A STUDY ON INSURANCE DISTRIBUTION AS AN ADDITIONAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AT KOTAK LIFE INSURANCE WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON FINANCIAL DISTRIBUTORS IN COCHINPROJECT REPORTSubmitted by

ANISH KUMAR P

(REG.NO.07 BA 193)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award for the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (M.B.A)

of Karunya University,Coimbatore

Karunya School of Management

Karunya University

Coimbatore 641 114

2007-2009

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled, A Study On Insurance Distribution As An Additional Business Opportunity At Kotak Life Insurance Done by Mr. ANISH KUMAR P , REGISTER NO: 07BA193, and is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration of Karunya University.

Dr.J.Reeves Wesley

Mrs.Sumitha Anand (Head of School)

(Faculty Guide)

Place: Date:

Viva-Voce Examination held on

.

..

Internal Examiner

ExternalDECLARATION

I, Mr.Anish Kumar P hereby declare that the project work entitled a study on insurance distribution as an additional business opportunity with special reference to cochin city at Kotak Life Insurance is a bonafide record of work done by me in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration of Karunya University under the guidance of Mrs.Sumitha Anand, Lecturer,Department of Management Sciences, Karunya School of Management, Coimbatore, during the academic year 2007-2009, and it has not either wholly or in part, been submitted for any degree or Diploma courses.

ANISH KUMAR P

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank the Lord Almighty for the gracious amazing and wonderful ways in which He has helped me and strengthened me through every little step of the mini project work I have taken.

I take this opportunity to place on record my sincere thanks to Dr. Reeves Wessely, HOD for providing all the facilities in the department to complete the project successfully.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Ms. Sumitha Anand, Lecturer of MBA department for the help and guidance offered to me for the successful completion of this mini project work.

My heartfelt thanks to my Company Guide Mr.Dayesh Menon, Territory Manager for his countenance, towards the successful accomplishment of my mini project.

I express my heartiest thanks to all the employees of the company and also to my friends and well-wishers who have helped in one way or other for the successful completion of this project.

At last but not least, it will be highly unethical if neglected to acknowledge all customers and those people who extended their whole hearted co-operation.

CONTENTSSl. NoTOPIC

Page No

1Executive Summary

-

2Introduction

1

3Theoretical perspective

5

4Objective of the study

7

5Research methodology

8

6Industry profile

11

7Company profile

14

8Analysis and Interpretation

17

9Findings

29

10Suggestions

31

11Limitations of Study

32

12Conclusion

33

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe study was conducted as a part of MBA curriculum of Karunya University. The topic selected for the study was Insurance distribution as an additional business opportunity. The study was conducted on a population consisting financial distributors from various places in Cochin city.

The researcher used questionnaire and collected data from distributors through personal interview method. The collected datas were analysed and represented with the help of tables and charts.

Based on the findings from the study the researcher has given his suggestions and recommendations to the management in the form of a report.

LIST OF TABLESSl. NoTopic

1Table showing whether the respondents are associated with Kotak Mahindra Group

2Table showing whether the respondents have taken life insurance policies

3Table showing whether the respondents are aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India.

4Table showing whether the respondents think that insurance is a good investment plan

5Table showing whether the respondents have considered selling insurance as an additional business option

6Table showing whether the respondents are dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company

7Table showing whether the respondents know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission

8Table showing whether the respondents have heard of Kotak Head Start, No.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money'

9Table showing whether the respondents have heard about Kotak Safe Investment plan, which invests upto 80% of the fund in equity market, still giving capital guarantee

10Table showing whether the respondents know about the earning potential by selling life insurance products

11Table showing whether the respondents know that there is no capital requirement for starting insurance distribution

12Table showing whether the respondents like to associate with Kotak Life Insurance

LIST OF CHARTSSl. NoTopic

1Chart showing whether the respondents are associated with Kotak Mahindra Group

2Chart showing whether the respondents have taken life insurance policies

3Chart showing whether the respondents are aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India.

