Public Relations in LIC of India Review 2003

Public Relations Of LIC Of India

PEOPLE’S MONEY FOR PEOPLE’S WELRARE

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:1. 8157– Rahul Jain Mr. Ameet Sao2. 8176 – Shreekant Sah3. 8182 - Lukuni Kalayo Marcelin

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Table of content

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................................................2HISTORY……………………………………………..…………………………………..5LIC CORPORATE PROFILE.............................................................................................6OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN LIC.............................................................7

TO THE COMMUNITY: We will..................................................................................7TO OUR CUSTOMERS: We will...................................................................................7TO OUR WORKFORCE: We will..................................................................................8

ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT8Budget:.............................................................................................................................8Staffing Of PR Department.............................................................................................9Tasks and Activities under the purview of PR at LIC.....................................................9

Advertising..................................................................................................................9Organize press conferences.........................................................................................9Issue Press Releases...................................................................................................10Participate in public awareness programmes.............................................................10

Publics Important to LIC...............................................................................................10INTERNAL PUBLICS..............................................................................................10EXTERNAL PUBLICS.............................................................................................10

RELATIONSHIP WITH SIGNIFICANT PUBLICS....................................................11EMPLOYEE RELATIONS.......................................................................................11CONSUMER RELATIONS IN LIC.........................................................................12FINANCIAL RELATIONS IN LIC..........................................................................18COMMUNITY REALTIONS IN LIC......................................................................19

AIM OF CORPORATE RELATIONS FULFILLED AT LIC.........................................19A. CORPORATE IDENTITY.......................................................................................19

Company Logo..........................................................................................................20Sign-up Line..............................................................................................................20Company Publications...............................................................................................20Citizens Charter.......................................................................................................20

B. CORPORATE IMAGE.............................................................................................20C. CORPORATE CITIZEN..........................................................................................20

Corporate Policy of LIC on Public Relations....................................................................21The Public in the case of LIC includes:.........................................................................21Mission..........................................................................................................................21Goals..............................................................................................................................21Strategy..........................................................................................................................22Action Plan....................................................................................................................23

Public Relations Activities at L.I.C...................................................................................23PRESS CONFERENCE................................................................................................24LIC WEB SITE..............................................................................................................24USAGE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY...........................................................24GREIVANCE REDRESSAL MACHINERY...............................................................24RALLY ORGANISATION...........................................................................................24PR And Publicity Conferences......................................................................................24Claim review committees..............................................................................................25Press Releases................................................................................................................25

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Customer Meets.............................................................................................................25Publicity Pavilion...........................................................................................................25Consumers Affair Committee........................................................................................25Exhibitions.....................................................................................................................26Citizens Charter.............................................................................................................26Free Phone Call Facility to the Policy Holders.............................................................26Sponsorship....................................................................................................................26Distribution of Dairies and Calendars...........................................................................26Publicity Stalls...............................................................................................................27Public Functions............................................................................................................27Advertisement in Newspaper and Magazine.................................................................27House Magazine –Yogkshema......................................................................................27Advertisement at Railway Station and Airport..............................................................27Insurance Week.............................................................................................................28Advertisement on Radio satellite channel.....................................................................28Advertisement at Kumbh Mela......................................................................................28Training Programmes....................................................................................................28Meetings........................................................................................................................28

CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................29

History

The story of insurance is probably as old as the story of mankind. The same instinct that prompts modern businessmen today to secure themselves against loss and disaster existed in primitive men also. They too sought to avert the evil consequences of fire and flood

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and loss of life and were willing to make some sort of sacrifice in order to achieve security. Though the concept of insurance is largely a development of the recent past, particularly after the industrial era – past few centuries – yet its beginnings date back almost 6000 years.

Life Insurance Corporation of India was created on 1st September, 1956, with the objective of spreading life insurance much more widely and in particular to the rural areas with a view to reach all insurable persons in the country, providing them adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost.

