DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this work entitled “Recruitment of Advisors in

Indian Life Insurance Industry” is my work carried out under the

guidance of my faculty guide Ms. Sanchita. This report neither full nor

in past has ever been submitted for award of any other degree of either

this University or any other University.

Deepak Sharma

(0541211707)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In preparation of this report by me, I feel great pleasure because

it gives me extensive practical knowledge in my career. I get idea about

recruitment of advisors in Indian Life Insurance Industry by this project.

I am thankful to Ms. Sanchita (Faculty Guide) for valuable

inspiration and guidance provided me throughout the course of this

project. She have patient and critically gone the subject matter.

I would like to take opportunity to express my gratitude towards

all of them who have contributed directly or indirectly in my project

work.

Deepak Sharma

INDEX

PARTICULARS Page No.CERTIFICATE FROM THE INTERNAL GUIDE DECLERATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LIST OF TABLES & GRAPHS

CHAPTER-1INTRODUCTION 1.1 Executive Summary 1.2 Objective Of The Project CHAPTER- 2OVERVIEW OF INSURANCE 2.1 What Is Insurance? 2.2 Basic Concept 2.3 Fundamental Principles Of Insurance 2.4 History Of Insurance 2.5 List Of Life Insurer 2.6 Types Of Insurance 2.7 What Are The Benefits One Get From Insurance 2.8 Distribution Channels In Insurance

CHAPTER -3 INSURANCE AGENT RECRUITMENT 3.1 Meaning of Insurance Agent recruitment 3.2 Need For Insurance Agent 3.3 Functions Of The Insurance Agent 3.4 Support And Benefits 3.5 Learning From Executive Training 3.6 Insurance Agent’s Profile Involves Knowing 3.7 Criteria For Selection Of Insurance Agent

IIIIIIV

23

5668

17192020

24252627293030

3.8 Code Of Conduct For Insurance Agents

CHAPTER -4 THUMB RULE FOR RECRUITMENT 4.1 Recruitment 4.2 Why Recruitment? 4.3 Whom To Recruit? 4.4 Where To Recruit? 4.5 How To Recruit?

CHAPTER -5 5.1 Research Methodology5.2 Marketing Research Process 5.3 Data interpretation & Graph Analysis

CHAPTER -6 6.1 Findings6.1 Suggestions & Recommendations

CHAPTER -7 7.1 Conclusion

CHAPTER -88.1 References

31

3636394244

484850

6670

73

75

LIST OF TABLES

S.No. 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Particulars[Table 5i] :- Happy with current job, need for supplementary income and preference for supplementary income.

[Table 5ii (a)] :- Happy with current job/Financial situation, Basis:- occupation

[Table 5ii (b)] :- Need for supplementary source of Income, Basis:- occupation

[Table 5ii (c)] :- Preference for supplementary source of income, Basis:- occupation

[Table 5iii (a)] :- Happy with current job/Financial situation, Basis:- Age Group

[Table 5iii (b)] :- Need for supplementary source of Income, Basis:- Age Group

[Table 5iii (c)] :- Preference for supplementary source of income, Basis:- Age Group

[Table 5 iv (a)] :- Happy with current job/Financial situation, Geographic basis

[Table 5iv (b)] :- Need for supplementary source of Income, Geographic basis

[Table 5iv (c)] :- Preference for supplementary source of income, Geographic basis

Page No.50

53

55

57

59

60

61

62

62

62

LIST OF PIE-CHARTS & GRAPHS

S.No.1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Particulars[Fig. – 5a] :-Pie chart showing people happy with current job/Financial situation

[Fig. – 5b] :- Pie chart showing need for supplementary source of Income

[Fig. – 5c] :- Pie chart showing preference for supplementary source of income

[Fig. – 5d] :- Graph showing people happy with current job/Financial situation, Basis:- occupation

[Fig. – 5e] :- Graph showing need for supplementary source of Income, Basis:- occupation

[Fig. – 5f] :- Graph showing preference for supplementary source of income, Basis:- occupation

[Fig. – 5g] :- Graph showing people happy with current job/Financial situation, Basis:- Age Group

[Fig. – 5h] :- Graph showing need for supplementary source of Income, Basis:- Age Group

[Fig. – 5i] :- Graph showing preference for supplementary source of income, Basis:- Age Group

Page No.50

51

52

54

56

58

59

60

61

10

11

12

[Fig. – 5j] :- Graph showing people happy with current job/Financial situation, Geographic basis

[Fig. – 5k] :- Graph showing need for supplementary source of Income, Geographic basis

[Fig. – 5 l] :- Graph showing preference for supplementary source of income, Geographic basis

63

63

63

Chapter 1:

Introduction

Executive Summary

Objectives

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Executive Summary

In today’s competitive market, for life insurance sector, recruiting good agents has often been considered the number one job & problem in agency management. It is certainly a task that new companies in the Indian life insurance market have put much stress on. The reason is that life insurance remains a product, not many are easily disposed to buy and not many want to sell either. The survival of agency manager depends on his convincing enough qualified and competent people to choose life insurance selling as a permanent career. Recruitment involves selecting the right candidate for the agent’s job and selling the agency idea to him.

Recruitment continuously is very much important for life insurance companies; because FYP (First Year Premium) is directly depend on the number of Agents/Advisors, Activity Ratio, Case Rate & Case Size. Apart from recruiting more & more advisors it is necessary to recruit quality advisors to maintain activity ratio, case rate and case size.

Further, it is very important to know the target segment for recruitment, in this project work, I have segmented the whole market mainly on the basis of demographic (occupation, & age), and geographic (urban & sub-urban areas) segmentation, to identify the potential segment for recruitment.

1.2 Objective of the project

To identify the segment of people for Insurance Agents recruitment.

Find out the different ways to find the prospects for Insurance Agents recruitment.

To find the reason behind individual decisions in joining life insurance company as an agent or advisor.

To find probable individual for recruitment for the organization.

To know difficulties in recruitment.

To know the process of good recruitment.

Chapter 2:

Overview Of Insurance

What Is Insurance?

Basic Concepts

Fundamental Principles of Insurance

History of Indian Insurance Industry

List of Life Insurers

Types of insurance

What are the benefits one get from insurance

Distribution Channels in Insurance

OVERVIEW OF INSURANCE

2.1 What Is Insurance?

Insurance is a contract between two parties whereby one party agrees to undertake the risk of another in exchange for a consideration known as premium.