4Chart showing whether the respondents think that insurance is a good investment plan

5Chart showing whether the respondents have considered selling insurance as an additional business option

6Chart showing whether the respondents are dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company

7Chart showing whether the respondents know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission

8Chart showing whether the respondents have heard of Kotak Head Start, No.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money'

9Chart showing whether the respondents have heard about Kotak Safe Investment plan, which invests upto 80% of the fund in equity market, still giving capital guarantee

10Chart showing whether the respondents know about the earning potential by selling life insurance products

11Chart showing whether the respondents know that there is no capital requirement for starting insurance distribution

12Chart showing whether the respondents like to associate with Kotak Life Insurance

KOTAK GROUP COMPANIES

Kotak Mahindra Group is mainly into financial services which encompass insurance, mutual funds, banking, investments and other activities of similar nature. These various financial service activities have been controlled by different subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra group. The group companies and respective activities are given below:

KOTAK MAHINDRA GROUP

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD

The Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd established in 1985 which is Kotak Mahindra Groups flagship company got converted into a bank Kotak Mahindra Bank in March 2003. It is the first Indian company to convert into a bank. Its banking operations offer a central platform for customer relationships across the groups various businesses. The bank has a presence in the commercial vehicles, retail finance, corporate banking, treasury and housing finance.

KOTAK MAHINDRA CAPITAL COMPANY

The Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd is known as Indias premier Investment bank and a primary dealer which is approved by the RBI. KMCCs core business areas include private equity, insurance, mergers and acquisitions, structured finance and advisory services, fixed income securities and principal business. KOTAK SECURITIES

Kotak Securities Ltd is one of Indias largest brokerage and securities distribution house in India. It has been one of the leading investment broking houses catering to the needs of both institutional and non institutional investor categories with its presence all over the country through franchises and coordinators. Kotak Securities Ltd offers both online and offline services which is based on well researched expertise and financial products to the non institutional investors.

KOTAK MAHINDRA PRIME

Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd is formerly known as Kotak Mahindra Primus Ltd. It has been formed with the objective of financing the retail and wholesale trade of passenger and multi utility vehicles in India. Kotak Mahindra Prime offers customers retail finance for both new as well as used cars and wholesale finance to dealers in the automobile trade.

KOTAK MAHINDRA ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company is a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank. It is the asset manager for Kotak Mahindra Mutual Funds. KMMF manages funds in excess of Rs 11000 crores and offers schemes catering to investors with various risk return profiles. It is the first fund house in the country to launch a dedicated gilt scheme investing only in government securities.

KOTAK MAHINDRA OLD MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE LTD

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd is a joint venture between KMB LTD and Old Mutual Plc. Kotak Life Insurance help customers to take important financial decisions at every stage in life offering them a wide range of innovative life insurance products, to make them financially independent.

INDIAN LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY OVERVIEWAll life insurance companies in India have to comply with the strict regulations laid out by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA). Therefore there is no risk in going in for private insurance players. In terms of being rated for financial strength like international players, only ICICI Prudential is rated by Fitch India at National Insurer Financial Strength Rating of AAA (Ind) with stable outlook indicating the highest claims paying ability rating.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the state owned behemoth, remains by far the largest player in the market. Among the private sector players, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance(JV between ICICI Bank and Prudential PLC) and Max New York Life Insurance are the largest followed by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited (JV between Bajaj Group and Allianz). The private companies are coming out with better products which are more beneficial to the customer. Among such products are the ULIPs or the Unit Linked Investment Plans which offer both life cover as well as scope for savings or investment options as the customer desires. Further, these type of plans are subject to a minimum lock-in period of three years to prevent misuse of the significant tax benefits offered to such plans under the Income Tax Act. Hence, comparison of such products with mutual funds would be erroneous.COMMISSION / INTERMEDIATION FEES The maximum commission limits as per statutory provisions are:

Agency commission for retail life insurance business: 1st year commission varies from 2% to 40% depends on yhe product and 2nd year onwards it varies from 1% to 7% Maximum broker commission - 30%

However, the above commission may be further subject to the product wise limits specified by IRDA while approving the product.

LIFE INSURANCE

Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death or other event, such as terminal illness or critical illness. In return, the policy owner (or policy payer) agrees to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals or in lump sums. There may be designs in some countries where bills and death expenses plus catering for after funeral expenses should be included in Policy Premium.

As with most insurance policies, life insurance is a contract between the insurer and the policy owner (policyholder) whereby a benefit is paid to the designated Beneficiary (or Beneficiaries) if an insured event occurs which is covered by the policy. To be a life policy the insured event must be based upon life (or lives) of the people named in the policy.