LIC had 5 zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices, apart from its corporate office in the year 1956. Since life insurance contracts are long term contracts and during the currency of the policy it requires a variety of services need was felt in the later years to expand the operations and place a branch office at each district headquarter. Re-organization of LIC took place and large numbers of new branch offices were opened. It worked wonders with the performance of the corporation. It may be seen that from about 200.00 crores of New Business in 1957 the corporation crossed 1000.00 crores only in the year 1969-70, and it took another 10 years for LIC to cross 2000.00 crore mark of new business. But with re-organisation happening in the early eighties, by 1985-86 LIC had already crossed 7000.00 crore Sum Assured on new policies.

Today LIC functions with 2048 fully computerized branch offices, 109 divisional offices, 8 zonal offices, 992 satallite offices and the Corporate office. LIC’s Wide Area Network covers 109 divisional offices and connects all the branches through a Metro Area Network. LIC has tied up with some Banks and Service providers to offer on-line premium collection facility in selected cities. LIC’s ECS and ATM premium payment facility is an addition to customer convenience. Apart from on-line Kiosks and IVRS, Info Centres have been commissioned at Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, Pune and many other cities. With a vision of providing easy access to its policyholders, LIC has launched its SATELLITE SAMPARK offices. The satellite offices are smaller, leaner and closer to the customer. The digitalized records of the satellite offices will facilitate anywhere servicing and many other conveniences in the future.

LIC continues to be the dominant life insurer even in the liberalized scenario of Indian insurance and is moving fast on a new growth trajectory surpassing its own past records. LIC has issued over one crore policies during the current year. It has crossed the milestone of issuing 1,01,32,955 new policies by 15th Oct, 2005, posting a healthy growth rate of 16.67% over the corresponding period of the previous year.

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LIC CORPORATE PROFILE

Life Insurance Corporation of India is a wholly owned undertaking of the

Government of India.

Life Insurance Corporation of India was established by an Act of Parliament on 1st

September, 1956. Its Central Office is located in Mumbai. It also has seven zonal

offices each located in Mumbai(Western Zone), New Delhi (Northern Zone), Kanpur

(North-Central Zone), Bhopal (Central Zone), Chennai (Southern Zone),

Hyderabad(South-Central Zone), and Calcutta(Eastern Zone).

It has a network of over 2000(2048) branches and more than nine lakh agents. Over

47 years, LIC has become a household name for providing security for a lifetime and

is synonymous to life insurance in India.

LIC ranks No.1 in the list of top 500 companies on the basis of Net Worth(Rs. 15, 47,

951 million) as well as Net Profit(2,66,277 million)- Dun & Bradstreet (India 500

OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN LIC

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The objectives of undertaking PR activities in LIC are manifold. In their Citizen’s

Charter the company states that:

TO THE COMMUNITY : We will

Conduct all aspects of our business keeping in view the interests of the community and

the national priorities; Provide insurance cover and financial security to every insurable

segment including the socially and economically weaker sections of the society.

TO OUR CUSTOMERS: We will

provide them prompt, efficient and courteous service; act as trustees of their funds and

invest them to their best advantage; build and maintain enduring relationship;

keep them informed about our products and services etc.

TO OUR WORKFORCE: We will

promote a sense of participation and make them partners in progress; work towards

ensuring their job satisfaction and sense of pride; provide an environment and the

opportunities for growth to enable them to realize their full potential; take steps to

develop professional skills to enable them to handle their assignments more efficiently.

ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING OF THE PUBLIC

RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

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LIC is purely a service-oriented organization. Moreover for transacting with their

customers and business associates the company needs to develop and maintain cordial

relations with various sections of the society and various other agencies i.e. their publics.

This makes the role of PR in LIC even more important and vital.

The company has a huge and active Public Relations Department which looks after the

publicity of the various services offered, maintaining cordial relations with the various

publics, publishing of journals, etc. and other PR activities.

Budget:

The management allocates Rs. 2-3 crores (approx.) annually to the PR Department. This

amount is then further allocated to the various Zonal Offices which prepare their

individual budgets according to their requirements.

Staffing Of PR Department

The Director-PR operates from the central office and has under him a Chief PRO. Each

Zonal Office has a Zonal Manager-PR under whom is the Regional Manager-PR. Further

under him is the Assistant Secretary who works with his Subordinate staff to fulfill the

day-to-day activities of the PR Department.

