INTRODUCTION

1.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Indian Life Insurance industry was liberalised in [Link] insurance industry of India consists of 52
insurance companies of which 24 are in life insurance business and 28 are non-life insurers. Among
the life insurers, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the sole public sector company. Apart from
that, among the non-life insurers there are six public sector insurers. As per IBEF report, India’s life
insurance sector is the greatest in the world, which includes 36 cr policies, which are expected to
increase at a CAGR of 12-15 % over the next 5 years.

The growth of the life insurance industry is driven by the factors like nominal GDP growth rate,
favourable demographic profile, high household savings, rising income levels and increasing
urbanization, approvals by IRDA, declining saving interest rates and the products offered. Also the
government of India has taken various initiatives to promote insurance penetration in the country
like for example most recent one-“Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna”.

India’s insurable population is anticipated to touch 75 crores in 2020, with life expectancy reaching
[Link], life insurance is projected to comprise35 % of total savings by the end of this
decade, as against 26 % IN 2009-10.

In 1993 the Government of Republic of India appointed RN Malhotra Committee to lay down a road
map for privatisation of the life insurance sector. While the committee submitted its report in 1994, it
took another six years before the enabling legislation was passed in the year 2000, legislation
amending the Insurance Act of 1938 and legislating the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Act of [Link] same year that the newly appointed insurance regulator - Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority IRDA-started issuing licenses to private life insurers.

Apart from Life Insurance Corporation, the public sector life insurer, there are 23 other private sector
life insurers, most of them joint ventures between Indian groups and global insurance giants.

1
 Source: [Link] (INDIA BRAND EQUITY FOUNDATION)

Fig 1.1MARKE SHARE OF VARIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES

1.2 Need & Scope of the study

The papers which form part of this report entitled “Lead Generation-Activities” is an attempt to
understand and discuss the various issues that the SBI LIFE (Retail Agency Channel) is dealing with,
and to bring to the fore new activities and target unexplored segment that will help in generating
leads both in terms of Customers and IA.

Motivation:

SBI Life as a brand has high market value among private players in this [Link] Life extensively
leverages the State Bank Group relationship as a platform of cross selling and has a ready
distribution set up of over 18000 branches of SBI selling various insurance products. Despite all the
supporting factors SBI Life has not been able to achieve a respectable market share.
Thus, the main managerial problem proposition which was intended to be solved was to know the
reasons behind various loopholes existing in retail channel and subsequently devise a strategy to
reduce the flagging issues and challenges faced by this channel. The lacunae in company’s marketing
and retail agency strategy need to be found out to know the gaps between company and the market.
There is a need to find the target segment to generate best quality leads for this segment, customer’s
expectations to build a supporting strategy and increase SBI Life’s market share in this region. An in

2
depth insight into the problem proposed could only be gained by directly interacting with
intermediateries and with the end customers.
Insurance is a means of protection form financial losses. It is form of risk management, primarily
used to hedge against risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. An entity which provides insurance
known as insurer, an insurance company, an insurance carrier or an underwriter. A person or entity
who buys insurance is known as policyholder, while a person or entity covered under the policy is
called insured.

Insurance marketing
The term Insurance Marketing refers to the marketing of insurance services with the motto of
customer-orientation and profit generation. The insurance marketing focuses on the formulation of
an ideal mix for the insurance business so that the insurance organizations survive and thrive in a
right prospective. They quality of services can be improved by formulating a fair mix or the core and
peripheral services.

Marketing Mix For Insurance Companies to best meet the needs of its targeted market. The
marketing mix includes sub-mixes of the 7 P's of marketing i.e. the product, its price, place,
promotion, people, process & physical attraction. Out of Exclusive three P’s most important one
is discussed below which is related to this study:

People:
Understanding the customer better allows designing appropriate products. Being a service industry
which involves a high level of people interaction, it is very important to use this resource efficiently
in order to satisfy customers. Training, development and strong relationships with intermediaries are
the key areas to be kept under consideration. Training the employees, use of IT for efficiency, both at
the staff and agent level, is one of the important areas to look into.

From the survey results of a recent poll among B2B sales and marketing executives, the most often
mentioned marketing goals for the year ahead are lead
generation and branding/awareness initiatives

Scope of Insurance

The main aim of a life insurance cover is to secure the needs of dependents after one’s untimely
death. In addition to the emotional suffering, the financial insecurity arising out of losing the primary
earner can be immense. This is the reason why most personal finance experts suggest that life
insurance should be the main part of one’s investment planning. In India, life insurance is yet to

3
reach its full potential as the awareness about life insurance products is pretty low. While the Indian
life insurance industry has witnessed a lot of transformation ever since the entry of private players, it
still has a long way to go in terms of protecting the entire population of our country.

1.3 How Life Insurance works

Life insurance is basically a contract between two parties — an insurance company and an individual —
wherein the company guarantees the payment of compensation to the insured’s dependents in case of his/her
untimely death within the predetermined policy term. There are different types of life insurance products
available in the market. All life insurance covers pay a lump sum death benefit following the unexpected
death of the policyholder within the policy term. Savings/investment-oriented life insurance policies may also
accumulate additional bonuses during the course of the policy term.

Life Insurance industry in India

The Indian life insurance industry witnessed a major transformation in the year 2000 due to the
entry of various private players. As of now, there are 24 companies competing with each other in
the life insurance industry. This intense competition has created an opportunity by providing a lot of
choices for customers. Though there are a lot of takers for life insurance in India, the country’s
overall insurance penetration is just 2.72% according to the Economic Survey 2018. The potential to
grow is extremely high in the Indian life insurance market. This is the main reason why the industry
continues to attract new entrants. Most importantly, this change has led to the adoption of various
regulatory changes and consumer-centric practices in the life insurance industry.