Insurance is an economic device whereby the individual can substitute a small relatively definite cost (premium) for a large financial loss (the contingency insured against) that would have to be borne if insurance was not available.

The party which undertakes the risk is called insurer and the other one, whose risk is transferred is known as the insured.

The insurer promises to pay a fixed sum of money to the insured on the happening of an uncertain event (death) or after the expiry of a certain period in case of life insurance.

The insurer agrees to indemnify the insured on the happening of an uncertain event in case of non-life (general) insurance.

2.2 Basic Concepts

The concept behind insurance is that a group of people exposed to similar risk come together and make contributions towards formation of a pool of funds.

In case a person actually suffers a loss on account of such risk, he is compensated out of the same pool.

Insurance has two fundamental characteristics:Risk is transferred or shifted from one individual to a group.Losses are shared, on some equitable basis, by all members of the group.

2.3 Fundamental Principles of Insurance

Insurable Interest:Insurable Interest is defined asthe legal right to insure arising out of a financial relationship recognized under law, between the insured and the subject matter of insurance.The Principle of Insurable Interest states that the insured must be in position to lose financially if a loss occurs.

Utmost Good Faith: A positive duty voluntarily to disclose, accurately and fully, all facts material to the risk being proposed, whether requested or not.Higher degree of honesty is imposed on both parties to an insurance contract than any other contract, because- Insurance product is intangible one.

Principle of Indemnity:It states that the insurer agrees to pay no more than the actual amount of loss.In other words, the insured should not make profit from a loss.The principle applies to non-life (property and liability) insurance contracts only.

Principle of Subrogation:It is the right of one person, having indemnified another under a legal obligation to do so, to stand in the place of that other and avail himself of all the rights and remedies of that other.In other words, it is the substitution of the insurer in place of the insured for the purpose of claiming indemnity from a third person for a loss covered by insurance.It avoids a situation where an insured might profit from an insured event.

2.4 History of Indian Insurance Industry:

The business of life insurance in India in its existing form started in India in the year 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta.

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 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 in its modern form came to India from England in the year 1818. Oriental Life Insurance Company started by Europeans in Calcutta was the first life insurance company on Indian Soil. All the insurance companies established during that period were brought up with the purpose of looking after the needs of European community and these companies were not insuring Indian natives. However, later with the efforts of eminent people like BabuMuttylal Seal, the foreign life insurance companies started insuring Indian lives. But Indian lives were being treated as sub-standard lives and heavy extra premiums were being charged on them. Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society heralded the birth of first Indian life insurance company in the year 1870, and covered Indian lives at normal rates. Starting as Indian

enterprise with highly patriotic motives, insurance companies came into existence to carry the message of insurance and social security through insurance to various sectors of society. Bharat Insurance Company (1896) was also one of such companies inspired by nationalism. The Swadeshi movement of 1905-1907 gave rise to more insurance companies. The United India in Madras, National Indian and National Insurance in Calcutta and the Co-operative Assurance at Lahore were established in 1906. In 1907, Hindustan Co-operative Insurance Company took its birth in one of the rooms of the Jorasanko, house of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore, in Calcutta. The Indian Mercantile, General Assurance and Swadeshi Life (later Bombay Life) were some of the companies established during the same period. Prior to 1912 India had no legislation to regulate insurance business. In the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act, and the Provident Fund Act were passed. The Life Insurance Companies Act 1912 made it necessary that the premium rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary. But the Act discriminated between foreign and Indian companies on many accounts, putting the Indian companies at a disadvantage.

The first two decades of the twentieth century saw lot of growth in insurance business. From 44 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.22.44 crore, it rose to 176 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.298 crore in 1938. During the mushrooming of insurance companies many financially unsound concerns were also floated which failed miserably. The Insurance Act 1938 was the first legislation governing not only life insurance but also non-life insurance to provide strict state

control over insurance business. The demand for nationalization of life insurance industry was made repeatedly in the past but it gathered momentum in 1944 when a bill to amend the Life Insurance Act 1938 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly. However, it was much later on the 19th of January 1956 that life insurance in India was nationalized. About 154 Indian insurance companies, 16 non-Indian companies and 75 provident were operating in India at the time of nationalization. Nationalization was accomplished in two stages; initially the management of the companies was taken over by means of an Ordinance, and later, the ownership too by means of a comprehensive bill. The Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act on the 19th of June 1956, and the 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. As a result of re-organization servicing functions were transferred to the branches, and branches were made accounting units. 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-organization 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, 100 divisional offices, 7 zonal offices and the corporate office. LIC’s Wide Area Network covers 100 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 Centers 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.

From then to now, LIC has crossed many milestones and has set unprecedented performance records in various aspects of life insurance business. The same motives which inspired our forefathers to bring insurance into existence in this country inspire us at LIC to take this

message of protection to light the lamps of security in as many homes as possible and to help the people in providing security to their families.

Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India are:

1850Non life insurance debuts with triton insurance company.

1870Bombay mutual life assurance society is the first Indian owned life insurer.

1912The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business.

1928The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.

1938Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 Crore from the Government of India.

The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. Some of the important milestones in the general insurance business in India are:

1907 The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all classes of general insurance business.

1957 General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.

1968 The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.

1972The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized the general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973. 107 insurers amalgamated and grouped into four companies’ viz. the National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. GIC incorporated as a company.

Insurance sector reforms

In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R. N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at “creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms…” In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included.

1997 Insurance regulator IRDA set up

2000 IRDA starts giving licenses to private insurers: Kotak Life Insurance ICICI prudential and HDFC Standard Life insurance first private insurers to sell a policy

2001 Royal Sundaram Alliance first non life insurer to sell a policy

2002 Banks allowed to sell insurance plans.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)

The Insurance Act, 1938 had provided for setting up of the Controller of Insurance to act as a strong and powerful supervisory and regulatory authority for insurance. Post nationalization, the role of Controller of Insurance diminished considerably in significance since the Government owned the insurance companies. But the scenario changed with the private and foreign companies foraying in to the insurance sector. This necessitated the need for a strong, independent and autonomous Insurance Regulatory Authority was felt. As the enacting of legislation would have taken time, the then Government constituted through a Government resolution an Interim Insurance Regulatory Authority pending the enactment of a comprehensive legislation. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 is an act to provide for the establishment of an Authority to protect the interests of holders of insurance policies, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto and further to amend the Insurance Act, 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and the General insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 to end the monopoly of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (for life insurance business) and General Insurance Corporation and its subsidiaries (for general insurance business).The act extends to the whole of India and will come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official

Gazette specify. Different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act. The Act has defined certain terms; some of the most important ones are as follows:

Appointed day means the date on which the Authority is established under the act.

