is not having any insurance policy then the questionnaire ends then and there. If a person having any plan then what type of plan he has taken.

Fourth one finds out what factors help the person in taking decisions when investing his money in any company?

Then fifth question tells that before buying the insurance policy, whether the consumer consults anybody before investing money in any plan and if consulting is done then who are the people who play important role in making buying decision.

Sixth question gives the information about the consumer’s concern and awareness about the insurance or investment plans.

Seventh one tells that whether the person is satisfied with the service and benefits of his company.

Eighth question gives information about whether the consumer is satisfied with the kind of services been provided by the company. It depicts the degree to which the company is able to satisfy its customers as far as services are concerned.

Ninth question gives information about the company awareness and the credit of the company in the market, which has motivated and provided customer with enough reasons to take policies from.

Tenth question gives details about the reasons for which the consumer has gone for the product of the insurance company. Basically the primary reason

46

for investing money in such type of policies is tax benefit, but there can be other reasons as to why the consumer goes for such type of investment such as insuring the future in case of any unexpected happening or securing source of income even after the retirement.

The eleventh one tells about how much the company is careful to solve the problems of the customer.

Twelfth question is quite important as it gives the reasons for which the customer is not willing to change the company and desires to continue with it. This is an important aspect of consumer behaviour. Customer develops an image of the company in his mind, which is due to the degree of satisfaction provided by the company.

Thirteenth question gives information about whether the consumer is satisfied with the kind of benefits he is getting from BIRLA SUNLIFE

Fourteenth questions give the perception of the customers about the BIRLA SUNLIFE i.e. what they think about the company.

Fifteenth one tells about the rating i.e. what they give rating the service and benefit of the BIRLA SUNLIFE

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CHAPTER-VIII

BIRLA SUNLIFE’s Product- A SWOT ANALYSIS

Major Strengths:

Premium rates are increasing and so are commissions The variety of products is increasing. Prospects expect more services from their brokers Flexibility in payment of premium Flexibility in investment option Open office structure Competitive environment

Major Weaknesses

Insurance companies are often slow to respond the changing needs There is an increasing trend of financial weakness among the companies There are more competitors for agencies to compete with banks and internet

players

Opportunities

The ability to cross sells financial services is barely being tapped and can still be developed by collaborative efforts.

Technology is improving to the point that paperless transactions are available The client’s increasing need for an “insurance consultant” can open new ways

to service the client and generate income.

Threats

The increasing cost and need for insurance might hit a point where a backlash with occurs.

Government regulations on issues like health care, mold and terrorism can quickly change the direction of insurance.

Increasing expenses and lower profit margins will hit hard n the smaller agencies and insurance companies.

Increasing in the number of private players in the market

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CHAPTER-IXANALYSIS OF DATA

After the collection of data the next task is to interpret and analyze the data. The questionnaire is design in such a way that the entire questions are answered. After editing the data are tabulated and analyzed. This survey was conducted in Cuttack for the purpose of collecting data. The sample of 50 respondents was interview out of that 64 % are male and 36 % are female. So that opinion from both the sex can be taken, which makes the data analysis free from gender biasness.

The analysis and interpretation of data in order to their responses from the respondents are as follows:-

1. TYPES OF RESPONDENTS:-

Advocates 12

Doctors 03

Businessmen 07

Chartered Accountants 10

Sahara personnel 10

Others 08

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Types of respondents

24%

6%

14%

20%

20%

16%

Advocates

Doctors

Business manChartered Accountant

Sahara Personnel

Others

Number of persons having insurance

Persons having insurance policy

28%

72%

Yes

No

Reason for respondent not having insurance policy

50

Reason for respondents not having insurance policy

20%

40%

30%

10%

Not interested

Not come in tax slab

Other ways to save tax

others

Respondent having Types of insurance plans

Respondent having types of insurance plan

30%

34%

16%

10%

10%

Pension Plan

Investment Plan

Saving Plan

Childrens Plan

Medical Benefit Plan

Factor affecting in decision Making

Factor Affecting Decision Making

16%

16%

20%14%

34%

Age of the Company

Reputation of thecompany

Securioty of theCompany

Types of the Company

Listing in the stockexchange

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Respondents Consulting the Advisor before Buying