Types of Life Insurance Policies

Life insurance policies can be broadly classified into traditional life insurance policies and non-
traditional life insurance policies. Except for ULIPs, most of the following types of life covers come
under traditional policies:

 Term insurance: Since there is no maturity benefit associated with term insurance, it is considered to be
the purest form of life insurance coverage. This policy pays lump sum benefit to the insured’s dependents
upon his/her untimely death during the policy term. If the insured outlives the policy term, the coverage
will terminate without any maturity benefits.
 Unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs): This is a non-traditional life insurance cover offered by insurers.
As the name implies, this policy is linked to the market and the maturity benefits are based on the policy’s
earnings in the market. Customers are free to choose the type of funds based on their risk appetite.
 Endowment plans: These are life insurance policies that have a savings aspect along with life insurance
protection. One of the notable aspects of endowment policies is that they provide guaranteed returns,

4
 unlike ULIPs. There are different types of endowment covers available in the market. Most endowment
policies provide bonus payments along with the maturity benefit.
 Whole-life insurance: This is a traditional plan wherein the life insurance coverage is offered through the
entire life (maximum of 100 years) of the insured person. Following the death of the insured, his/her
dependents will get the benefit amount. The premium payment period is fixed at a specific number of years
for this policy.
 Child insurance plan: This policy is mainly designed to secure the future educational/marriage needs of a
child. A parent can take this policy to protect his/her child’s future. If the parent dies during the policy
term, the future premiums are waived and the child will get the maturity benefit at the end of the policy
term.
 Retirement plans: These plans are famous among career-oriented individuals. It allows people to build a
corpus for their retirement and secure their post-retirement needs. People also invest in pension plans to get
regular income following their retirement.

How Insurance can protect your family

Most of the nuclear families in India have only one primary earner. The unexpected loss of the primary earner
can have devastating consequences on a family’s financial security. Undergoing a major financial crunch
along with the emotional burden can result in major trauma for the family. Life insurance aims to avoid this
situation by protecting the life of the insured person against unexpected eventualities. The family of the
insured person can manage their future expenses with the lump sum payment received from the company.
Hence, life insurance can safeguard a family from a critical situation associated with the loss of a primary
earner.

Benefits of Life insurance

Death and maturity benefits are the most obvious benefits of life insurance covers. However, there
are many other benefits offered by life insurance policies apart from these two. The overall benefits
offered by life insurance covers are listed as follows:

 Death benefit: This refers to the lump sum payment received by the family of the insured person.
The death benefit is typically the sum assured amount chosen by the policyholder at the time of
signing up for the policy.
 Maturity benefit: This refers to the payment received by the policyholder if he/she outlives the
chosen policy term. There are no maturity benefits in term covers. However, other covers like
endowment plans, ULIPs, retirement plans, etc., offer maturity benefits for policyholders.
Maturity benefits typically have bonus payments provided by the company.

5
 Loan facility: This is not applicable to term insurance covers. Other investment-oriented plans
provide loan facility up to the extent of the surrender benefit of the policy. Individuals can choose
the repay the loan amount or use their accumulated policy benefits to pay off the loan.
 Tax benefit: The premium amount paid for a life insurance policy is exempt from income tax as
per Section 80C of Income Tax Act. This tax benefit is an added advantage available for life
insurance buyers.
1.4 Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
Insurance when introduced in India was under the government regulation.
However, to institute a standalone body to oversee the functioning of the growing insurance industry,
a separate regulatory body was set up known as the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India or IRDA.
 
This organisation is responsible for both life and general insurance firms. It is the body that lays forth
rules and regulations governing the appropriate functioning, life, and insurance of the Indian
insurance sector. The IRDA is also in charge of regulating and developing these areas.
 
When a swarm of new insurance firms arose, each with its own set of business laws and prices, the
insurance industry's image was jeopardised. As a result, the Indian government established an
independent organisation to oversee the regulations and protect the interests of customers. 
 
The IRDA was created in this manner. This body is now the managing authority of the development
of the Insurance Industry in India.

Role of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)

The Insurance Industry in India, established back in the early 1800s, has developed over the
decades with better transparency and emphasis on protecting the interest of the policyholders. Here

are the roles IRDA plays in the Indian Insurance Sector :

 Protecting the interest of the policyholder

 Assist in advancing the growth of the insurance industry in an organised manner for the benefit
of the common man

 Grant, renew, revoke, modify or suspend the registration certificate of an insurance company

6
 Safeguard policyholder in matters concerning the grant of policies, settlement of a claim,
selection of a nominee by the policyholder, surrender policy value and other such terms and
conditions of the policy

 Provide long-term funds to accelerate the nation’s economy

 Enforce high standards of integrity and competence among policy providers

 Ensure genuine claims are settled efficiently

 Prevent malpractices and policy frauds by providing a grievance redressal forum for
policyholders

 Promote fairness and transparency of insurance in financial markets

 To build a reliable management system in order to ensure high standards are maintained and
financial stability is observed by the policy providers

 Take appropriate actions when high standards are not maintained

 To ensure an optimal level of self-regulatory is maintained in the insurance industry

Establishment of IRDA:

The Government of India was the regulatory body for the insurance industry until the year 2000.
However, in order to establish a stand-alone body, the IRDA was built following the
recommendation of the Malhotra Committee Report in 1999. By August 2000, IRDA began
accepting applications for registrations and allowed companies through invites from different
countries to invest as much as 26% in the Indian market.

The IRDA has defined several rules and regulations under the Insurance Act of 1938. These
regulations range from registration of insurance companies to operate in the country to protecting
the interest of policyholders. As of September 2020, there are 24 Life Insurance companies and 31
General Insurance companies who are registered with the IRDA.

How Does IRDA Work?