Authority means the established under this Act. Interim Insurance Regulatory Authority means the Insurance

Regulatory Authority set up by the Central Government through Resolution No. 17(2)/ 94-lns-V dated the 23rd January, 1996.

Words and expressions used are not defined in this Act but defined in the Insurance Act, 1938 or the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 or the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts A new definition of "Indian Insurance Company" has been inserted. "Indian insurance company" means any insurer being a company

(a) which is formed and registered under the Companies Act,1956

(b) in which the aggregate holdings of equity shares by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or its nominees, do not exceed twenty-six per cent. Paid up capital in such Indian insurance company

(c) whose sole purpose is to carry on life insurance business, general insurance business or re-insurance business.

2.5 LIST OF LIFE INSURERS:

Apart from Life Insurance Corporation, the public sector life insurer, there are 20 other private sector life insurers, most of them joint ventures between Indian groups and global insurance giants.

SL. NO.

Insurers Foreign Partners Regn. No.

Date of Registration

Year of Operation

1 HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Standard Life Assurance, UK 101 23.10.2000 2000-01

2 Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

New York Life, USA 104 15.11.2000 2000-01

3 ICICI-Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Prudential , UK 105 24.11.2000 2000-01

4 Kotak Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Old Mutual, South Africa 107 10.01.2001 2001-02

5 Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Sun Life, Canada 109 31.01.2001 2000-01

6 Tata-AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

American InternationalAssurance Co., USA

110 12.02.2001 2000-01

7 SBI LifeInsurance Co. Ltd.

BNP ParibasAssurance SA, France

111 29.03.2001 2001-02

8 ING Vysya Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

ING Insurance InternationalB.V., Netherlands

114 02.08.2001 2001-02

9 Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Allianz, Germany 116 03.08.2001 2001-02

10 Metlife India Insurance Co. Ltd.

Metlife International Holdings Ltd., USA

117 06.08.2001 2001-02

11 AVIVA Aviva International Holdings Ltd., UK

122 14.05.2002 2002-03

12 Sahara Life Insurance Co. Ltd ……………………………

127 06.02.2004 2004-05

13 Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Sanlam, South Africa 128 17.11.2005 2005-06

14 Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

AXA Holdings, France 130 14.07.2006 2006-07

15 Reliance LifeInsurance Co. Ltd. (Earlier AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Co.from 3.1.02 to 29.9.05)

……………………………121 03.01.2002 2001-02

16 Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Pantaloon Retail Ltd.;Sain Marketing Network Pvt. Ltd. (SMNPL), Generali, Italy

133 04.09.2007 2007-08

17 IDBI Fortis LifeInsurance Co. Ltd.

Fortis, Netherlands 135 19.12.2007 2007-08

18 Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

HSBC, UK 136 08.05.2008 2008-09

19 AegonReligare Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Religare, Netherlands 138 27.06.2008 2008-09

20 DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Prudential of America, USA 140 27.06.2008 2008-09

2.6 Types of insurance:

Generally, insurance is divided into two categories and is named as;General Insurance

Life Insurance

2.7 What are the benefits one get from insurance:

Safeguards oneself and one's family for future requirements.

FRAME WORK ANALYSIS OF INSURANCE

GENERAL INSURANCE LIFE INSURANCE

WHOLE LIFE INSURANCE

ENDOWMENT PLANS

TERM INSURANCE

INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE

GROUP INSURANCE

HEALTH INSURANCE

ANNUITY PLANS

ULIPs

MICRO INSURANCE

Life cover. Peace of mind in case of financial loss. Encourage saving. Tax rebate. Protection from the claim made by the creditors. Security against a personal loan, housing loan or other types of

loan. Provide a protection cover to industries, agriculture, women and

child.

2.8 Distribution Channels in Insurance

Introduction An insurance cover is an intangible product evidenced by a written contract known as the ‘policy’. Insurers market various insurance covers either directly or through various distribution channels—individual agents, corporate agents (including Bancassurance) and Brokers. The marketer in the distribution network is in direct interface with the prospect and the customer.

Life insurance products are sold through individual agents and many of them have this as their only career occupation. General insurance products are sold through individual agents, corporate agents and brokers.

Distribution channels such as agents are licensed by the IRDA. To get an agency license, one has to have certain minimum qualifications; practical training in insurance subjects and pass an examination conducted by the Insurance Institute of India.

IRDA regulations on licensing of agents/brokers lay down the code of conduct for individual agents, corporate agents and brokers.Thus it is seen that the dos and don’ts for these intermediaries are given clearly at the point of sale as well as in the event of a claim. Service does not end with the customer receiving his document; it in fact only begins here. After sales service is as important or even more important – like when a refund has to be made or when a claim has to be made.

One of the issues that are of great concern affecting professionalism in insurance activities is resorting rebating by intermediaries. Rebating is prohibited as per Section 41 of the Insurance Act, 1938 and the public are advised not to deal with intermediaries offering rebate of any kind.Rebating means a share of commission receivable by the agent/broker is given to the prospect/client. This is done to attract the client in the purchase of insurance contract by offering cash. Competition among agents/brokers is so cut-throat, some agents indulge in such unethical practices. Public are advised not to ask for any prohibited rebates in premium since commission payment to an agent is the only income for some to take care of their families. Similarly, agents are also advised

not to indulge in such practices which could cause them loss of agency income.

Alternate Distribution Channels:

The insurance marketplace is undergoing a transformation that may eventually lead to significant changes in how consumers purchase insurance products. A variety of distribution channels are currently used in this market place and some insurers utilize a combination of distribution channels. Such as:

Direct SalesBrokersCorporate AgentsTelemarketingOnline MarketingRetail ChainsFranchisee

Chapter 3:

Insurance Agent Recruitment

Meaning of Insurance Agent recruitment

Need For Insurance Agent

Functions Of The Insurance Agent

Support And Benefits

Learning From Executive Training

Insurance Agent’s Profile Involves Knowing

Criteria For Selection Of Insurance Agent

Code Of Conduct For Insurance Agents

INSURANCE AGENT RECRUITMENT

3.1 Meaning of Insurance Agent recruitment

Insurance agent recruitment is all about recruiting financial advisor for the company. The financial advisor is the person who can guide the people in making proper investments regarding their life………………

Now the question comes is that “how can he/she be the advisor of the company” ???????