Respondents Consulting the Advisor Before buying

40%

30%

10%

6%

14%

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

NeutralDisagree

Strongly Disagree

Customers Satisfaction with Insurance Company

Customers Satisfaction with insurance company

6%

28%

4%

34%

28%Very satisfied

Satisfied

neutral

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Customer Satisfaction for BIRLA SUNLIFE Products

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Customer Satisfaction for BIRLA SUNLIFE Products

10%

30%

8%

32%

20%

Very satisfied

Satisfied

neutral

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Mindset of the customer for BIRLA SUNLIFE Products

Mindset of the customer for BIRLA SUNLIFE Products

20%

22%

24%

20%

14%

Better Service

Personal Attention

Well Connected

Friendly Atmosphere

More Products

The insurance company has best performance

The insurance company has best performance

16%

40%20%

6%

4%

14%

BIRLA SUNLIFE

LIC India

ICICI Prudential

TATA AIG

Metlife India

BAJAJ Alliance

CHAPTER-X

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FINDINGS OF DATA

After the details survey, study and analyzing of the collected data I find that the consumer have their perception about the company and their expectation from the company’s products are:-

UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERCEPTION GAP FOR BIRLA SUNLIFE:

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS:Customer expectations play a vital role in a company’s success and have a deeper meaning in services marketing than being mere requirements of a customer. It is clearly important to know with which type of expectation the customer compares the performance of the particular service. The psychological dimensions of expectations relate to the fundamental aspects of the service delivery. Customer expectations are based on customers experience with the service, feedback received or based on their present needs. Customers do not expect service providers to fulfill all their requirements but only that they deliver what have promised. They want to get a fair deal for the price they pay the service. For instance insurance customers often find that most of their requirements are not met by insurance policies due to exclusion cases.Insurance companies are trying to understand customer expectations and design their policies accordingly. Customer service expectations can be measured along four dimensions of service quality:

Value: It should be known to the service providers that, what specific value will the client gain by performing the services. This value can be articulated in money, in efficiencies, or in quicker resolution of their problem. No matter what method the company uses, by being specific and clear about its solution, it will make it easier for the prospect to buy.

Solution: Once the conversation is done to uncover needs, now a solution has to be crafted. It is not a question of offering all the services that are available, but offering only those that connect with the scope of the articulated needs.

Need: The service provider needs to find out what kinds of needs the prospect might have in the general area of expertise. The service providers concern for the customers and devote individual attention to the service provider’s to each customer is shown by this dimension. In the insurance industry the employees are expected to give individual attention to the customers in making them understand the services offered and listening to their queries.

Trust: This refers to the ability of the service provider and his employees to use their knowledge and courteous behaviour to instill confidence regarding the service. In the insurance industry trust begins with the initial rapport that is developed with each prospect. As the prospect begins to feel that the service is indeed competent and professional, he will start to let it into their world.

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION: Customer perception provides with a way to accurately measure how customers think of the company, its products and services.

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In marketing of services, perception can be defined as customer’s judgment about the service experience and pertains to the aspects of value of service delivery, service quality and customer satisfaction. Perception change over time, differ from person to person and from one culture to another. It is extremely important for the insurance companies to have knowledge about the customers think or perceive about the services so that they can update their services according to the needs of the customers. Insurance companies should also have the knowledge about the influence of such factors like service encounter, service evidence, image of the service organization and price of the service on customer perception. They should also attempt to understand the various types of service encounters like remote, face-to-face and phone encounters to be able to understand customer perceptions. Once a firm articulates the tangible aspects of its services it can better promote them, control service delivery quality and set prices.The major factors that influence the customer perception about a service provided by an insurance company are

Service encounter: Customer perception of a service quality is primarily influenced by the service encounter. A customer estimates the quality of service through his interaction with a service provider. It is during these interactions when a customer assesses the quality of service offered by the service provider. Insurance companies have agents who come in direct contact with the customers so it is through them that the customer will have his perceptions about the company. For e.g. if a person who visits an insurance company for claim is not received properly by the employees of the company, he may not like to take any more insurance coverage from the company.