IRDA, known to be the apex body of the insurance sector, ensures that it frames rules and
regulations without any uncertainty or ambiguity towards any insurance company. To ensure the
integrity and financial soundness in the industry, the primary work of the IRDA revolves around
the interest of the policyholder. Let us catch a look at the various roles of the IRDA in which the
IRDA is mainly involved:

o To issue the certificate of registration to new insurance companies

7
o Establish rules and regulations to take care of interests of the policyholders

o To monitor all claims are settled in a fair manner, and no claim is denied by the insurance company
under their free will

o To regulate the code of conduct of the insurance company and of those associated with the insurance
industry

o Address issues and provide solutions in case of disputes which are arisen via the IRDA ombudsman

o Regulate and control the rate of insurance to impede undesirable and superfluous price hikes in
insurance premiums which might cause distress to the policyholder

o The IRDA is also accountable for setting a minimum percentage limit of insurance companies for both
Life Insurance and General Insurance, consequently developing both the rural as well as the urban
sectors

o IRDA is also responsible for granting licenses to insurance agents. It issues licenses to individuals to
clear the required exam. It was integrated with the IRDA regulations and comprised the rules for
applying and acquiring an insurance agent license.

8
 COMPANY PROFILE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

SBI Life Insurance Company Limited (SBI Life) established in 2001 is a joint venture between State
Bank of India (SBI) and BNP Paribas Cardif S.A. and is one of the leading life Insurance companies
in India. SBI has an unrivalled strength of over 22414 branches across the country making it the
largest banking group in India. BNP Paribas Cardif S.A. is the life and property & casualty insurance
arm of BNP Paribas one of the strongest banks in the world. SBI Life offers a comprehensive range
of life insurance and pension products. The company offers individual and group products which
include savings and protection plans to address the insurance needs of diverse customer segments.
SBI Life has a multi-channel distribution network comprising of an expansive Bancassurance
channel with SBI and agent network comprising of 108261 Insurance Advisors (IAs) as on March 31
2018. The company's other distributions channels include direct sales and sales through corporate
agents brokers insurance marketing firms and other intermediaries. As on March 31 2018 the
company had a widespread network of 825 offices across the [Link] Life Insurance Company
Limited was incorporated as a public limited company at Mumbai on October 11 2000 and received
Certificate of Commencement of Business from the RoC on November 20 2000. The Company is
registered with the IRDAI for carrying out business of life insurance pursuant to the registration
certificate dated March 29 2001. During financial year 2002-03 SBI Life launched Bancassurance
channel. It also paid its first claim during the year. During financial year 2004-05 SBI Life's Assets
Under Management (AUM) crossed Rs 1000 crore mark. In January 2005 SBI Life launched unit-
linked product. During financial year 2005-06 SBI Life became the first new generation private life
insurance company to make profit; the company registered profit after tax of Rs 2.03 crore for the
[Link] financial year 2007-08 SBI Life's Gross Written Premium (GWP) crossed the milestone
of Rs 5000 crore and AUM crossed the milestone of Rs 10000 crore. The company also achieved
cumulative breakeven during the year wiping out all accumulated losses. During the year the
company's share capital increased by Rs 500 crore to Rs 1000 crore. During financial year 2009-10
SBI Life's GWP crossed the milestone of Rs 10000 crore. During financial year 2010-11 SBI Life's
branch network crossed the milestone of 500 branches. During the financial year 2011-12 SBI Life
achieved the milestone of profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 500 crore; the company reported PAT of Rs
556 crore for the year. It also declared a maiden dividend of 5% during the year. During the financial
year 2012-13 the company's AUM crossed the milestone of Rs 50000 crore and the number of
branches crossed 750. During the financial year 2015-16 SBI Life's GWP crossed the milestone of

9
Rs 15000 [Link] the financial year 2016-17 SBI Life's renewal premium collection crossed the
milestone of Rs 10000 crore. Also during the year Value Line Pte Ltd and McRitchie Investments
Pte Ltd. bought stake of 1.95% each in SBI Life from SBI. SBI Life Insurance increased its market
share of New Business Premium generated among private life insurers in India from 15.87% in
Fiscal 2015 to 20.04% in Fiscal 2017. Between Fiscal 2015 and Fiscal 2017 the Company's New
Business Premium generated increased at a CAGR of 35.45% which is the highest among the top
five private life insurers (in terms of total premium in Fiscal 2017) in [Link] Fiscal 2017 SBI Life
Insurance enjoyed a market share of Individual Rated Premium of 20.69% among private life
insurers in India and 11.16% of the entire life insurance industry in India. Between Fiscal 2015 and
Fiscal 2017 its Individual Rated Premium increased at a CAGR of 37.90 % the highest among the
top five private life insurers (in terms of total premium in Fiscal 2017) in India. The Company has
also issued the highest number of individual life policies annually among the top five private life
insurers (in terms of total premium in Fiscal 2017) in India since Fiscal [Link] of June 30 2017 SBI
Life had a comprehensive product portfolio of 37 individual and group products including a range of
protection and savings products to address the insurance needs of diverse customer segments. Its
individual products include participating products non-participating protection products other non-
participating products and unit-linked products which contributed 10.77% 0.95% 1.69% and 50.36%
respectively of its New Business Premium in Fiscal 2017; while its group products include credit life
group protection products other group protection products group fund management ('Group FM')
products and other group products which contributed 2.72% 1.14% 31.73% and 0.65% respectively
of its New Business Premium in Fiscal 2017. During the financial year 2017-18 SBI Life achieved
AUM milestone of Rs 1 lakh [Link] Bank of India offloaded 8 crore shares and BNP Paribas
Cardif S.A. offloaded 4 crore share of SBI Life Insurance Company via an initial public offer (IPO)
during the period from 20 September 2017 to 22 September 2017. There was no fresh issue of shares
by the company. The stock debuted on BSE at Rs 733.30 on 3 October 2017 a premium of 4.75%
compared to the IPO price of Rs 700 per share. On 24 September 2018 SBI Life Insurance Company
Limited announced that it has been informed by BNP Paribas Cardif SA (BNP Paribas Cardif) that
BNP Paribas Cardif may consider reducing its shareholding in the company to ensure compliance
with minimum public shareholding requirements in accordance with applicable law. In this context
BNP Paribas Cardif has also confirmed that it is yet to make any firm decisions regarding the size
timing or nature of such potential reduction in their shareholding of the company. Accordingly
further updates will be provided in compliance with the applicable [Link] the year 2018 the
Company collected New Business Premium of Rs. 109.66 billion comprising of Rs. 68.42 billion
from Bancassurance' which represents company's largest distribution network Rs. 27.48 billion from
10
 Retail Agency and Rs. 13.76 billion from other distribution channel including direct sales sales by
non-bancassurance corporate agents brokers micro agents common service centres (CSC) insurance
marketing firms (IMFs) and Web [Link] the FY 2018 the Company had completed its
Initial Public Offer ('IPO') by way of an Offer for Sale (OFS) of 120000000 equity shares of face
value of Rs. 10 each of the Company at Offer Price of Rs. 700 per equity share aggregating to Rs.
83.89 billion by the Selling Shareholders' State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif S.A. of
80000000 equity shares and 40000000 equity shares respectively. The shares of the Company were
listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited
(BSE) on October 3 2017.

