1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROFILE OF GENERAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY

History of Indian Insurance Market

Insurance in India goes back to the time of the British. The first life
insurance company to operate in India the Oriental Life Insurance Company was
established in 1818in Calcutta. It was, however, a British company. The first
Indian insurance company, the Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society started its
operations in1871. In 1956 the Indian life insurance industry was made up of 154
domestic life insurers, 16 foreign life insurers and 75 provident funds, and was
still governed by the Insurance Act of 1938.In 1956 all life insurance companies
were nationalized, the story of non-life insurance in India is no different. Though
Lloyd. Insurance pioneered general insurance way back in 1688, the first non-life
insurance company to set up shop in India was the Triton Insurance Company of
Calcutta. In1907, the first Indian general insurer, the Indian Mercantile Insurance
Company started its operations. The New India Assurance Company Ltd. was
incorporated in1919. In 1972, the non-life insurance business in the country was
nationalized and the GIC (General Insurance Corporation of India) was formed
as a holding company with four subsidiaries: The National Insurance, Oriental
Insurance, United India Insurance and the New India Assurance Company
Ltd.Since then, insurance in India had a protective wall built around it, to keep it
local players Market. The above companies controlled the insurance industry for
 2

nearly 30 years or so. Current Insurance Market Structure General Insurance

business in India was under complete control of four Governments insurance
companies for nearly three decade. After much deliberation finally the market
was opened for competition from December2000 and also Government has de-
linked four Public sector companies from holding company GIC to operate as
independent company. In addition to four Public Sectors insurance companies
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (.IRDA.)Has issued
licenses to the eight Private

1.2 COMPANY PROFILE

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited is a 74:26 joint

venture between ICICI Bank Limited and the US-based $ 26 billion Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited. ICICI Bank is India's second largest bank; while
Fairfax Financial Holdings is a diversified financial corporate engaged in general
insurance, reinsurance, insurance claims management and investment
management. Lombard Canada Ltd., a group company of Fairfax Financial
Holdings Limited, is one of Canada's oldest property and casualty insurers.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company received regulatory approvals to
commence general insurance business in August 2001.

HIGHLIGHTS OF ICICI Lombard

 India 's number one private general insurance company

 First general insurance company in India to be ISO 9001:2000 certified
 Highest brand recall
 Simple and fast documentation
 3

 Lightning fast claims settlement

 Instant online policy issuance
 Comprehensive product line
 Highest security level offered through 128-bit encryption in case of online
data exchange.
 First company to provide digitally signed documents through an online
interface.
 Achieved financial breakeven in first full year of operations
 Achieved underwriting breakeven in second year of operations

About Fairfax

Fairfax Financial Holding Limited is a financial services holding

company whose corporate objective is to achieve a high rate of return on
invested capital and build long-term shareholder value. It provides services in the
area of financial services, general insurance, reinsurance, insurance claims
management and investment management. Fairfax Group is amongst the largest
shareholder of ICICI Bank with about 4.5% shareholding

ABOUT ICICI Bank

• Second largest bank in India with asset size of over US $ 24 billion

• A network of 540 branches /offices and over 1,700 ATMs
• Presence across all financial products
• Only FI in India to pierce sovereign rating
• Listed at the NYSE, around 72% of the company’s equity is held by
foreign investors
• Technology-enabled products and processes
 4

GROUP COMPANIES

Domestic subsidiaries

o ICICI Securities Limited

o ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited
o ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited
o ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited
o ICICI Home Finance Company Limited
o ICICI Investment Management Company Limited
o ICICI Trusteeship Services Limited
o ICICI Brokerage Services Limited *
o ICICI Distribution Finance Private Limited

International subsidiaries

o ICICI Bank UK Limited

o ICICI Bank Canada
o ICICI Securities Holdings Inc
o ICICI Securities Inc
o ICICI International Limited

Home Insurance

Insure your home and its contents against natural calamities like fire,
earthquake, flood, gas cylinder explosion, fire due to electric short circuit as well
as man-made disasters like burglary
 5

CHAPTER 2

NEED, OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

2.1 NEED FOR THE STUDY

ICICI Lombard’s home insurance division was started in October 2004.