A PR plan is made at the beginning of each accounting year for which

the Chairman appoints a PR Planning Committee. This committee

comprises of the Director PR, Chief PRO, etc.

Tasks and Activities under the purview of PR at LIC

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Of the various activities undertaken by ‘Life Insurance Corporation’ some are listed

below:

Advertising

Though countywide advertising is done by the marketing department, advertising locally

in the various cities is handled by Zonal Offices. The advertising strategy is very well

planned and is largely aimed at image building.

Organize press conferences

Press conferences are organized occasionally, generally when a new policy is released or

when the annual financial results are announced or if something of significance has

happened.

Issue Press Releases

Press Releases are issued both by the central office as well as the various zonal offices.

Participate in public awareness programmes

LIC has time and again joined itself with various community development and awareness

programmes for the cause of rural development and infrastructure development.

Publics Important to LIC

INTERNAL PUBLICS

Employees

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Employee’s families

Staff Unions

EXTERNAL PUBLICS

Customers i.e. policy holders

Prospective Customers

Government Agencies

Banks and Financial Institutions

Statutory Bodies e.g. IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority)

Social Organizations

Lawyers

Local Administration

Media

General Public

Auditors

RELATIONSHIP WITH SIGNIFICANT PUBLICS

Significant internal publics of the organization are its

Employees

Employees’ families; and the

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Staff unions.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

In most Indian organizations, or companies, communications with employees have so far

been given a back seat as compared to external communications. This has not been the

case with LIC. It has through time realized the importance of its internal publics.

LIC shares a good rapport with its employees. There are various staff unions to take care

of the employees rights. The company shares a cordial and harmonious relationship with

these unions.

The company’s focus, as regards its employees, is on providing:

A healthy working environment;

Employee friendly HRD policy;

Job security;

Training of Human resources;

Fully utilizing its people’s talents and capabilities to promote skills and

competencies and broaden their perspective;

Handsome remuneration and perks.

The company achieves the above objectives by a number of means.

I. HOUSE JOURNALS

The corporation has a corporate house magazine ‘YOGAKSHEMA’ which chronicles

corporate and organizational events and pronouncements.

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The corporation also releases a quarterly newsletter ‘JANKALYAN’ which serves the

above mentioned purpose as well as acknowledging employee achievements and produce

merit lists of employee performance.

A news letter NILYAMDOT COM is also published by the corporation which is

developed by the children of the LIC employees and is exclusively for children.

II. INTERACTION

The corporation also conducts open houses, meetings, seminars, workshops. This is done

with the aim of facilitating two-way communication.

III. REWARDS

Prizes are awarded to top performers at staff meetings and conferences. Rewards are

given in the form of holiday, a family trip or some monetary gain.

CONSUMER RELATIONS IN LIC

In consonance with the changes taking place in the insurance market, the corporation has

undergone a transformation, simultaneously requiring a revamp in its image. Systematic

and focused PR initiatives and widespread publicity have resulted in markedly improved

visibility. The corporation has emerged with a much younger and sleeker image.

A conscious effort was made to bring about a transformation in the corporate image.

Through various campaigns, the corporation tried to depict the organization as one

oriented towards the younger generation.

The corporation advertising campaigns assisted the marketing strategies.

PR Activities for Consumer Relations

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The business of insurance is purely service which cannot be seen or held. Hence, the

consumer relations activities of LIC concentrate on the customer public and building

relations with prospective customer.

The corporation has time and again made endeavors to reach out to the consumers,

interact with them and keep them satisfied.

The corporation tries to achieve its objective through a number of means

Oral Communication

Oral communication with the consumer public is the most effective means of

presenting facts and creating understanding of the organization’s policies and practices.

Employee-Consumer Communication:

The harmonious relationship that LIC has, through the years , built and maintained with

its customers has only been possible due to its dedicated and committed team of

Development Officers and scores of Insurance Agents throughout the country.