2.1.1 Awards and Accolades of SBI Life Insurance (few latest ones):

 SBI Life wins and best practice in learning transfer for improving business bottom [Link] Life
wins three awards at “World HRD Congress 2015” and “FINNOVITI”-Digital Innovation Award
2015, for Connect Life.
 Most Trusted Private Life Insurance Brand 2011, 2012 and 2013 by The Economic Times, Brand
Equity and Nielsen Survey
 Most Admired Life Insurance Company and The Best Life Insurance Company in the Private
sector by the BFSI 2014
 Non-Urban Coverage - Life Insurance by the Indian Insurance Awards, 2014 for its wide
presence and market penetration,Golden Peacock National Training Award, 2014 by Golden
Peacock Awards Secretariat – Institute of Directors

2.1.2 Vision, mission and values of the company:

Vision: "To be the most trusted and preferred life insurance provider”

Mission:"To emerge as the leading company offering a comprehensive range of life insurance and
pension products at competitive prices, ensuring high standards of customer satisfaction and world
class operating efficiency thereby becoming a model life insurance company in India in the post
liberalization period ". 

Values:

 Trustworthiness
 Ambition
 Innovation
 Dynamism

11
 Excellence

2.1.3 Lines of business

SBI Life has a unique multi-distribution model encompassing vibrant Banc assurance, Retail
Agency, Alternate Channel, Emerging Business and Corporate Solutions distribution channels. SBI
Life extensively leverages the State Bank Group relationship as a platform for cross-selling
insurance products .SBI’s access to over 100 million accounts across the country provides a vibrant
base for insurance penetration across every.

Multi Dimensional Model

CHANNELS

BANCA Retail Agency Alternate Emerging Business CS

Fig 2.1.3 Multi-Dimensional Distribution Channel-SBI Life

BANCASURRANCE: Banc assurance in its simplest form is the distribution of life insurance
products through a bank’s distribution channel. Insurance companies see banc assurance as a tool
for increasing in their market penetration and premium turnover. It was introduced in India when
insurance industry was opened for private players. In India, a bank can tie-up with one general
insurance and one life insurance companies as mandate by IRDA regulation. The banking sector in
India comprises of more than 67,000 branches and around 20 crores bank accounts.

RETAIL AGENCY: Another innovative distribution channel that could be used are the non-
financial organizations. Agency Channel, comprising of the most productive force of over 110,000
Insurance Advisors, offers door to door insurance solutions to customers. Conventionally, insurance
products have been sold through agents, who are not the regular employees of the organization but
the organizational success, however, critically depends on the effectiveness of these people. An agent
is the public face of an insurance company. Most of the insurance clients never get to see anyone else
besides the agent. They are known by a myriad of names like financial advisors, insurance agents,
life advisors and certified financial consultants. Due to increasing competition, the skill set of these
agents has also been undergoing a change.

12
CORPORATE SOLUTION GROUP: This group is responsible for bringing business from
corporate institutes.

ALTERNATE CHANNEL: Initially it was known as Institutional alliance. Alternative channels

such as banks, brokers, online i.e. direct, corporate agents and wire houses.

Emerging Business: It comprises of approaches like cross selling (selling an additional

2.2 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

SBI Life operates in states in two zones. It has 12 regional offices as shown below. This report is for
SBI Life, Dharamshala region which is 12 branches in Himachal Pradesh.

Offices and Branches in Dharamshala

Address- 2nd FLOOR, UCCO BANK BULIDING, UPPER SHYAM NAGAR, 176215
City Dharamshala
State Kangra

Table1: ZONE WISE REGIONAL OFFICE

ZONE 1 ZONE 2
BILASPUR CHAMBHA
DHARAMSHALA HAMIRPUR
KANGRA KULLU
MANDI NAHAN
RAMPUR SHIMLA

SOLAN UNA

2.2 SBI LIFE ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

13
 Fig 2.2 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE AND DEPARTMENTS

2.3 RETAIL AGENCY CHANNEL: As already discussed above that in this channel insurance
products have been sold through agents, who are not the regular employees of the organization but
the organizational success however, critically depends on the effectiveness of these people. An
agent is the public face of an insurance company. Each Agent/ Advisor is mapped under Unit
Managers as shown in figure below.

So we can say they are the bottom of the pyramid but plays vital role for this channel. This is the
reason they are given various club membership on specific targets and rewards and recognition too
and apart from this there is also career progression scheme for IAs. All this is discussed in detail
below.

14
 Fig 2.3 HIERARCHY IN RETAIL AGENCY CHANNEL

2.3.1 INSURANCE ADVISORS:

WHO CAN BECOME AN INSURANCE ADVISOR?