Financial Advisor:

Financial advisor is the person who has been issued the government authorized IRDA license which is valid for three years and in those 3 years he/she can tap into an unlimited income and reinvent their life.

As a Life Advisor a person’s role would go beyond selling policies. His/her role would be to explain life insurance and its benefits to potential customers and help them decide which plan suits them best after analyzing their financial needs. Hence, life insurance offers one with an opportunity for: An exciting / challenging career. Flexible work hours. Unlimited income. Regular income for years till the policies sold by one is in force.

3.2 Need For Insurance Agent:

Insurance is sold, not bought, because of its intangibility ( Fig- 3a shows the intangibility of insurance)People do not understand, how insurance works. It is like sand when it is bought and gold when it is realized.Insurance is a concept that has to be explained personally.Buyer has his own special needs and requires specialized solution.It is the AGENT who knows the proposer and he only can act as first line underwriter.

(Fig -3a)

3.3 Functions Of The Insurance Agent:

Life insurances agent has the unique role of such a person, who enjoys the trust of two parties - the prospect and the insurer - simultaneously in the same transaction.

To simplify, functions of a life insurance agent could be divided into two parts, viz.

'Pre-sale functions'; 'Post-sale functions'

Function Before Sales:Contact prospectsStudy their insurance needsCompletion of formalities for proposal of new insurance viz,

Filling of form Arranging for Medical Examination Collection proofs of age and income Any other information required by the underwriters

Function After Sales:Ensure payment of renewal premiums.Assist policyholder for nomination / or change thereof.

Assist the policyholder in case he wants to get loan against the policy assignment.Assist the policyholder or the claimant to comply with the requirement for getting timely settlement of claims.

3.4 SupportAnd Benefits:

As a Life Advisor with Insurance companyone would enjoy the following benefits:

Enriching Training Program:An intensive training program before one commences his/her new career. This would equip one with all the information and knowledge about life insurance, its benefits and our products. This would help one to perform his/her job better and meet his/her goals. One would also enjoy the benefits of continuous training and mentoring programs that are designed to update one, apart from enhancing one’s selling skills.

Mentoring:Training and support from the Company to meet one’s goals. Opportunity to learn from industry professionals.

Flexibility:Decide one’s own working hours and earning goals.

Satisfaction:One will help people manage their assets and plan their financial security, and experience deep satisfaction from making a positive difference in others lives. One acts as a strategist in annuities, business insurance, estate planning and personal investment, providing both short and long term solutions to financial risks.

Freedom:Continue with your present job occupation if you so desire and treat this as a parallel source of income. This allows you time to decide if you want to take the job of a Life Advisor as a full time activity.

Earnings:Entitlement to a percentage of the premium as commission till the time the policies sold by you are in force.

Attractive Additional Benefits For High Performers:Palmtops, Planners, Leather portfolio bags, Offsite conferences, Foreign trips and Sales promotional schemes.

3.5 Learning From Executive Training:

Provides an opportunity to apply the concepts learn t in real –life situations.It sensitizes us about nuances of work place by the time-bound projects assigned by the company.It creates awareness about the strengths & weaknesses in the work environmentIt provides a platform to develop a network while OJT (On-the-job-Training), which would be useful in enhancing career prospectus.Know the day-to-day functions of the company.It provides a unique opportunity to get exposed to corporate culture, professional experience & professional behavior & putting the theoretical concepts learnt in the classroom for developing managerial skills.To gain a deeper understanding of the work culture, deadlines, pressure etc. of an organization.It gives a flavor of teamwork, organization culture, team dynamics, result orientation, organizational pressures, complexities in achieving the desired results etc.It provides direct exposure to the execution & support functions of the departments.It provides a good scope for developing necessary managerial skills &positiveattitude

3.6 Insurance Agent’s Profile Involves Knowing:

Demographic backgroundEducational backgroundExperience backgroundIndustry background.

3.7 Criteria For Selection Of Insurance Agent:

Criteria for the selection of the Financial Advisor are as follow;

Age: 18 or above for both Male and Female

Educational Qualification Required:o Rural Area*: 10th Passo Urban Area*: 12th Pass

[* Areas are bifurcated according to the population.]

For getting license to work as an agent of any company a person must complete his/her training and pass exam of IRDA. If a person is already holding license for General Insurance than he/she will have to complete only few hours of training.

All the above criteria are common for all the companies, they have to follow it. In

practice, because of competitive environment many companies

decide their own criteria apart from all above. Different criteria used by

companies are shown in the following table:

At least Graduate Person

Living in Ahmedabad for at least 3 yrs

Network / Society group

High Net Income (HNI)*group

Married and have dependents

Age group 25-50 yrs

KLI 1 ICICI Prudential2

-

LIC - - - -

Birla Sun life - - -

Bajaj Allianz 3 - - -

ING Vysya4 - - - - -

BhartiAxa - Aviva 6 NA

TABLE 3.1Criteria for Selecting Agents by different Companies.

3.8 Code Of Conduct For Insurance Agents:

No Insurance Agent Shall:Solicit or procure insurance business without holding a valid license; Induce the prospect to omit any material information in the proposal form; Induce the prospect to submit wrong information in the proposal form or documents submitted to the insurer for acceptance of the proposal; Behave in a discourteous manner with the prospect; Interfere with any proposal introduced by any other insurance agent;Offer different rates, advantages, terms and conditions other than those offered by his insurer; Demand or receive a share of proceeds from the beneficiary under an insurance contract; Force a policyholder to terminate the existing policy and to effect a new proposal from him within three years from the date of such termination;

Have, in case of a corporate agent, a portfolio of insurance business under which the premium is in excess of fifty percent of total premium procured, in any year, from one person (who is not an individual) or one organization or one group of organizations; Apply for fresh license to act as an insurance agent, if his license was earlier cancelled by the designated person, and a period of five years has not elapsed from the date of such cancellation; Become or remain a director of any insurance company;

Every Insurance Agent Shall:Identify himself and the insurance company of whom he is an insurance agent; Disclose his license to the prospect on demand;Disseminate the requisite information in respect of insurance products offered for sale by his insurer and take into account the needs of the prospect while recommending a specific insurance plan; Disclose the scales of commission in respect of the insurance product offered for sale, if asked by the prospect; Indicate the premium to be charged by the insurer for the insurance product offered for sale; Explain to the prospect the nature of information required in the proposal form by the insurer, and also the importance of

disclosure of material information in the purchase of an insurance contract; Bring to the notice of the insurer any adverse habits or income inconsistency of the prospect, in the form of a report (called “Insurance Agent’s Confidential Report”) along with every proposal submitted to the insurer, and any material fact that may adversely affect the underwriting decision of the insurer as regards acceptance of the proposal, by making all reasonable enquiries about the prospect; Inform promptly the prospect about the acceptance or rejection of the proposal by the insurer; Obtain the requisite documents at the time of filing the proposal form with the insurer; and other documents subsequently asked for by the insurer for completion of the proposal; Render necessary assistance to the policyholders or claimants or beneficiaries in complying with the requirements for settlement of claims by the insurer; Advise every individual policyholder to effect nomination or assignment or change of address or exercise of options, as the case may be, and offer necessary assistance in this behalf, wherever necessary;

Chapter 4:

Thumb Rule For Recruitment

Recruitment

Why Recruitment?