Service Evidence: The intangibility property of the service makes customers look for evidences of the service in every interaction with the service provider. Marketing message and campaigns should be crafted properly for services as company only has a few seconds to grab its clients and prospects attention. Service evidence for an insurance company is not very important as customers seldom visit the office.

Image: A customer’s perception of the service quality is also dependent on the image of the service organization in the mind of the customer. A customer who has a good image about a company is likely to ignore some instances of poor service. In contrast to this if the customer has a negative of the service organization and if the organization fails to provide proper service, it will further add to the negative image of the organization in the mind of the customer and result in dissatisfaction.

Price: The price of a service has an impact on customer perception of the service. It also influences customer perceptions of value, quality and satisfaction. If an insurance company prices its policies low then customers might doubt its quality. On the other hand customers can have expectations of a high quality if the service is priced high.

In the traditional service quality literature there are five major dimensions; tangibles, reliability, responsibility, assurance and empathy.

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In the Parsuraman model:

Tangibles refer to physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel.

Reliability means ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately

Responsiveness means willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

Assurance indicates knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.

Empathy refers to caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers.

CONCEPT OF THE PERFORMANCE GAP:

A gap model focusing on the identification of the key components of service quality management and delivery based up on customer expectation and perception and the service delivery associated with these was created by Parsuraman. The basic premise of the model was that a gap often exists between customer expectations and perceptions and the actual delivery of the service.

Why customer perception gap is important:

This concept is important because a company should understand where their gap i.e. what is there fault. If they would analyze this, then the companies would decrease the gap. By decrease these gaps they would increase their profits, sales market share, etc.

Study of Gaps for BIRLA SUNLIFE:

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Tabgibility Gap for BIRLA SUNLIFE

0102030405060

Perception Expectation

Tangibility takes into consideration the visual appeal and usage of the physical facilities available from the above graph it can be seen that almost 37% agree to some extent there should be a good amount of tangibility in the services. But respondents also disagree that there is not much tangibility factor in BIRLA SUNLIFE. Hence there lies a gap between expected service and perceived service.

Reliability gap for BIRLA SUNLIFE

05

10152025303540

Disagr

ee

somew

hatdisa

gree

neutr

al

somew

hat a

gree

agree

strong

ly ag

ree

In(%

)

Expectation Perception

There is more pronounced variation in the graph when it comes to reliability of the service. As far as BIRLA SUNLIFE is concerned it is a private company so customers don’t think it as reliable. So it should try and reduce the gap by fulfilling its promises on time.

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Responsiveness Gaps For BIRLA SUNLIFE(In %)

05

10152025303540

Dis

agre

e

som

ewha

tdis

agr

ee neut

ral

som

ewha

tag

ree

agre

e

stro

ngly

agr

ee

Expectation Perception

Responsiveness includes factors such as availability of technical and problem solving. BIRLA SUNLIFE being a privatized firm believes more in attracting and retaining customers and hence trains its employees to be more caring and show willingness to solve the problem. And also expect individual attention whereas there lays almost no gaps in case of BIRLA SUNLIFE.

Assurance Gap For BIRLA SUNLIFE

05

1015202530354045

Disagr

ee

somew

hatdisa

gree

neutr

al

somew

hat a

gree

agree

strong

ly ag

ree

Perception Expectation

Assurance: This refers to the ability of the service provider and their employees to use their knowledge and courteous behaviour to instill trust and confidence in customers regarding the service. For this factor both have almost equal gaps.

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Empathy Gap for BIRLA SUNLIFE

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

In(%

)

Perception Expectation

From the above graph it can be seen that customers are happy with the services of BIRLA SUNLIFE as they are more empathetic and as can be observed from the graph that is a small gap between the expected and perceived value.