 Anyone-A businessman, distributor of financial products, housewife, agent-post office, mutual

fund, general insurance.
 Minimum 18 years of age.
 Education qualification-10th pass( As per new IRDA laws implemented from April 2015 for both
urban and rural).Earlier for Urban(with population>5000) it was 12th pass.
 Willing to work hard and enjoys meeting people.

BENEFITS OF BEING AN INSURANCE ADVISOR:

 Unlimited earning potential

15
 Opportunity to have regular addition income
 No investment(capital/infrastructure/manpower)
 Be your own boss, have no pressure with flexible and convenient work timing As per Industry
Research, SBI Life Insurance Advisor’s productivity is around three times that of the industry average
(Productivity= No. of policies sold per person per year)

REWARDS AND RECOGINITION FOR INSURANCE ADVISORS:

 Premium SBI Life Club Membership#

 Membership to International Clubs( MDRT/ COT/ TOT )
 Opportunity to join SBI Life Insurance Company as Sales Managers through “Utkarsh” program
 Win exciting prizes by participating in regular contests announced time to time

Annual Premium
or
SBI LIFE CLUB for Qualifying#  Prizes include gift cards, utility items,
Rising Star Club Rs.2 lakhs
consumer durables and incentive trips to
Divisional Sales
Rs.3 lakhs exotic destinations
Manager Club
Area Sales
Rs.5 lakhs
Manager Club INTERNATIO Annual Premium
Regional Sales NAL or
Rs.10 lakhs
Manager Club CLUB for Qualifying#
Regional Director Million Dollar
Rs.20 lakhs
Club Round Rs.33.8 lakhs in a
Country Head Club Rs.30 lakhs Table(MDRT) Calendar Year
Executive Director Court of the Rs.1.01 Crore (3
Rs.50 lakhs 16 Table(COT)
Club times MDRT)
Managing Director Top of the Rs.2.02 Crore (6
Rs.75 lakhs
Club Table(TOP) times MDRT)
 Table 2: SBI LIFE CLUBS & Industry International Clubs

CLUB MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

 Rewards in cash ranging from Rs.750 to Rs.75,000

 Petrol Vouchers
 Office Allowance

CAREER PROGRESSION FOR IAs:

 Promotion to UM
 Further promotion within UM group to Branch Sales Manager, Divisional Sales Manager, Area
Sales Manager

An IA can aspire to join the Managerial Cadre of the company under the “UTKARSH”
Scheme.

EARNING POTENTIAL OF ADVISORS:

From the table below we can see earning potential of an IA over a period of 5 years. If we assume an
advisor in his first year sells on an average 5 policies in a month then he/she can sell 60 in a year.
Assuming by next year his efficiency will increase and so will no. of policies. In addition to it
average premium for SBI Life products is Rs. 25,[Link] applying the commission rate on new and
renewed policies below chart is prepared.

(All values in Rs.)

YEAR YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 YR 4 YR 5
NUMBER OF POLICIES 60 80 100 120 150
PREMIUM(AVERAGE- 15,00,00 20,00,00 25,00,00 30,00,00 37,50,00
RS.25,000) 0 0 0 0 0
COMISSION @10 % (A) 1,50,000 2,00,000 2,50,000 3,00,000 3,75,000
           
15,00,00 35,00,00 60,00,00 90,00,00
RENEWAL PREMIUM NA 0 0 0 0
COMISSION @5 % (B) NA 75,000 1,75,000 3,00,000 4,50,000
           
TOTAL COMISSION
EARNED(A+B) 1,50,000 2,75,000 4,25,000 6,00,000 8,25,000

17
 Table3: Earning Potential over a 5 Year Period

2.4 PRODUCT PROFILE

SBI Life Insurance products are of two types- Individual and Group Plans. Few of them are
discussed below:

1. Group Products

RiNn Raksha Scheme: - This scheme covers the House, Vehicle, Education and Personal Loans.
It is a Group Credit plan, where in unfortunate event of death the loan outstanding amount
(according to EMI Schedule) is adjusted with the claim received from SBI Life Insurance Co.

2. Individual Products: - These products can be sold by the Certified Insurance Felicitators (CIF, a
staff member specifically trained, as per IRDA norms, for sale of individual insurance products).At
present the main products for sale are:-

Saral Shied

It is an individual without profit pure term insurance plan. Minimum age: 18 years Max Entry age:
60 years Maturity/vesting age: 65 years Min. term 5 years, Minimum Sum Assured Rs.7.50
Lacs/Maximum Rs. 24.00 Lacs, Riders: Preferred Term/Accidental Death Benefit/Accidental Total
Permanent Disability is also available.

Smart Shield

It is an individual without profit pure term insurance plan. Minimum age: 18 years Max Entry age:
65 years Maturity/vesting age: 70 years Min. term 5 years, Minimum Sum
Assured-Rs.25.00Lacs/Maximum-no limit, Riders: Preferred Term/Accidental Death
Benefit/Accidental Total Permanent Disability is also available

Smart Money Back

18
It is an individual endowment assurance product with money back plan where in case policyholder
is alive at specific durations (end of policy years).During the policy term, a fixed % of the basic sum
assured is paid to him as survival benefit in fixed number of instalments. Minimum Age: 14 years
Max Entry Age: 58 years Maturity/vesting age: 70 years, Term 12/15/20/25 years.

Subh Nivesh

It is an individual participating traditional savings cum whole life endowment plan primarily
designed as savings vehicle with protection along with income generation and wealth
transformation. It is a regular premium plan for a term varies from 5 to 30 years with a minimum
annual premium payment of Rs. 6000.00 per annum and minimum/maximum entry age is 18/60
years.