LIFE INSURANCE IN INDIA

Life Insurance in India was nationalised by incorporating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1956. All private life insurance companies at that time were taken over by LIC.

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 2000. The same year that the newly appointed insurance regulator - Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority IRDA -- started issuing licenses to private life insurers.

LIST OF LIFE INSURERS Apart from Life Insurance Corporation, the public sector life insurer, there are 17 other private sector life insurers, most of them joint ventures between Indian groups and global insurance giants.

LIFE INSURER IN PUBLIC SECTOR1. Life Insurance Corporation of IndiaLIFE INSURERS IN PRIVATE SECTOR1. Bajaj Alliums Life2. Max New York Life Insurance3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance4. Tata AIG Life

5. HDFC Standard Life

6. Burls Sunlife

7. SBI Life Insurance

8. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance

9. Aviva Life Insurance

10. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited - Formerly known as AMP Sanmar LIC

11. Metlife India Life Insurance

12. ING Vysya Life Insurance

13. Max Newyork Life Insurance14. Shriram Life Insurance

15. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co Ltd16. Sahara Life Insurance17. Future General Life Insurance Co Ltd

18. IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd

19. Aegon Religare Life Insurance Co LtdOBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The following are the main objectives of the mini project:-

A LEARNING PHASE

The experience of the one month in the company and in the field together is going to be a great learning phase in the project and this also includes getting to know and learn the corporate culture of the work life at Kotak Life Insurance, which will be carried forward as a great strength and achievement for the whole of the career ahead.

INTERACTING WITH PEOPLEBeing a Marketing student, meeting people in and out the company would be another main objective and it would help in developing contacts with the people around and it would always helpful in a successful business life.

VALUE ADDITION TO THE COMPANY

This project will also result in value addition to the company and it would result in getting more distributors. TIME MANAGEMENT

One of the key resources of any professional is Time. There would be a clear time frame in each and every work of the corporate world. The time taken to do anything is an indicator of the skill of the doer.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The process which works upon is as shown in the figure below.

DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM AND THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Identification of the problem is thereby realizing the untapped resources.

Less awareness among the people about the benefits and the knowledge of the company and its service.DEVELOP THE RESEARCH PLAN

The second stage is development of the most efficient plan for gathering the needed information.

DATA SOURCES

The data gathered, is through the secondary data and the primary data. The Secondary data collected was that which was already collected for another purpose and already exist. Primary data is the data freshly gathered for this specific purpose and the research project.

Secondary data has provided a starting point for the research. The normal procedure that is followed to interview people individually to get a sense of people feels about the company and its service.

RESEARCH APPROACH

The kind of research approach used is the survey research. The survey is helpful learning about peoples knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction, and to measure these magnitudes in the general population.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

The research instrument used is the Questionnaire.

SAMPLING PLAN

The sample size plan consists of 80 financial distributors in Cochin.The most versatile contact method that could be followed is the personal interviewing.

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

The data collection phase is the most delicate and prone to errors. ANALYZE THE INFORMATION

The next process is to extract the findings from the collected data.

PRESENT THE FINDINGS

The last would be to present the findings that are relevant for the decision facing the management.

CONCLUSION OR PRESENTING THE SOLUTIONS

This would be based on the study would be the last major step to be followed.

INSURANCE

The Indian insurance sector is on a bull run. The average Indian now spends 5.4 times as much on life insurance as what s/he did seven years ago when the industry was yet to be opened up for private participation.

With the largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, India's insurance sector accounted for 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2006-07, up from 1.2 per cent in 1999-2000, far ahead of China where insurance accounts for just 1.7 per cent of the GDP and even the US where insurance penetration stands at 4 per cent of the GDP.

Indians are now setting aside a larger chunk of their income on life insurance when measured as a percentage of GDP. They are allocating a small amount of their take-home to buy insurance products given their rising equated monthly installment (EMI) payments for home mortgage and other loans.

The growth in insurance premium collections has spelt an opportunity for the equity market too. The industry's investment in the equity market stood at US$ 38.1 billion and the assets under management were at US$ 152.6 billion as on March 31, 2007.