Types of plan has taken By Bhubaneswar People

05

10152025303540

PensionPlan

InvestmentPlan

Saving Plan ChildrensPlan

MedicalBenefit Plan

In(%

)

Private sector rely less on Life Insurance Policy in comparison to the Govt. sector. Although there is also saving taxes and majority go for life Insurance but there is more stress on the pension plan in comparison to the Govt. sector as they obviously don’t get any pension after retirement as Govt. sector people so they think more for securing their source of income in the future after retirement apart from saving taxes. People in this sector are more aware and go for the details before buying any policy or investing their money in any plan. They compare the alternatives that are similar products from different companies which are available to them and find out which is more giving them more benefits. Here this graph indicates that out of total sample pension plan has sold out 30%, Investment plan is 34%, saving plan is 16%, child plan is 12% and medical benefit 8%

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The product of Insurance Company in terms of "Value of Money"

Excellent15%

Good14%

Fair30%

Poor20%

Not sure21%

Excellent Good Fair Poor Not sure

Here from the survey I found that different people have different perception regarding the product of insurance company in terms of value of money. Out of my sample 15% think they are getting satisfactory products, 20% think they are getting poor products from the company and 21% are neutral.

Reason for not selecting BIRLA SUNLIFE

12%

35%

18%

15%

20%

Hidden charges Costly service Poor customer service

No personal attention Any other reason

From this I found that what are the reasons that customer are not coming to the BIRLA SUNLIFE. Out of them 12% think BIRLA SUNLIFE has more hidden charges, 35% think the company has costly service, 18% think poor customer service, 15% people think they are not getting personal attention from the company, 20% are not able to give any specified reason.

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FACTOR INFLUENCING DECISION MAKING

FAMILY MEMBERS

30%

FRIENDS25%

INSURANCE ADVISOR

45%

The motivation of buying any product starts from the need recognition, until and unless the need for any commodity or service arises, the process of acquiring the same doesn’t start. Once the need is generated, people go for gathering information. This can be done through various sources such as personal sources, commercial sources, public sources and experiential sources. The most common of them is personal and commercial sources such as friends, family, advertising and sales persons. Consumers in government sector and private sector also follow the same process of acquiring information about insurance products. The company also plays an important role in creating awareness about the product through advertisement and the other methods. Consumers have different beliefs and values which effect their buying actions. The first impression of any company is formed through the quantity and quality of promotional activity it does to forward its product in the market. Consumers in both the sectors are rational enough to analyze the insurance product in the market. Consumers in both the sectors are rational enough to analyze the insurance product in the market. They collect a lot of data from different sources before buying any insurance product.

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ATTRIBUTES OF COMPANY INFLUENCING CUSTOMER'S INVESTMENT

15%

24%

33%

10%4%

13% 1%

AGE REPUTATIONSECURITY NETWORKORIGIN TYPELISTING IN STOCK MARKET

The psychology of consumers is directly affected by the surroundings he is in most of the times. It is again the perception, belief and values which derives the decision making process. It is but natural that any consumer looks for certain attributes attached to the company before investing money in buying the product or services. Depending on the priorities, a consumer goes forward towards making any buying decision regarding product of any company. Consumers in the government sector are mostly features which a consumer looks before buying any financial products and they are reputation, age, network, origin, type, listing in stock market. Consumers in private sector are more influenced by the reputation of the company in the market which is derived directly from the amount of value delivered and utility of the product to the customers.

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CHAPTER-XI

RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMPANY

It is a fact that LIC is the leader in the field of insurance today and ICICI Prudential has first position in private sector insurance companies. But BIRLA SUNLIFE has also set its position firmly in this field. BIRLA SUNLIFE having the back of Aditya Birla Group is the most assurance private companies among the private insurance companies. They don’t show highly aggression for their customer base like ICICI Prudential or BAJAJ Alliance. During the survey a lot of customers were interviewed through an open ended question about the level of satisfaction they are getting from the company, the answers from them revealed a lot of facts about the reputation of the company among consumers.

BIRLA SUNLIFE apart from penetrating and capturing the market should also ponder over the sentiment of the consumers, creating a healthy environment in which consumer feel convenient and secure should be the primary objective of the company. The low level of service and lack of follow may lead to attrition of consumers which is the biggest weak point of the company in the current scenario. Standards of service should be maintained and efforts to delight the customers should be put into.