Smart Wealth

It is an individual Unit Link single premium insurance product. This product provides the
policyholders two types of investment return, namely Guaranteed Return and Market Linked
Return. Minimum Term 10 years, Minimum Premium Amount Rs.50000

Smart Pension

It is a ULIP pension product with minimum single premium mode of Rs. 50,000/-and no maximum
limit of premium. It has 4 fixed policy terms: 10/15/20/25 years. The minimum & maximum entry
age is 30 years and 65 years respectively Minimum Term 10 years, Maturity Benefit: 1/3rd of
commutable, 2/3rd Annuity (compulsory), Death Benefit, Fund Value.

Smart Scholar

It is a unit-linked non-participating product for securing the future needs of the child. The risk cover
is on the life of the proposer who is the life assured. The nominee at the point of sale must be a child
whose interest the policyholder wants to protect. Entry age for child-0 to17 years, for parents 18 to
57 years.

Smart Elite
It is an individual unit-linked product designed mainly for preferred (HNI) customer. It offers
Limited Premium paying Term and Single Premium payment option.

19
 “LEAD GENERATION ACTIVITIES”

Lead Generation 

In marketing lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into product or services
of a business. A lead is the contact information and in some cases, demographic information of a
customer who is interested in a specific product or services. Leads may come from various sources
or activities, for example digitally via the interest, through personal referrals, through telephone calls
either by the company or telemarketers, through advertisement and events. Lead generation is often
paired with lead management to move lead through the purchase funnel.

Lead generation is the process of making contacts which may lead to a sale or other favourable
outcome. The leads may come from various sources or activities, for example, digitally via
the Internet, through personal referrals, through telephone calls either by the company
or telemarketers, through advertisements, events, and purchase of lists of potential customers. A
2014 study found that 78% of respondents cited email as the most-used channel for generating leads,
followed by event marketing and finally content marketing. Social media was found to play only a
minor role in lead generation. Another 2014 study found that direct traffic, search engines, and web
referrals were the three most popular online channels for lead generation, accounting for 93% of
leads.

Lead generation is often paired with lead management to move leads through the purchase funnel.

Lead Management is a set of methodologies, systems, and practices designed to generate new
potential business clientele, generally operated through a variety of marketing campaigns or
programs. Lead management facilitates a business's connection between its outgoing consumer
advertising and the responses to that advertising. These processes are designed for business-to-
business and direct-to-consumer strategies. Lead management is in many cases a precursor to sales
management and customer relationship management. This critical connectivity facilitates business
profitability through the acquisition of new customers, selling to existing customers, and creating a
market brand.

The purchase funnel

20
The purchase funnel, or purchasing funnel, is a consumer focused marketing model which illustrates
the theoretical customer journey towards the purchase of a product or service.

In 1898, E. St. Elmo Lewis developed a model which mapped a theoretical customer journey from
the moment a brand or product attracted consumer attention to the point of action or purchase. St.
Elmo Lewis’ idea is often referred to as the AIDA-model - an acronym which stands for Awareness,
Interest, Desire, and Action. This staged process is summarized below:

 Awareness – the customer is aware of the existence of a product or service

 Interest – actively expressing an interest in a product group
 Desire – aspiring to a particular brand or product
 Action – taking the next step towards purchasing the chosen product

The purchase funnel concept is used in marketing to guide promotional campaigns targeting
different stages of the customer journey, and also as a basis for customer relationship
management (CRM) programmes and lead management campaigns.

Fig3.1 THE PURCHASE FUNNEL

Sales leads are generated on the basis of demographic criteria such as FICO score, income,
age, HHI, psychographic, etc. These leads are resold to multiple advertisers. Sales leads are typically

21
followed up through phone calls by the sales force. Sales leads are commonly found in the mortgage,
insurance and finance leads

OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT is to design activities for lead generation and modify various
activities undergoing to strengthen the grass root of retail channel and to generate "quality" leads,
those with a higher probability of a desired outcome.

 To study the various products offered by SBI to the customer.

 To know the preference of the customer regarding the various products.
 To study the customer satisfaction level regarding the products offered,

REVIEW OF LITERATUE

A Review of Literature on Life Insurance in India

22
Abstract

The concept of review is to revisit the previous work done on a subject to enhance learning and give
a deeper insight to the researcher on the current study. The review of literature not only presents the
facts but also leads into various issues and future work which can be done to enhance the subject of
research. So in this direction this research tries to systematically review important available
literature on life insurance. Since life insurance is a vital risk tool to mitigate the extreme events in
life cycle of an individual in terms of economic value. This study tries to highlight various elements
of life insurance concept which will benefit to people at large and can also contribute to the
insurance sector in terms of growth. Keywords: life Insurance, distribution, lapsation, FDI

Introduction

Life insurance concept is very old & deep rooted in the history of India. In the ancient Vedic times,
a mention of insurance concept can be traced in the writings of Manu who has written manusmrithi
& also even in dharmashastra book which was a common man guide for day to day value based
living. Insurance concept in the past existed as a tool to re- distributes vital recourses in times of
natural calamities. But as time evolved insurance concept also underwent evolution in terms of
product, which was developed and modified by human race from time to time as a tool to counter
the various risk faced by human beings in their life time. This research tries to collect and review
few important research articles on life insurance concept in India in terms of product innovation,
market growth, costumer’s service and other vital elements revolving around insurance concept.
This study is based on the facts and findings of various articles which were selected for review for
the purpose of bring out the important facts about life insurance concept, few of the statements are
taken as it is to maintain the originality of the research articles under review and few of the
statement are written by the author in own words to draw logical statements.

Research on Life Insurance

The research literature on Life Insurance is vast and covers a number of dimensions. The following
section provides a brief summary of research in different areas of life insurance research. Dr. P.K.
Gupta (2000), in the article named “Exploring Rural markets for Private Life Insurance Players in
India” has tried to examine the present state of affairs of rural life insurance in India and attempts to
explore the causes, which led to poor penetration of rural life insurance markets for which a survey

23
of 2000 sample of rural customers was been conducted to examine their perception and attitude
towards buying life insurance products. The study bought out interesting facts to lights like rural
households with head of the family more educated but with less family income are more likely to
purchase a life insurance policy than those with better social security but lesser education & rural
customers consider safety of invested funds as the most important factor in buying a life insurance
followed by claims settlement and assistance in policy purchases. On the distribution side the
research stated that a firm belief among the insurance companies is that agents are best suited for
tapping the rural segments. But the research concluded that the keys to success in insurance
penetration in rural areas for private players are accessibility, reasonably priced products, effective
communication and after-sales service.