Indian insurance companies recorded a 19.9 per cent growth in premium in dollar terms (adjusted for inflation) in 2006-07, compared to the world market growth rate of 2.9 per cent. This rate of growth of the industry looks particularly impressive when seen against the fact that the combined penetration of both life and non-life is less than 2 per cent of the GDP compared to world average of 7.52 per cent. Clearly, the scope for growth is enormous. LIFE INSURANCELed by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), the life insurance industry registered a growth of 110 per cent in fiscal 2006-07, taking the total business to US$ 19.2 billion from the previous year's US$ 9.1 billion. The life insurance market has grown rapidly over the past six years, with new business premiums growing at over 40 per cent per year owing to the entry of a host of new players with significant growth aspirations and capital commitments.

The total life insurance market premiums is likely to more than double from the current US$ 40 billion to US$ 80-US$100 billion by 2012, says a study by McKinsey. The study titled 'India Insurance 2012: Fortune Favours the Bold,' expects a rise in premiums between 5.1 and 6.2 per cent of the GDP in 2012 from the current 4.1 per cent driven by greater insurance intensity per capita as the average per capita income increases and rise in penetration in urban and rural areas.

The life insurance premium contributions per capita have jumped from a little over US$ 7 in 1999-2000 (pre-liberalisation) to US$ 38.5 in 2006-07.

Life insurance penetration in India - which was less than 1 per cent till 1990-91 - increased to 2.53 per cent in 2005, and to 3 per cent in 2006-07. The impetus for growth has come from both public and private insurers. Also, the number of players in this segment has also increased to 17 (16 in private sector), with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) being the dominant player (market share of about 74 per cent). INNOVATIVE TRENDSInsurance in India has been spurred by product innovation, streamlining of sales and distribution channels along with targeted advertising and marketing campaigns.

The kid's insurance segment in the insurance sector is witnessing increased activity. Children's products such as ICICI Prudential Life's 'SmartKid', Birla Sun Life's 'Children's Dream Plan', or HDFC Standard 'Life's Young Star Plus', are on a consistent growth path. According to industry estimates, currently, 20-30 per cent of business of many companies comes from children-specific insurance policies alone.

Emerging lifestyle trends amid a changing fabric of the Indian society have also modified social and financial behaviour. For instance, an increase in the number of working women has led to a demand for life insurance policies, which in turn has helped women through a micro-entrepreneurship initiative (women have flexibility - managing home and being financially independent as distributors of insurance).

The Road Ahead . . . .Market penetration tends to rise as incomes increase, particularly in life insurance. India, with its huge middle-class households and growing economy has exhibited huge potential for this sector. Current estimates say that, for every one per cent increase in the GDP, insurance premiums increase by at least 4 per cent.

The domestic insurance industry in India is estimated to be around US$ 60.5 billion by 2010, of which US$ 35 billion will come from rural and semi-urban areas. While the life insurance market is expected to grow to US$ 35 billion, non-life insurance market will touch an estimated US$ 25 billion.

KOTAK MAHINDRA OLD MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE LTD.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance is a 74:26 joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and Old Mutual plc. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in India and has shown remarkable growth since its inception in 2001.At Kotak Life Insurance, we aim to help customers take important financial decisions at every stage in life by offering them a wide range of innovative life insurance products, to make them financially independent.

Old Mutual, a company with 160 years experience in life insurance, is an international financial services group listed on the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE 100 list of companies, with assets under management worth $ 400 Billion as on 30th June, 2006. For customers, this joint venture translates into a company that combines international expertise with the understanding of the local market.PRODUCTSINDIVIDUAL Kotak Smart Advantage Kotak Eternal Life Plans

Kotak Platinum Advantage Plan

Kotak Headstart Child Plans

Kotak Sukhi Jeevan Plan

Kotak Privileged Assurance Plan Kotak Term Plan Kotak Preferred Term Plan

Kotak Money Back Plan Kotak Child Advantage Plan Kotak Endowment Plan

Kotak Capital Multiplier Plan

Kotak Retirement Income Plan

Kotak Retirement Income Plan (Unit-linked)

Kotak Safe Investment Plan II

Kotak Flexi Plan

Kotak Easy Growth Plan

Kotak Premium Return Plan RidersGROUP Employee Benefits Kotak Term Grouplan Kotak Credit-Term Grouplan Kotak Complete Cover Grouplan Kotak Gratuity Grouplan Kotak Superannuation GrouplanRURAL

Kotak Gramin Bima YojanaTABLE 1

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH KOTAK MAHINDRA GROUP

NO OF RESPONDENTSPERCENTAGE

YES

1519

NO

6581

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 81% of the respondents are not associated with Kotak Mahindra group and 19% of the respondents are associated with Kotak Mahindra group.