Hence the company wanted to know to what extent the people were aware of
ICICI Lombard General insurance company and their perception towards home
insurance products. Hence this research was undertaken. The company wanted
to assess whether the present level of marketing efforts is sufficient or not and
the medium of communication which was most effective in creating awareness.
Hence it’s need for this research.
 6

2.2 OBJECTIVES

2.2.1 Primary Objective

To assess the level of awareness of the brand “ICICI Lombard”

general insurance company in Bangalore.

2.2.2 Secondary Objectives

 To assess the level of awareness about different types of insurance and

the companies operating in the general insurance domain.
 To assess the relative importance of home insurance among different
insurance products.
 To assess the extent of the “need for home insurance” as perceived by the
public and their reasons.
 To estimate the degree of brand recall achieved through logo, slogan and
Company name.
 To assess the role of different media in generating awareness about the
brand “ICICI Lombard”.
 7

2.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study undertaken for ICICI Lombard aims to study and

understand the awareness level of the company and the market potential for
home insurance among the individuals residing in south east Bangalore,

This has been done by preparing the questionnaire which contains

questions put forth to the prospective individual’s, which would help in analyzing
the profile and individual’s perception towards home insurance, factors
influencing the individuals in going for home insurance, and awareness of various
schemes and insurance companies.

This study would help in determining the future market potential for
home insurance. The study would also help ICICI Lombard to direct their
marketing efforts by identifying customer preference and also the role of different
media in creating awareness.
 8

2.4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The area of study is limited to south east region of Bangalore only,

hence the results may not be true for other geographical areas. Validity &
Reliability of the data obtained depends on the correctness of the responses by
the respondents, The time at the disposal of the researcher was limited and the
size of the sample comparing to the population was very less and hence it cannot
be said to represent the whole population.
 9

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A proper research Methodology is imperative to derive meaningful

inferences and conclusions from the study. The Methodology followed for this
study is as follows.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

In this market survey, the design used is “descriptive” in nature.

The information is collected from the individuals and analyzed with the
help of different statistical tools for describing the relationship between various
types of variables pertaining to market potential for home Insurance. Moreover
Cross table Analysis has been done for multivariate data and information has
been obtained to meet the objectives of the study.
 10

3.2 DATA

3.2.1 Nature of Data

Both primary and secondary data are used in this study in order to
meet the requirements of the objectives. Under the study primary data was
collected by using a Questionnaire.

3.2.2 Source of Data

The Primary data was collected from the individuals residing in south
east Bangalore, with the help of the questionnaire, which was prepared after
getting inputs from the experts and executives in ICICI Lombard. Secondary data
are sourced from General Insurance Companies, Magazines, Books, Pamphlets,
Websites etc.

3.3 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Structured Questionnaire method is used as an instrument for

collecting information from the individuals. A Pilot study was conducted based on
which a few changes were made in the Questionnaire.

3.4 SAMPLING

Since the population of consumers of general Insurance is large in

number, researcher was unable to collect information from all individuals due to
limitation of time. So part of the population is taken for analyzing and generating
the findings.
 11

3.4.1 Sampling Unit

The respondents of the study are individuals residing in Jaya nagar,

Bansankari, Indira nagar and Koramangala, which are parts of Bangalore south
east.

3.4.2 Sample Size

The sample size was computed using the confidence level of 90%
and error level of ± 5%. The formula used for calculating the sample size is

N = z2 * p. q = 240(Calculations shown in appendix - V)

e2

3.4.3 Sampling Method

Cluster sampling method is used. The area to be surveyed was

divided into blocks. A number of blocks was chosen at random. Every household
in the chosen block was surveyed.