Press Conferences

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Press Conferences are organized to announce new appointments of top executives,

introduction of new schemes, etc. It is very important in today’s world because Now – a –

days people are being aware about the appointment procedure of different companies and

consumer are also getting educated day by day because of which it becomes necessary for

the companies to keep press conferences.

Audio-Visual Communication

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Television and Radio broadcasts are a basic medium of consumer communication. Now –

a-days it gaining a lot of importance.

Television and Radio advertising

The corporation’s advertisements reached nearly 25 crore people through over 50

campaigns. There were 79 hours of TV advertising and 408 hours of Radio advertising.

Trans-slides

The Corporation has placed trans-slides at strategic places, like Railway Stations and

Airports, for maximum exposure to public at large.

Printed Communication

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At LIC printed communications are used in conjunction with oral communication media.

Press Release

Press releases are frequently handed out to the media by the local PR department on

behalf of the company. These generally comprise of any subject or issue concerning the

company, containing information for policy holders or any item of news value to the

media and its readers.

Journals and Publications

The corporation takes out its annual working results and several other publications from

time to time to keep the public abreast of the happenings and achievements at LIC.

Financial Results

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The annual financial report of the corporation is published in the National dailies and is

also circulated amongst the shareholders to keep them informed. It also aims at attracting

new investors.

Booklets, Brochures and Pamphlets

Booklets, Brochures and Pamphlets are generally taken out to inform its internal and

external public about its various new schemes and act as an effective medium of print

communication.

Posters and Hoardings

These tools are not only an advertising medium but also a very effective PR tool. LIC

uses posters and hoardings to get quick public notice. Posters and hoardings are widely

placed throughout the city at busy intersections like subways, railway stations, roadsides,

bus shelters, etc.

Other Amenities Provided by LIC

Website

The Corporation’s website www.licindia.com gives information about the corporation’s

products, services, subsidiaries and addresses of branches and about premium payment

through the internet. It also provides

Press releases

News sections

Online policy status

Online Premium Payment

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http://www.licindia.com/


LIC has tied up with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, UTI Bank, Bank of Punjab, Global Trust

Bank, Corporation Bank, The Federal Bank Ltd., Citibank, and service providers like Bill

Junction.com, timesofmoney.com to offer the online premium payment facility to its

customers in select cities.

Information Kiosks

The corporation has installed online information kiosks at prominent places across the

country. This provides information about the Products, services and policy status reports

to the customers.

Customer Contact Programme

The purpose of such a campaign is ‘to strengthen the relationship with the customers and

to build bridges of understanding.

FINANCIAL RELATIONS IN LIC

There are quite a few financial publics of LIC.

Government Agencies

Banks and Financial Institutions

Statutory Bodies e.g. IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority)

Auditors

To communicate with them and to keep them informed of the company’s progress several

activities are undertaken by the PR Dep’t.

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The Annual General Meeting

The Annual Report

The annual report is released annually to inform all publics of the company’s

working results.

Chairman’s Statement

The chairman’s statement is a comprehensive guide to what the company is and where it

strives to be. It comprises of the corporation’s corporate vision, philosophy and policies,

management contributions, future plans and a host of other such important aspects.

COMMUNITY REALTIONS IN LIC

LIC regularly provides ‘Health vans’ to various organizations across the country. The

corporation also sponsors many sports events at the national level. Numerous publicity

projects with a social purpose are undertaken at the zonal level.

Recently the North Zone (Delhi) associated itself with the ‘Perfect Health Mela’ to

propagate the cause of good health.

AIM OF CORPORATE RELATIONS FULFILLED AT LIC

The aim of any organization is to create for itself:

A. CORPORATE IDENTITY

B. CORPORATE IMAGE

C. CORPORATE CITIZEN

A. CORPORATE IDENTITY

Image Communicators/ Identity Creators

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Company Logo

The company’s logo has become synonymous with insurance and security in India. It

helps to identify the company easily.

Sign-up Line

‘We Know India Better’ is the sign up line of LIC

Company Publications

The company has a host of publications that comprise of in-house journals, external

newsletters, annual reports, etc.

Citizens Charter

The company philosophy goes a long way in creation of harmonious relations with its

publics. The citizen’s charter is a comprehensive statement of the company’s philosophy

towards its publics.