CHART 1

TABLE 2

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS HAVE TAKEN LIFE INSURANCE POLICIESNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

5872

NO

2228

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is clear that 72% of the respondents have taken life insurance policies and 28% has not taken life insurance policies.

CHART 2

TABLE 3TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL OF LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES75

94

NO

56

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is shown that 94% of the respondents are aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India and 6% of the respondents are not aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India.

CHART 3

TABLE 4

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS THINK THAT INSURANCE IS A GOOD INVESTMENT PLAN

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

72

90

NO

810

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 90% of the respondents think that insurance is a good investment option and 10% of the respondents think that insurance is not a good investment option.

CHART 4

TABLE 5

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS HAVE CONSIDERED SELLING INSURANCE AS AN ADDITIONAL BUSINESS OPTION

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

3645

NO4455

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 55% of the respondents have considered selling insurance as an additional business option and 45% of the respondents has not considered selling insurance as an additional business option.CHART 5

TABLE 6

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE DEALING WITHNOR SELLING LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCTS OF ANY COMPANYNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

3746

NO

4354

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 54% of the respondents are not dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company and 46% of the respondents are dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company.CHART 6

TABLE 7

CHART SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS KNOW THAT THEY CAN EARN UPTO 40% OF THE FIRST YEAR PREMIUM AS COMMISSIONNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

3341

NO

4759

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 59% of the respondents dont know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission and 41% of the respondents know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission

CHART 7

TABLE 8

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS HAVE HEARD OF KOTAK HEAD START, NO.1 CHILD PLAN RATED BY 'OUTLOOK MONEY'

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

2531

NO

5569

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 69% of the respondents has not heard of Kotak head start, no.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money' and 31% of the respondents have heard of Kotak head start, no.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money'

CHART 8

TABLE 9

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS HAVE HEARD ABOUT KOTAK SAFE INVESTMENT PLAN, WHICH INVESTS UPTO 80% OF THE FUND IN EQUITY MARKET, STILL GIVING CAPITAL GUARANTEE

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

4354

NO

3746

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 54% of the respondents are have heard about kotak safe investment plan, which invests upto 80% of the fund in equity market, still giving capital guarantee and 46% of the respondents has not heard about kotak safe investment plan, which invests upto 80% of the fund in equity market, still giving capital guarantee.

CHART 9

TABLE 10

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS KNOW ABOUT THE EARNING POTENTIAL BY SELLING LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCTS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

6986

NO

1114

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 86% of the respondents know about the earning potential by selling life insurance products and 14% of the respondents chart showing whether the respondents dont know about the earning potential by selling life insurance products.

CHART 10

TABLE 11

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS KNOW THAT THERE IS NO CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR STARTING INSURANCE DISTRIBUTIONNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

6581

NO

1519

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 81% of the respondents know that there is no capital requirement for starting insurance distribution and 19% of the respondents know that there is no capital requirement for starting insurance distribution.

CHART 11

TABLE 12

TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS LIKE TO ASSOCIATE WITH KOTAK LIFE INSURANCE

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

YES

2025

NO

6075

TOTAL

80100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above table it is inferred that 75% of the respondents like to associate with kotak life insurance and 25% of the respondents do not like to associate with kotak life insurance.

CHART 12

FINDINGS

Majority of the customers are not associated with the Kotak group companies. Only 19% are associated with Kotak group companies.

It is found that around 72% of the respondents have taken any life insurance policy from several life insurance companies and the rest are not insured.

It is found that 94% of the respondents are aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India and 6% of the respondents are not aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India. Majority of the respondents think that insurance is a good investment option because of high returns and less risk. It is found that 55% of the respondents have considered selling insurance as an additional business option and 45% of the respondents has not considered selling insurance as an additional business option. It is found that 54% of the respondents are not dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company and 46% of the respondents are dealing with or selling life insurance products of any company. Almost all the customers are satisfied with services provided by their insurer.