3.5 TOOLS USED

The data has been analyzed mainly by using the following methods,
namely.Cross Tabulation and Percentage method supplemented by appropriate
charts. Preference of the Respondents for different insurance products has been
analysed using Ranking method.
 12

3.5.1 Percentage Analysis

This is a univariate analysis where the percentage of a particular

factor with different categories is calculated, in order to help one get fair an idea
regarding the sample and there by that of the population.

3.5.2 Cross Tabulation

While percentage analysis is applicable to single variable, cross

tabulations help in identifying relationship between different variables.

3.5.3 Ranking method

This type of analysis is particularly useful when the purpose of the

question is to identify the preferences of the sample among different choices.

The respondents indicated the importance they assign to different

types of policies. The ranking was in the order of “1” for most important and “5”
for the least important. While doing the analysis the first rank was given a
weightage of 5 and the least rank was given the weightage of 1.

The rank assigned by all the respondents was cumulated using the
weightage. Accordingly the type of policy with the larger cumulative weightage
was ranked number 1 and so on.
 13

3.5.3 Questionnaire

The questionnaire includes both open ended and closed ended

questions with multiple choices, Open-ended questions enable wide range of
responses. This enables the respondent to express his views in his own
words.However this is difficult to tabulate and analyse.

Close-ended questions offer a limited choice of response .Respondents

find these easier to complete.Close-ended questions can also be tabulated and
analysed more easily.
 14

CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 ANALYSIS OF DATA

TABLE NO.4.1

GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS

S.No. Gender No. of Percentage

Respondents
1 Male 179 74.6
2 Female 61 25.4
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that 74.6% of the respondents are
male and 25.4% of the respondents are female.
15
 16

TABLE NO. 4.2

AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

S.No. Age No. of Percentage

Respondents
1 20-30 81 33.8
2 31-40 69 28.8
3 41-50 43 17.9
4 51-60 14 5.8
5 61-70 22 9.2
6 71-80 6 2.5
7 >80 5 2.1
Total 240 100.0

Average age of respondents = 39.375

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that, 33.8% of the respondents are
in the age group of 20-30 years followed by 28.8% of the respondents who are in
the age group of 31-40 years followed by 17.9% of the respondents who are in
the age group of 41-50 years followed by 5.8% of the respondents who are in the
age group of 51-60 years followed by 9.2% of the respondents who are in the
age group of 61-70 years followed by 2.5% of the respondents who are in the
age group of 71-80 years and 2.1% of the respondents who are in the age group
of above 80 years.
17
 18

TABLE NO. 4.3

OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

No. of
S.No. Occupation Percentage
Respondents
1 Salaried 121 50.4
2 Self employed 26 10.8
professional
3 Self employed 36 15.0
business
4 Retired 35 14.6
5 Housewife 18 7.5
6 Others 4 1.7
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that 50.4% of the respondents are
salaried employees, 10.8% of the respondents are self-employed professionals,
15.0% of the respondents are self-employed in business, 14.6% of the
respondents are retired, 7.5% of the respondents are housewives and 1.7% of
the respondents belong to “others” category and are Students or unemployed
persons.
19
 20

TABLE NO. 4.4

ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS

No. of
S.No. Annual income Percentage
Respondents
1 <2Lakhs 138 57.5
2 2-4Lakhs 72 29.9
3 4-6Lakhs 19 7.9
4 6-8Lakhs 4 1.7
5 >8Lakhs 7 2.9
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that, 57.5% of the respondents

belong to the annual income group of less than Rs.2 lakhs, 29.9% of the
respondents belong to the annual income group of Rs.2lakhs – Rs.4lakhs, 7.9%
of the respondents belong to the annual income group of Rs.4lakhs – Rs6lakhs,
1.7% of the respondents belong to the annual income group of Rs.6lakhs –
Rs.8lakhs and 2.9% of the respondents belong to above Rs.8lakhs income
group.
21
 22

TABLE NO. 4.5

UNAIDED RECALL LEVEL OF ICICI LOMBARD (GIC)