B. CORPORATE IMAGE

The above listed image communicators have been very successful in creating a corporate

image of LIC in the minds of the people over the years since its establishment.

C. CORPORATE CITIZEN

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With all its PR initiatives and activities, since its establishment, LIC has proved to be a

successful corporate citizen.

Corporate Policy of LIC on Public Relations

Public Relations aims at building-up and maintaining sound, effective and productive

relations with the public so as to help the organization to understand and interpret the

environment as also help the public and the society at large to appreciate the performance

and limitations of the organization. Public Relations has the responsibility to build and

maintain two-way relations between the Public and the Organization at all levels.

The Public in the case of LIC includes:

A. Levels of employees and agents.

B. Customers.

C. Government: Central, State & Local bodies.

D. Media, Press, T.V., Radio & Agency-owners and correspondents and

E. Citizens at large.

A clearly laid down Public Relations Policy, therefore, is essential to set the goals,

indicate the strategies and give proper direction to all levels in the area of Public

Relations.

Mission

Establish understanding and develop awareness of mutual aspirations of LIC and the

Public.

Goals

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1. Promote within the Corporation greater awareness of the changing environment and

he need to align the corporate policy to the emerging situation.

2.Help fashioning, within the constraints, its policies,programmes, practices and

Products to meet the expectations of the Public. Help the public to appreciate the

Performance andthe limitations of LIC.

3. Make PR occupy the front seat in the organizational set-up.

Strategy

1. Develop excellent relations with the totality of the media-print,electronic and agency

owners and reporters by regular exchange of information with them.

2. Establish relations-and develop understanding with the Govt. -Central, State & Local

bodies through legislators and Govt. officials.

3. Develop full understanding with the workers-employees at all levels and agents on

Organizational goals, policies, practices and programmes.

4. Develop an effective system of communication with the departments and operating

units on the environment and on implementation of policies.

5. Build an atmosphere of goodwill and understanding inside and outside the organization

leading .to better appreciation of the corporation's policies and performance.

6. Help to evolve effective machinery for quick and satisfactory redressal of grievances

of the public.

7. Help to develop an image of LIC as a responsive organization,

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8. Devise methods for opening up channels of two-way communication with various

publics of the Corporation.

Action Plan

1. Keeping the objectives, philosophy and the strategies in view, drawing-up annual PR

plans by Branches, Divisions, Zones & Corporate Office.

2. Develop an effective system of periodical reviews of PR Plans at all levels - B.O.,

D.O., Z.O. and Corporate.

3. Develop streamlined methods of systematic dissemination of the information relevant

to each of the publics.

4. Develop streamlined methods of receiving messages/feedbacks from the totality of the

publics.

5. Formation of PR Advisory Committees at D.O., Z.O. and C.O.organize PR

departments in the C.O., Z.O.s and D.O.s for realization of the goals, and develop a

nucleus in branches also.

6. Organize events like inauguration of new B.O., D.O., Z.O. or any arm of the

Corporation (diversification) etc. as public functions to project corporate image.

7. Actively participate in at least one important scheme in each of the States and in two

or three national level schemes to help improve the quality of social life and establish

the social relevance of LIC.

8. Develop a task-plan in respect of the above strategies.

Public Relations Activities at L.I.C.

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PRESS CONFERENCE

Press conference & interview are arranged periodically by all L.I.C. offices - i.e. ,

Central, Zonal, Divisional and Branch offices at the time of launching any new scheme

and to inform about the policies , programmes and activities to the press so that it can be

publicized.

LIC WEB SITE

LIC has its own web site Licindia.com which provides information about LIC and its

subsidiaries and the products offered by them.

USAGE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

With a view to providing quick and accurate service its Customers LIC has introduced

on-line service through front – end terminals in 1993 branches and soon all our customers

will be able to benefit by this.

GREIVANCE REDRESSAL MACHINERY

LIC has established an elaborate Grievance Redressal machinery in order to deal with

problems of customers. The grievance redressal cells are operative at all levels i.e.

Branch, Divisional, Zonal and Corporate offices. Specially designated officers attend to

policyholder's complaints.