Whom to Recruit?

Where to Recruit?

How to recruit?

THUMB RULE FOR RECRUITMENT

4.1 Recruitment:

Recruiting good agents has often been considered the number one job & problem in agency management. It is certainly a task that new companies in the Indian life insurance market have put much stress on. The reason is that life insurance remains a product, not many are easily disposed to buy and not many want to sell either. The survival of agency manager depends on his convincing enough qualified and competent people to choose life insurance selling as a permanent career. Recruitment involves selecting the right candidate for the agent’s job and selling the agency idea to him.

4.2 Why Recruitment?

Recruitment is critical when the agency force is small. But it becomes important even for a fairly large sized agency. Agency groups, like companies and products, have a life cycle. Turnover of agents is a fact of life business. In course of time only some agents can maintain high new business growth rate and remain stars. Many quite or turn inactive after some time while other tend to lose steam. Some, who have a regular flow of high renewal commission, may relax efforts or look for other pastures in which their skills could be employed. If the agency manager does not continuously add new people to replenish the resulting depletion of selling energy, the agency system would begin crumble in spite of its apparent success.

From the following calculation we can understand the need for recruiting new & quality advisors:FYP = TOTAL NO. OF ADVISORS × ACTIVITY RATIO × CASE RATE × CASE SIZE

Where, FYP = First Year Premium.

No. of Active Advisors

Activity Ratio (%) = Total Number of Advisors

Case Rate = Total No. Of Policies

Total No. of Active Advisors

Case Size = Total Premium Total No. Of Policies

From the above calculation we can say that FYP is directly proportional to the No. of advisors. So it necessary to recruit more & more advisors, and again apart from recruiting new advisors it is necessary to recruit quality advisors to maintain Activity Factor, Case Rate, & Case Size.

Why then do agency managers often fail to recruit? The reason is that it is not considered urgent enough. There is a lot of energy that needs to be expended to recruit and develop a new agent but payoffs come much later. Again, there are periods (like March) when one has to focus on getting business. It is a poor time to bring new people into the agency. Many are lost simply because one could not devote sufficient time to develop them.

New men, typically, would contribute only a small share of the agency business so that if one dose not recruit, it will not make an immediate difference to the agency operation. The penalty may be there but it is a deferred one. For example, if there is no recruitment done in the years 2008& 2009, the impact may really be felt only by 2012. Remember that at that time more than half the agency’s business may come from agents recruited after 2007. The two years of non- recruitment would have created a huge hole in the fabric that cannot be sewed up quickly

by extra recruitment in 2010. The omission by then has become irrevocable.

The only solution to the above is to recruit continuously and at all times- indeed make a habit out of recruitment. No doubt, the lean months are when one can spend more time on recruiting while peak business periods like December to March may put other demands on the agency manager’s time. But we must remember that peak months also provide an opportunity to new agents to get off to a flying start. Nothing works, like early success, to motivate an agent to plunge into the business with heart and soul.

The only thing worse than non - recruitment is to recruit indiscriminately and for the sake of fulfilling a recruitment quota. This is a disease, which seems to have caught on with life insurance companies in the Indian market. It is like drawing water from a well with a bucket that has a hole in it. The logic seems to be that if you get sufficiently large numbers, many will drop off but some may stay. There are two problems with this logic. First, it is very inefficient way of doing things. Agents are deadweight unless they can work independently and generate new business. What is the purpose of recruiting an agent if the agency manager has to do canvassing of business and other activities on his behalf? Many drop off any way after a few halfhearted attempts.

Second, what many marketing managers do not seems to realize is this serious harm done to an agency organization and agency manager’s

morale when he is not even allowed (leave alone supported) to strike a balance between recruitment and agent development one may argue that winners (the agents who will make it) do not need too many winners would like to be part of a ship that is rudderless, without the captain in sight and crew that is verge of jumping off?

4.3 Whom to Recruit?

The agency organizations would be crippled era long if the right kind of people were not in the ship. The agent’s job like any other contains a job description and a job specification. The agency manager needs to be clear about not only what he requires the agent to do also a profile of who would play the role well. It is not necessary or even possible to get readymade MDRT stuff. The key is to discover those people who have the latent potential to grow and to be groomed so as to emerge as sales champions. As in new business prospecting, one must build a reservoir of potential candidates who can be offered an agency career. Let us looked at some of the qualities to look for (Fig-4a):

Fig-4a

The candidate should ideally come from a background where work and life has been challenging and every meal had to be earned the hard way. An agent’s job is essentially entrepreneurial. The only security that there is comes from the ability to perform & this is often not within one’s control. A great deal of courage, self-discipline, self-confidence, self-drive is needed to enable one to stick to the course & work in an environment where results do not come easily.

A person with some business & service experience& who has enjoyed success pattern may make a good recruit. Such a person is likely to have a fair amount of maturity of thought and a sense of responsibility. Success also requires discipline and healthy work

habits. Remember, customer have to be sure about the person from whom they are buying insurance.

The candidate must obviously be one with the ability to relate with and communicate to people. One of the key things to especially look for is the social mobility of the prospect- is he actively engaged in community and social activities where he meet and render services to other people. Is he someone who is liked?

One of the critical requirements of an agent is character & attitude. Character is about doing what is right and ethical and in the interest of one’s customers. Similarly, one must be sure of the agent’s attitude to insurance and the customer. The agent must be the type who believes in insurance & the importance of financial security.

Finally, the most important attribute to look for is fire in the belly – a hunger to excel in the agency profession. There are no free lunches. Success has a price and one can pay that price only when there is sufficient fire within.

4.4 Where to Recruit?

The types of people we have profiled above are obviously not likely to be sitting idle at home. Usually, they are engaged somewhere. It is also obvious that good prospects do not easily come by. One has to make a search for them and discover them. Let us look at some of the source from which one may draw good prospects.