BIRLA SUNLLIFE is growing at a tremendous pace due to variety and flexibility of its products. The benefits provided are also satisfying but this alone is not enough to sustain in the leading position and not at all deserving factor for the top position. Customer satisfaction especially in the form of service and courtesy should be the main aim of the company, as they should not forget that insurance industry is basically a service industry.

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CHAPTER-XII

CONCLUSION

A remarkable trend in the insurance industry in the last three years is the rapid change in the knowledge level as well as EXPECTATIONS OF THE CUSTOMERS. Studies conducted on consumer behaviour in pre and post liberalization days of the industry had revealed stunning changes in consumer expectations.

It looks as though the docile, uniformed, insurance consumer has suddenly been transformed into an aggressive and highly demanding species. In case of insurance the potential buyers are motivated to buy the products generally for three major reasons:

Security of the money invested

Saving for one or more specific purposes

Availability of tax benefit

Customers are increasingly known to place less reliance on the tax benefit factor and stress more on the security aspect and the end-use objective. The challenge of the insurance companies is to address and pose the motivating factors imaginatively and come up with innovative and genuine solutions. A potential buyer primarily expects that the saving should be a painless process and that the money saved should be absolutely safe. The companies should make sure that they should not only provide convenience in payment options but also a sense of relief and protection if the customer is not able or is forced to terminate the payments due to unforeseen or unexpected happenings.

There has been a vast change in the approach of the insurance agent from the pre-liberalization days. While the agent in the past established informal contacts with potential buyers and often depended on referrals from friends and family members, the new age companies insist on a professional and often aggressive stance on the part of the sales staff which is not very healthy from consumer retention point of view. Consumer needs to be delighted instead of only getting satisfied, the company needs to go an extra mile in order to delight the consumers. Consumer today has become aware and analytical in behaviour and expects the sales staff to furnish the right and accurate (updated) information regarding the product. Comparative analysis of the various products in the market is also asked for by the consumers at point and times in order to get the best product, which suits his requirements optimally.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.google.com

www.birlasunlife.com

www.irdaindia.org

Consumer behaviour- by Satish k Batra and S. H. H. Kazmi-Excel Books

Marketing Management- by Philip Kotler- eastern economy Edition.

Consumer behaviour- McGraw hill

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: Designation:

Age: Organization:

Gender: Marital Status:

1. Do you have any insurance policy?

Yes

No

2. If No, What are the reasons for not having one?

Not interested

Don’t Come in Tax Slab

Other ways are to save tax

Others

3. If yes, which type of plan do you have?

Pension plan

Investment Plan

Saving Plan

For child

Medical Benefit Plan

4. What factors help you in taking decisions when investing your money in any company?

Age of the company

Reputation of the company

Security from the company

Type of company

Listing in the stock market

5. Before buying any insurance policy did you like to consult any insurance advisor?

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat disagree

Neutral

Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

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6. When did you think about the insurance?

Before marriage

After marriage

7. Are you satisfied with the benefits you are getting from your insurance company?

Yes

No

8. Thinking about your most recent experience with your insurance company, how satisfied are you with the customer service you received

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

9. If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, do you want to have an insurance policy plan in BIRLA SUNLIFE?

Agree

Strongly agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Somewhat agree

10. How would you rate the “the products of your insurance company” value for money?

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Not sure

11. Please choose an option that closely represents your option about the process with which your most recent problem gets solved.

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

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12. If you are not an existing customer, what are the reasons for not selecting BIRLA

SUNLIFE?

Hidden charges

Costly service

Poor customer service

No personal attention

Any other reason

13. If you are an existing customer of BIRLA SUNLIFE, you are satisfied with the

benefits?

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

14. What comes to your mind when you think of BIRLA SUNLIFE?

Better service

Personal attention

Well connected

Friendly atmosphere

More products

15. Which insurance company would you rate the best on overall performance?

BIRLA SUNLIFE

LIC India

ICICI Prudential

TATA AIG

MetLife India

BAJAJ Alliance

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