1. Alok Mittal and Akash Kumar (2003), in their study “An Exploratory Study of Factors
Affecting Selection of Life Insurance Products” have attempted to identify the factors which are
affecting the consumers in taking into consideration before selecting a life insurance product and
determining the extent to which these factors are taken into consideration for choosing life
insurance products. The study highlighted that consumers take into consideration factors like
product attributes, customer delight, payment mode, product flexibility, risk coverage, grace
period, professional advisor, and maturity period as important before making a decision on
selection of a life insurance product but most important factors which are of vital importance
was product attributes, and the least important was maturity period.

2. William [Link] and Dan Segal (2004), in their research “Profitability and Efficiency in the
U.S. Life Insurance Industry” have discussed the relationship between cost inefficiency and
profitability in the U.S. life insurance industry. The life insurance industry is mature and highly
competitive, and cost efficiency may be the main driver of profitability. The authors derive cost
efficiency using the stochastic frontier (SF) method allowing the mean inefficiency to vary with
organizational form and the outputs. In addition, the estimation of the cost efficiency measure takes
into account the underlying accounting concepts. This study suggests that cost inefficiency in the
life insurance industry is substantial relative to earnings, and that inefficiency is negatively
associated with profitability measures such as the return on equity.

3. [Link] Rao (2004), presented a paper titled “Alternative Distribution Channels in

India” in Global Conference of Actuaries. This research points out that a distribution channel
means a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service
available for use or consumption by the consumer by creating place utility & the value of having the
products where the customer wants them, when they want them. The research said that in

24
Distribution in Life Insurance requires the intermediaries. The current insurance market depends
heavily on Individual Agency channel but it concluded that Alternative distribution channels can
give competitive edge for the Insurers, a statistics of Alternative Distribution channels of LIC
suggest that corporate agencies including banks are garnering 82% and the rest 18% is coming from
Brokers & Over time bancassurance may get at least 20% distribution share in life insurance market.

4. Sinha and Tapen (2005), in their research article “The Indian Insurance Industry: Challenges
and Prospects” have stated that India is among the most promising emerging insurance markets in
the world. But out of total insurance premium market in India particularly life insurance currently
makes up 80% of premiums. The research also highlighted that when India undertook to open the
domestic insurance market to private-sector and foreign companies since then, 13 private life
insurers and eight general insurers have joined the Indian market. But speaking about major hurdles
this research spoke on the obsolete regulations on insurance prices which have to be replaced by
risk-differentiated pricing structures. . Furthermore it said that both the life and non-life insurance
sectors would benefit from less invasive regulations. The author also suggested that Price
liberalisation will be needed to improve underwriting efficiency and risk management and the
Private insurers will have a key role to play in serving the large number of informal sector workers.

5. Marco Arena [The World Bank] (2006), in the article – “Does Insurance Market Activity
Promote Economic Growth? A Cross-Country Study for Industrialized and Developing Countries”
has stated that during the last decade, there has been faster growth in insurance market activity,
particularly in emerging markets given the process of liberalization and financial integration, which
raises questions about its impact on economic growth. So this research tried to systematic ally assess
the impact of insurance market activity (life and non-life insurance) on economic growth. To
accomplish this task this research used measures of insurance premiums as a proxy of insurance
activity for a set of 56 countries over the 1976- 2004 period. Based on research the paper has
concluded that there is a causal relationship of insurance market activity on economic growth& both
life and non-life insurance premiums have a positive and significant effect on economic growth. But
in the case of life insurance, its impact on economic growth is driven by high-income countries only
,On the other hand, in the case of non-life insurance, its impact is driven by both high-income and
developing (middle and low income) countries.

6. Rajni M. Shah (2007), Paper Presented at the [Link] Seminar on “Creating Consumer
Awareness in Life Insurance” has analysed as how to harness huge untapped market potential for
life insurance to the benefit of vast rural and semi urban populace. The paper has quoted the famous
line - “customer is business, business is people, people are customers” in context of consumer

25
awareness. The paper emphasises that Consumer awareness will provide a new frame of reference
for value creation as also an opportunity for innovation and also have emphasised on campaigns to
educate rural and semi urban masses on the need for security that protects their livelihood, security
for produce and belongings and create feel-good feeling. In summary it states that a new
phenomenon will emerge where Market dynamics will rule and unfold a stage through a process of
evolution by co-creating unique value with customers will merge as expounded by Prof. C.K.
Prahalad in his later path-breaking Title “ The Future of Competition : Co-creating Unique Value
with Customers”.

7. Tamzid Ahmed Chowdhury and Masud Ibn Rahman (2007), in the article, “Problems and
Strategies in Service Marketing: Bangladesh Perspective”, present a conceptual framework of the
problems and strategies in services marketing that derive from five unique characteristics of
services. The framework is based on a review of the growing body of literature in services
marketing. The article also reports the findings from a survey of service firms concerning problems
they face and strategies they use. A combination of theoretical aspects and survey results in one
article affords the opportunity to make a bridge between the empirical practices and theoretical
aspects.

26
 RESEARCH METHDOLOGY
Research

Research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding particular concern or problem using
scientific methods.

According to American sociologist Earl Robert Babble,”research is a systematic inquiry to

describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and
deductive methods.”