A most potent source lies in individuals and professional/occupational being displaced by industry wide vocational disturbances. A large number have taken voluntary retirement (VRS) or face retrenchment. Similarly many business proprietors have their revenues and profits affected by competition and adverse trends. These are people likely to be interested in life insurance sales career. They do not posses maturity and work experience but also are at an age when fire is still there.

A next source is to liaise with Placement Agencies and other platforms where people in search of jobs are registered. One may also advertise about a job opening. The problem is that such recruitment centers are unlikely to promote a job in life insurance selling. This is where selling the career become important.

For several decades, the most popular source of agency recruitment has been members of one’s extended family & community, friends circle, one’s customers and center of influence. They may either themselves become agents or recommend and help in recruiting others. Policyholders, especially if they are satisfied clients, could provide great support in this regard. The problem is that many of them are not business minded. They have valuable personal contacts but the agency manager would need to work and assist to convert these into professional and business relationships.

Fourth, there are salesmen in other areas. Those in FMCGs can be found in retail outlets or moving from house to house. Others from the pharmaceutical industry visit doctors and hospitals. There are salesmen all around the place. The task is to ask if they intend to

remain in their present line of sales all their lives. Why not plunge into something a lot more challenging and rewarding?

One of the most promising sources of recruitment is the housewives looking for a part time job to supplement family income. Women can understand personal and family financial problems and are able to interact on an emotional level. Remember they constitute half of the mankind and are the pillar of support in every family. In many Indian & Asian communities, women would not move amidst and talk freely to male strangers. But housewives would listen to other housewives. Perhaps the best advantage stems from the fact that millions are seeking new career opportunities today and are entering the job market in large number.

The college campus is also a possible source of recruitment. One hazard is that students may not stick with it for long. Those in the top half of class (academic) performers are likely to search for and find other jobs or go for higher studies. It would be worthwhile to look for good solid people at the lower half of the class.

Finally there is the professional financial adviser (e.g. a CA or income tax practitioner) who may consider the agency as an additional part-time source of income.

4.5 How to recruit?

The recruitment process has two steps:

Find out the prospect

RecruitmentSelling the agency to the selected prospect

The first stage is that of qualifying the prospect- making sure he/she is the right candidate for the agency. It may be wise to spend some time for the purpose- observing and getting to know the prospect better. There are many things to know, such as family background & education, past achievements, social mobility and connections, dreams and ambitions, how he looks at life insurance and its selling. Among other issues it is especially vital to look for the thread of discontentment- is the prospect dissatisfied with his present job and state of affairs and ready to take the plunge. Would he have enough fire and discipline to make a success of a job? These are matters involving judgment and a prudent agency manager would not hurry.

The second stage is that of selling the agency to the selected prospect. This may again involve one or more sessions:

Selling the agency career. Establishing leadership. Selling the company.

Selling the agency career: Every prospect needs to be first of all convinced that a career in life insurance selling offers a rewarding way of life.Let us start with stability. There is tremendous stability in this career, once the early humps are tackled. Every new policy earns

not only commissions but also lots of incentives. The beauty is that the market we are working in is continuously expanding.As for the career advancement, the sky is the limit. An agent has one of those jobs where one can earn more than the company chairman as there are tremendous growth opportunities.A third major selling point is the freedom that comes with the job here is the career where one can set one’s own time schedule of work and life choose one’s own clientele; learn continuously on the job and move ahead.

Establishing leadership: we come now to one of the most critical items that agency manager has to sell. He has to sell himself and convince the prospect to accept his leadership and supervision. Let us call this session a commitment interview. In this interview the agency manager extends an invitation and a promise that joining his agency group is the path to a rewarding career. Agency manager may have many examples to relate about successful agents who made it under his leadership.

Selling the Company: Let us now come to the third item to be sold- the company. One way of doing so has been to lure agents through higher material incentives and commissions. For a new agent prime question is the company’s acceptability and whether it can be sold to members of the public. The other new concern of any newcomer would be about the company environment&culture.

Chapter5:

Research Methodology

Marketing Research Process

Data interpretation & Graph Analysis

5.1 Research Methodology:

Research always starts with a question or a problem. Its purpose is to question through the application of the scientific method. It is a systematic and intensive study directed towards a more complete knowledge of the subject studied. Marketing research is the function which links the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information- information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions, monitor marketing actions, monitor marketing performance and improve understanding of market as a process.

Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs, and the method for collecting information, manage and implemented the data collection process, analyses the results and communicate the findings and their implication.

5.2 Marketing Research Process

As marketing research is a systemic and formalized process, it follows a

certain sequence of research action. The marketing process has the

following steps:

Formulating the problems

Developing objectives of the research

Designing an effective research plan

Data collection techniques

Evaluating the data and preparing a research report

There is only one type of data collection method use in my project

report.

– Secondary data.

For my project, I decided on Secondary data collection method was

used by referring to various websites, books, magazines, journals and

daily newspapers for collecting information regarding project under

study.

5.3 Data Interpretation & Graph Analysis:TABLE 5-i

Happy with their current job & financial situation.

Need for supplementary Income

Preference for supplementary income

Yes NO Yes May be NO As a life insurance agent.

Multilevel marketing

Part time business

Tuitions Others

71 79 69 67 14 21 7 52 47 23

Interpretation :From the above pie chart we can see that 53% people are not happy with their current job/financial situation, because of increasing cost of day to day life & limited source of income. So there is tremendous opportunity in the market for targeting people to recruit as an insurance advisor by showing them career & unlimited earning opportunities in the business of insurance.

Fig- 5a

Interpretation :From the above pie chart we can see that only 9.33% people said that they are completely happy with their job/financial situation and there is no need for any supplementary source of income for them.

In the previous pie chart (fig.5a) we have seen, 47% people said that they are happy with their job/financial situation, but only 9.33 % (Fig.5b) people said that they don’t need the supplementary source of income, which gives an indication that there are some people in this 47%, who need an extra source of income.

So from the above pie charts we can say that more than 90% people need a supplementary source of income. Therefore, by showing them unlimited supplement earning opportunities in this business, we can easily target them for recruitment.

Fig. 5b

Interpretation :From the above pie chart (Fig. 5c) we can see that 14% people says directly that life insurance agent is the best way to supplement ones income, because of unlimited earning opportunity and flexible working hour. So, we can easily target this segment of people for recruitment.