RALLY ORGANISATION

LIC has organized a massive rally to pay homage martyrs of Kargil to provide moral

support to the Indian army.

PR And Publicity Conferences

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PR and Publicity Conferences arranged at the central office in which

the Chairman emphasized the need to reposition the organization the

organization in the emerging cooperative scenario with the help of

revised PR and publicity strategies because it was found out by a survey

that the level of customer satisfaction is not very high.

Claim review committees

A claims review committee was being formed at the corporate level with a retired Judge

as one of the members and it handles grievances arising out of repudiation of claims etc.

Similar committees are also constituted at Zonal level.

Press Releases

Press releases regarding important news are released from time to time so that people are

kept informed and they know about them.

Customer Meets

Periodical customer meets are organized at Divisional and Branch level to facilitate

greater interaction with policyholders.

Publicity Pavilion

Publicity Pavilion are arranged to display information about PR and Publicity activities of

LIC.

Consumers Affair Committee

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A high profile committee has been constituted by the Central office with eminent persons

from the consumer’s movement being its member to advice and guide LIC on maters

concerning consumer interests.

Exhibitions

LIC arranges its various schemes and exhibitions so that it can display its various

schemes and plans.

Citizens Charter

The corporation has adopted a Citizens Charter wherein commitments have been made to

its customers for higher standards in servicing.

Free Phone Call Facility to the Policy Holders

A unique facility of free phone call service is being provided to the policy holders of

Mumbai city to enable them to have easy access to grievance redressal officers over the

phone.

Sponsorship

LIC sponsors many events like chess tournaments table tennis

tournaments for the employees and also for the general public. It has

also sponsored a health camp organized by ‘Masoom’ – an organization

of understanding and fraternity.

Distribution of Dairies and Calendars

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LIC distributes dairies and calendars to its employees and also to the general public every

year.

Publicity Stalls

Publicity stalls are been put up by LIC at different fairs and melas to publicize the

corporation and its schemes and plans.

Public Functions

Inauguration of new offices helps in communication as well as in enhancing the image of

the corporation.

Advertisement in Newspaper and Magazine

Advertisement about LIC’s products, activities and policies is published in newspapers

and magazines.

House Magazine –Yogkshema

Yogkshema is the house magazine of LIC. It provides information about

the corporation, its activities, policies an programs.

Advertisement at Railway Station and Airport

Posters and banners are set up at strategically important public places such as Airports,

Railway stations, Bus terminals, shopping counters an at the reception counters of the

business premises. This enables the policy holders to access information about LIC & its

products etc.

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Insurance Week

An insurance week was arranged by LIC through which people were exposed to various

insurance schemes of LIC.

Advertisement on Radio satellite channel

Advertisement about LIC are frequently been telecast on radio and satellite channel.

Advertisement at Kumbh Mela

LIC has also advertised about its products and the corporation even in Kumbh Mela.

Training Programmes

Training programmes are arranged by LIC for its employees so that they can be trained

for the purpose of public relation activities.

Meetings

Meetings of Development officers are arranged by LIC to train their employees for public

relation activities.

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CONCLUSION

Public Relation came into existence by the belief that if we do something good for people

then only the people will say well about the organization. Today's is an age of

competition. And to remain firm in the competition depends on how efficiently the

Organization manages its PR & projects the company's image.

Public Relation will not sell goods and Services but it is bound to create an atmosphere

which will make the free enterprise, a responsible enterprise. Public Relations, in fact

Will prove to be the most effective tool for communicating with the

People who are still remote from industry for convincing them that

Corporate objectives are ultimately in the interest of the public.

The PR Mantra has now become pervasive. Neither a individual nor the organization &

not even the government Or a UN body can thrive or sustain in this age without

effectively strategizing PR.

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Bibliography

Principles of Public Relations.

- C.S. Rayudu.

- K.R. Balan.

Hand Book of PR in India.

- D.S. Mehta.

The Art and Science of Public Relations.

- Anne Gregory.

LIC India.com

AltaVista.com

Find Articles.com

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Documents

Public Relations in LIC of India Review 2003