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is the specific procedure or technique use to identify, select, process, and
analyze information about topic. In a research paper, the methodology selection allows the reader to
critically evaluate a study overall validity and reliability.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection & analysis of data in a manner that
aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. In fact the research
design conceptual structure with in research is conducted. ‘

STEPS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

1. Research design
2. Questionnaire and interview design
3. Questionnaire piloting
4. Institution sampling
5. Learner and tutor sampling
6. Data collection, processing and analysis
7. Research finding and reporting

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Beyond the secondary research, primary research was carried out in Dharamshala. Primary research
involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world.

COLLECTION OF DATA

27
 Data constitutes the subject matter of analysis. One cannot draw inferences without analyzing data.
The relevance, adequacy and reliability of data determine the quality of the study. Data is primarily
of two kinds –

1. Primary data

2. Secondary data

Primary data

The primary data are data, which are being collected by the researcher for the specific purpose of
answering the problem on hand. Individual respondents, doctors, lecturers, jewelers, saloons were
personally visited and interviewed. They were the main source of Primary data. The method of
collection of primary data was direct personal interview through a structured questionnaire.

Secondary data

Literature study and the articles are obtaining secondary data from the Internet. The secondary
data was collected on the basis of organizational file, official records, news papers, magazines,
management books, preserved information in the company‘s database and website of the company.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE

• Procedure by which some members of a population are selected as representative of the entire
population

• The sub-group thus selected to represent the whole population is known as SAMPLE

Sampling methods

SR NO. PROBABILITY SAMPLING NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING

1 Simple Random Method Accidental Sampling

28
 2 Systematic Sampling Voluntary Sampling
3 Stratified Sampling Purposive Sampling
4 Cluster Sampling Quota Sampling
5 Multistage Sampling Convenience Sampling
Table 4 Probability and Non Probability Method

Convenience sampling

It is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive

approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient.
This non-probability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate
of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random sample.

SAMPLE DESIGN

A procedure or plan drawn up before any data is collected to obtain a sample from a given
population. It is also known as sampling plan or survey design.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research is a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or
revise facts, theories, applications, etc. Methodology is the system of methods followed by particular
discipline. Thus research methodology is the way on we conducts our research.

Universe -Dharamshala

Unit- SBI Life Insurance Co.

Sample size - 25

Data source - Survey

Method - Convenience Sampling

Instrument – Questionnaire

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPREATION

Q1 Demographic files of respondents?

29
 Gender Number of Respondents Percentage

MALE 60 60%

FEMALE 40 40%

TOTAL 100 100%

AGE GROUP
40%  From the above data 60% are
MALE 60%
FEMALE 40%
male and 40% are female.
60%
Q2 Do you have life Insurance?

No 20%;
20%

Yes 80%;
80%

 80% have people satisfied with life insurance.

 20% have people did not satisfied with life insurance.

Q3 Will customer satisfied with SBI Life Insurance?

SBI Life Insurance

Yes 68%
32% No 32%

68%

 68% have people satisfied with SBI Life Insurance.

30
  32% have People did not satisfied with SBI Life Insurance.

Q4 Comparison between LIC and SBI Life Insurance?

LIC and SBI Life In-

surance
SBI Life 45%
LIC 55%
45%
55%

The comparison between LIC and SBI Life Insurance is

 People more prefer with LIC.

 People less prefer with SBI Life Insurance

Q5 Most preferred organization for insurance policy?

Most preferred organization

for insurance policy
LIC 50%
SBI Life 15%
5% 13% Bajaj Allianz 5%
HDFC Life 12%
ICICI Prud 5%
12% 50% Other 13%

5% The people most preferred

15%
policy are

 50% people preferred LIC policy

 15% people preferred SBI Life Insurance Policy
 5% people preferred Bajaj Allianz Policy
 12% people preferred HDFC life policy
 5% people preferred ICICI Prud policy

31
  13% people preferred other policy

Q6 Do you have any investment plans of SBI Life Insurance?

Investment Plans
Yes 60%
40% No 40%
60%

 40% people not have investment plans of SBI Life Insurance.

 60% people have investment plans of SBI Life Insurance.

Q7 Will people prefer buy any product from SBI Life Insurance?

SBI Life Products

4%
definitely buying
49%
may purchase 47%
cannot purchase 4%
47% 49%

 49% people have definitely buying the product from SBI Life.
 47% people have definitely may purchase product from SBI Life.
 4% people have definitely cannot purchase product from SBI Life.

Q8 Do you have account in SBI Bank account?

SBI Bank A/C

Yes 60%  60% People did have SBI

40% No 40% Bank account.
60%

32
  40% People did not have SBI Bank account.

Q9 Demographic files of respondents

The demographic profits of the respondents include gender, age, income, occupation and
education level.

SR NO. AGE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

1 Below 30 30 30%
2 31-40 20 20%
3 41-50 25 25%
4 51-60 15 15%
5 Above 60 10 5
Total 100 100

Respondetns
Below 30
Q10 10 Will any SBI Life
31-40
30 41-50
15 Insurance Advisor
51-60
Above 60 contacted in you past 6
months?
25 20

Insurance Advisor

20% Yes 20%

No 80%

80% 33
Q12 How many people aware about SBI Life Insurance?

Awareness about SBI

Life insurance
Yes
No
30%

70%

34
 FINDINGS

 In the study with the help of questionnaire it has been founded that data there are 60 Male and 40
Female. That shows that the male are more interested in this survey or in the life insurance in SBI Life.
 People have well aware about SBI Life insurance.
 40% out of 60% people those who are aware about SBI Life Insurance have investment plans on
it.
 40% out of 60% did have SBI bank account.
 47% people have purchase product from SBI Life Insurance.

COCLUSION

 During the data collected, it has been founded that people have well awareness about SBI Life
Insurance.

 People are beginning to look beyond LIC for their insurance needs and are willing to trust private
players with their hard earned money.

 Another important trend was in terms of people viewing insurance as a tax saving and investment
instrument as much as protective one.

35
.

36
37