Fig. 5c

With the help of data collected, I have segmented the market mainly on the basis of demographic & geographic, for recruitment.

Demographic basis:

Occupation

Occupation Happy with current job/financial situation.

Yes No TOTAL

Teachers 8 7 15

Advocates 6 9 15

Doctors 14 1 15

Pvt.-service 7 8 15

Govt.-service 8 7 15

Businessmen 13 2 15

Salesperson (M.R, Sahara Agent etc.)

2 13 15

Students 6 9 15

House wife 3 12 15

professional financial adviser ( e.g. C.As)

4 11 15

TOTAL 71 79 150

Table 5-ii (a)

HAPPY WITH THEIR CURREN JOB/FINANCIAL SITUATION

Interpretation :From the above figure (Fig. 5d), we can see that 13 salesperson out of 15 (86.66%) are not happy with their current job/ financial situation followed by 12 housewives (80%), 11 professional financial advisors (73.33%), 9 advocates&students (60%), 8 Pvt. Service holder (53.33%), and 7 teachers&Govt. service holder (46.66%).

Fig.

On the other hand businessmen (86.67%) & doctors (93.34%) are happy with their job/financial situation. Therefore, we can say that they cannot be a potential segment for recruitment.

Occupation Need for supplementary need

Yes May be No TOTAL

Teachers 7 6 2 15

Advocates 9 6 0 15

Doctors 1 9 5 15

Pvt.-service 5 9 1 15

Govt.-service 7 8 0 15

Businessmen 2 11 2 15

Salesperson (M.R, Sahara Agent etc.)

13 2 0 15

Students 9 6 0 15

House wife 12 2 1 15

professional financial adviser ( e.g. C.As)

4 8 3 15

Table 5 ii (b)

TOTAL 69 67 14 150

NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME

Interpretation :From the above graph we can see that 13 salesperson out of 15 says there is need for supplement source of income i.e. 86.66%.

Again 12 housewives out of 15 i.e. 80% says there is need for supplementary source of income, followed by 9 students & advocates (60%), 7 teachers & Govt. employee (46.66%), and 5 Pvt.-Service holders (33.33%).

Only 1 doctor & 2 businessmen out of 15 i.e. 6.66% & 13.33% respectively, say there is need for supplementary source of income.

Fig. 5e

Occupation Preference for supplementary income.

As a life insurance agent

Multilevel marketing

Part time business

Tuitions Others TOTAL

Teachers 1 0 2 12 0 15

Advocates 2 0 8 3 2 15

Doctors 0 0 0 4 11 15

Pvt.-service 0 0 9 5 1 15

Govt.-service 0 0 10 5 0 15

Businessmen 0 0 10 0 5 15

Salesperson 4 7 4 0 0 15

Students 3 0 2 10 0 15

House wife 4 0 5 6 0 15

professional financial adviser ( e.g. C.As)

7 0 2 2 4 15

TOTAL 21 7 52 47 23 150

Table 5 ii (c)

PREFERENCE FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME

Interpretation :From the above graph we can see that 7 out of 15 i.e. 46.66% professional financial advisers like CAs directly prefer life insurance agent is the best way to supplement one’s income, followed by salespersons & housewives (26.67%), students (20%), advocates (13.33%), &teachers (6.67%).

While no, doctors, businessmen, Pvt.-service & Govt.-service holder preferred life insurance agent is the best way to supplements one’s income.

Fig. 5f

Age group Happy with current job/financial situation.

Yes No TOTAL

18-25 15 27 42

26-35 21 25 46

36-45 25 15 40

46-55 10 12 22

TOTAL 71 79 150

Age group

HAPPY WITH THEIR CURRENT JOB/FINANCIAL POSITION

Interpretation:From the above graph we can see that 27 people out of 42 i.e. 64.3% between age group 18-25 are not happy with their current

Table 5 iii (a)

Fig. 5g

job/financial situations followed by age group 46-55 (54.5%), 26-35 (54.3%), & 36-45 (37.5%).

Age group Need for supplementary need TOTAL

Yes May be No

18-25 25 16 1 42

26-35 18 27 1 46

36-45 21 15 4 40

46-56 5 9 8 22

TOTAL 69 67 14 150

NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME

Interpretation:

AGE GROUP

Table 5 iii (b)

Fig. 5h

From the above graph we can see that 25 people out of 42 (59.5%) between age group 18-25 says there is need for supplementary source of income, followed by age group 36-45 (52.5%), 26-35 (39.1%) and 46-56 (22.7%). Again we can see that 8 people out of 22 (36%) between age group 46-56 says that there is no need for supplementary source of income.

Age group

Preference for supplementary income.

As a life insurance agent

Multilevel marketing

Part time business

Tuitions Others TOTAL

18-25 6 4 9 18 5 42

26-35 10 3 18 12 3 46

36-45 5 0 16 15 4 40

46-56 0 0 9 2 11 22

TOTAL 21 7 52 47 23 150

Table 5 iii (c)

PREFERENCE FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME

Interpretation: Form the above graph (Fig. 5i) we can see that 10 people out of 46 (21.7%) between age group 26-35 prefers life insurance agent is the best way to supplements ones income, followed by the age group 18-25 (14.2%) and age group 36-45 (12.5%).

Geographic Basis:

Region Happy with current job/financial situation.

Yes No TOTAL

Sub-Urban 31 45 76

Urban 40 34 74

Table 5 IV (a)

Fig. 5i

TOTAL 71 79 150

Region Need for supplementary need

Yes May be No TOTAL

Sub-Urban 40 32 4 76

Urban 28 36 10 74

TOTAL 68 67 14 150

Region Preference for supplementary income.

As a life insurance agent

Multilevel marketing

Part time business

Tuitions Others TOTAL

Sub-Urban 15 1 30 22 8 76

Urban 6 6 22 25 15 74

TOTAL 21 7 52 47 23 150

Table 5 IV (b)

Table 5 IV (c)

HAPPY WITH THEIR CURRENT JOB/ NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOMEFINANCIAL POSITION

PREFERENCE FPR SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME

Interpretation:

REGION REGION

REGION

Fig. Fig. 5j

Fig. 5 l

From the above graph (Fig. 5j) we can see that in the Sub-Urban areas, 45 peoples out of 76 (59.2%) are unhappy with their current job/financial situation. While in urban area it is around 45.9%.

Again need for supplementary source of income (Fig. 5k) is higher in Sub-Urban areas, i.e. 52.6%, while in urban areas it is 37.8%.