Around 59% of the respondents dont know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission and 41% of the respondents know that they can earn upto 40% of the first year premium as commission. Majority of the respondents are not aware of Kotak head start, no.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money'. Majority of the respondents have heard about kotak safe investment plan, which invests upto 80% of the fund in equity market, still giving capital guarantee.

Majority of the respondents do not want to associate with kotak life insurance.SUGGESTIONS The company has to spend more on marketing expenses to increase awareness among population on Kotak head start, no.1 child plan rated by 'outlook money' and kotak safe investment plan.

The company has to identify segments such as NRIs,house wives and pensioners to increase the penetration among life insurance advisors.

The company has to concentrate more on acquiring people who are associated with other insurance companies to penetrate the market.

The company has to go in-depth into the customer data base of kotak group companies to acquire more customers.

Proper advertisements and clear-cut picture about the schemes are to be provided to attract customers.

LIMITATIONS1. DIFFICULT TO GET APPOINTMENT

Getting the appointment to speak about product and company is a Herculean task in the modern world because of the hectic schedule of the business people as the target group is High Net Worth. 2. TIME CONSTRAINTFor getting better results, the researcher has to schedule their work beyond the allotted time. But this cannot be possible in all circumstances. In many occasions meeting location of the people might be different. This consumes lot of time of a day and it minimizes the work schedule. And there is a big time gap in making a kind of good relationship with customers which makes a strong basement for doing survey. So it is very difficult to get business in initial stages. In this way there is a lose of opportunities for making business. Traveling though out the city and its traffic blocks are another barriers in the survey.3. SINGLE BRANCH OPERATIONS AND DIFFERENTIATED FACILITIES AND SERVICE Many times the single branch operations are not convenience for the customers especially the people who are doing business with other locations. When there is a company introducing new facilities and service, it takes a quiet bit of time to get faith of the people.

CONCLUSIONOn a whole the project is a eye opener towards the practical side of the business scenario. The knowledge acquired through classroom sessions could be put to use in a real practical world. This serves as the right platform for professional development. The first hand experiences of the corporate atmosphere and the culture practiced gave an insight into the true professional attitude.

As a result of the hard-core work and efforts made t overcome many hurdles and obstacles on the path of the project work, better results are obtained and the company realizes the results of our work through the materialization of sales of their product. Also from the responses of the public that is conveyed to the organization as a part of project work, really help the company in their work process. In this way itself many customer complaints are sold up to a remarkable extent. The types of marketing strategies adopted by us really help the organization to boost up their brand image and there by resulted in better returns.

REFERENCESBOOKS1. Marketing Management PHILIP KOTLER2. Introduction to Quantitative Methods C.R.KOTHARI WEBSITE www.kotak.com

www.indiainfoline.com www.wikepedia.comQUESTIONNAIRE

Date of data collection :

Name of the concerned person, designation :

Name of the company :

Contact address

1. Have you associated any way with Kotak Mahindra Group?

Yes

no

2. Have you taken life insurance policies?

Yes

no

If yes, with which company?.........................................................

If no, would you like to take now?..................................................

3. Are you aware of the potential of life insurance industry in India?

Yes

no

4. Do you think that insurance is a good investment option?

Yes

no

5. Have you considered selling insurance as an additional business option?

Yes

no 6. Are you dealing with, or selling life insurance products of any company?

Yes

no

If yes, with which company?..................................................................

If no,would you like to start insurance distribution?...............................

7. Are you satisfied with the service and support they provide?

Yes

no

8. Do you know you that you can earn up to 40% of the first year premium as commission?

Yes

no

9. Are u aware that there is no capital required for starting life insurance distribution?

Yes

no

10. Have u heard about Kotak safe investment plan which invest up to 80% of the fund in equity market but still gives capital guarantee?

Yes

no

11. Have you heard about Kotak Head Start, No.1Child plan in India rated by outlook money?

Yes

no

12. Would you like to get associated with Kotak life insurance?

Yes

no

- Thank you -Define the problem and research objectives

Develop the research plan

Collect the information

Analyze the information

Present the findings

Make the decision/Give solution