Further we can see that preference for supplementary source of income as life insurance advisors is more in Sub-Urban areas than urban areas, varying from 19.7% to 8.12%.

Chapter6:

Findings

Suggestions & Recommendations

6.1 Findings:

On the basis of occupation:

Occupation Not happy with their current job/ financial situation. (%)

Need for supplementary source of income. (%)

Preference for supplementary source of income (as a life insurance agent). (%)

Professional financial advisors

73.33% 26.67% 46.66%

Salesperson 86.66% 86.66% 26.67%

Housewives 80% 80% 26.7%

Students 60% 60% 20%

Advocates 60% 60% 13.33%

Teachers 46.66% 46.66% 6.67%

Pvt. Service 53.33% 33.33% 0%

Govt. Service 46.66% 46.66% 0%

Businessmen 13.33% 13.33% 0%

Doctors 6.66% 6.66% 0%

From the above table we can conclude that professional financial advisors, salesperson and housewives are the most potential segments of people for recruitment followed by the students, advocates & teachers.

Though only 26.67% of professional financial advisers say there is a need for supplementary source of income, but 46.66% of professional financial advisers prefer to become life insurance

Table -6A

agent, because professional financial advisers are the best person who can advise people, related to their investment decisions.

Again a salesperson is a another good segment of people for targeting recruitment, because their need for income is quite higher (86.66%) & even they are trained enough in terms of sales.

Apart from these two segments housewives is also a good segment for targeting recruitment, because their need & preference (as a life insurance agent) is too high compare to the rest of segments, because women can understand personal and family financial problems and are able to interact on an emotional level.

Further we can see that students is also a good segment for recruitment, because their need for income is also high & even 20% of students prefer life insurance agent is the best way to supplements ones income, because every students needs money for their personal expense.

Advocates and teachers can also be a target segment for recruitment, because their need for income is also quite high & even 13.33% of advocates and 6.67% of teachers prefer life insurance agent is the best way to supplements ones income, but comparatively these are the less potential segments compare to other identified segments.

Businessmen & doctors are not a potential segment for targeting recruitment, because their need for supplementary source of income is very low & also most of them are happy with their current job/financial situation.

Pvt. service holder & Govt. service holders are also not a potential segment for targeting recruitment, though their need for income is present , but they don’t prefer life insurance agent is the best way to supplements ones income, mainly because of ego problems & time constraint.

On the basis of Age Group :

Age groups

Not happy with their current job/ financial situation. (%)

Need for supplementary source of income. (%)

Preference for supplementary source of income (as a life insurance agent). (%)

18-25 64.3% 59.5% 14.2%

26-35 54.3% 39.1% 21.7%

36-45 37.5% 52.5% 12.5%

46-55 54.5% 0% 0%

From the above table we can conclude that people between the age group of 18-25 & 26-35 are the most potential segments for recruitment, followed by the age group of 36-45.

64.3% of People between the age group of 18-25 are not happy with their current job/financial situation & also need for supplementary source of income is 59.5%. In this group most of them are at struggling stage of their life and are very energetic, so it can be a target segment for recruitment.

Again, people between the age group of 26-35 are a target segment for recruitment because of their increasing responsibility towards family.

Table- 6B

People between the age group of 36-45 is also a good segment for recruitment, but comparatively less than other identified segments because at this stage of life most of them are settled & often their child also grows up.

People between the age group of 46-55 is not a potential segment, though the 54.5% of people are not happy with their current job/financial situation, but their need and preference for supplementary source of income is negligible because of their age factor.

On the basis of Geographic Segmentation:Region Not happy with their

current job/ financial situation. (%)

Need for supplementary source of income. (%)

Preference for supplementary source of income (as a life insurance agent). (%)

Sub-Urban

59.2% 52.6% 19.7%

Urban 45.9% 37.8% 8.12%

Thus from the above figures we can say that in Sub-Urban areas are the most potential segment for recruitment than the urban areas, because need for income is there, and again there is a limited source of income opportunity.

Further we know that in the Sub-Urban & rural areas there is tremendous potentiality for the business of insurance, because of the less penetration of insurance.

Table – 6C

6.2 Suggestions & Recommendations:

Professional financial advisors like CAs, Tax consultant, etc. is the most potential segment of people for recruitment, Insurance Agents should target this segment of people to get quality recruitment.

Salesmen like Sahara agents, MR etc. is also a very good segment of people for recruitment, and Insurance Agents should target this segment of people to get quality and even in quantity.

Housewives between the age group of 35-50 can be a target segment for recruitment, Insurance Agents should target this segment of people to get leader.

Students can be one of the target segment, Insurance Agents should target this segment continuously, because students can generally work for short term only.

Teachers & advocates can be one of the potential segments, for these Insurance Agents should target this segment by conducting homogeneous group Career Orientation Presentation (COP).

Generally Govt.-service & Pvt.-service holders does not prefers to become life insurance agent, but there is a need for supplementary source of income is quite higher, for targeting this segment of people BAs should give 1:1 COP.

Doctors are not a target segment for recruitment.

People between the age group of 18-25, 26-35, and 36-45 are the most potential segment for recruitment.

People between the age group of 46-55 can be a target segment, though the preference to become a life insurance agent is low, but need for income is quit higher, to target this segment Insurance Agents should give effective COP & make them realize that they are still young and energetic, and can work effectively.

Sub-Urban areas are the most potential segment for recruitment than the urban areas, Insurance Agents should target more & more on Sub-Urban to get quality recruitment.

Chapter 7:

Conclusion

7.1 Conclusion:

It is believed that it is a tough task to find out a quality prospect for insurance advisor’s recruitment, as every individual has its limited contact base. We have seen in the above analysis that with the help of references & market survey tool an individual can enter into cold market easily, and then extend up to no limit.

But it is a tremendous challenge to find out the potential segment of people for recruitment. So, we have segmented the whole market mainly on the basis of demographic (occupation & age) and geographic segmentation (region), with the help of market survey tool, to identify the potential segment of people for recruitment and our exhaustive research in the field of recruitment in Life Insurance has squeezed out some interesting trends which can be seen in the above analysis.

Chapter 8:

References

8.1 References:

In order to obtain more information regarding the present study and to substantiate it with theoretical proof, the following references were made: -

Websites Referredwww.google.comwww.irdaindia.orgwww.thehindubusinessline.com

Books ReferredBooks Published By IRDA.Kotler& Keller, Marketing Management, PHI, 13th Edition.

MagazinesInsurance World.The Outlook Money.