No. of
S.No. Company Percentage
Respondents
1 Not able to recall 168 70.0
2 Recall ICICI 72 30.0
Lombard
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that, 30% of the respondents were
able to recall the company name “ICICI Lombard” with out any assistance and
70% of the respondents were not able to recall the company name with out any
assistance.
23
 24

TABLE NO. 4.6

UNAIDED RECALL OF THE INSURANCE COMPANIES

No. of
Percentage
S.No. Companies Respondents
1 Bajaj Allianz 19 7.9
2 Cholamandalam 3 1.3
3 HDFC-Chubb 5 2.1
4 Iffco-Tokyo 0 0
5 ICICI Lombard 72 30
6 Oriental Insurance 67 27.9
7 Royal Sundaram 9 3.8
8 Reliance 7 2.9
9 Tata AIG 40 16.7
10 United India Assurance 29 12.1
11 Others 70 29.2
12 Not Aware of any company 33 13.75

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that with out any assistance, (7.9%)
of the respondents were able to recall the company “Bajaj Allianz”, (1.3%) of the
respondents were able to recall the company “Cholamandalam, (2.1%) of the
respondents were able to recall the company “HDFC-Chubb“,(30%) of the
respondents were able to recall the company name “ICICI Lombard”,
(27.9%) of the respondents were able to recall the company “Oriental Insurance“,
(3.8%) of the respondents were able to recall the company “Royal Sundaram“,
(2.9%) of the respondents were able to recall the company “Reliance“, (16.7%) of
the respondents were able to recall the company “Tata AIG“, (12.1%) of the
respondents were able to recall the company “United India Assurance”, (29.2%)
of the respondents were able to recall other companies which are not listed
above, and (13.75%) of the respondents were not able to recall any company
name with out any assistance.
 25

TABLE NO. 4.7

COMPANY RECOGNITION THROUGH LOGO AND INFLUENCE OF

ADVERTISING MEDIA

Company recognition
Media Cannot Icici
Icici Total
identify Lombard
101
101
- (42.08%
(42.08%)
)
39 10 49
Print(PR)
(16.25%) (4.17%) (20.42%)
49 10 59
Television(TV)
(20.42%) (4.17%) (24.58%)
9 10 19
Hoardings(HD)
(3.75%) (4.17%) (7.92%)
Sales 14 19 33
people(SP) (5.83%) (7.92%) (13.75%)
6 2 8
PR,TV,HD
(2.5%) (0.83%) (3.33%)
9 3 12
PR,TV
(3.75%) (1.25%) (5.0%)
TV,SP 4 4
0
(1.67%) (1.67%)

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that 42.08% of the respondents

were not able to recall the company name with the assistance of “LOGO”.
57.92% of the respondents were able to recall the company name with
assistance of logo. Among those who were able to recall, 16.25%were able to
recall “ICICI” and 4.17%were able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were aware
of the logo through Print media, 20.42%were able to recall “ICICI” and
4.17%were able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were aware of the logo
through Television, 3.75%were able to recall “ICICI” and 4.17%of were able to
recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were aware of the logo through advertisement
 26

Hoardings, 5.83%were able to recall “ICICI” and 7.92%were able to recall “ICICI
Lombard” and they were aware of the logo through Sales people, 2.5%were able
to recall “ICICI” and 0.83%were able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were
aware of the logo through Print media, Television and advertisement hoardings,
3.75%were able to recall “ICICI” and 1.25%were able to recall “ICICI Lombard”
and they were aware of the logo through Print media and Television, 1.67%
were able to recall “ICICI” and they were aware of the logo through Television
and Sales people.
27
 28

TABLE NO. 4.8

COMPANY RECOGNITION THROUGH SLOGAN AND INFLUENCE OF

ADVERTISING MEDIA

Company recognition
Media Cannot Icici Total /
Icici
identify Lombard percentage
174 174
-
(72.5) (72.5)
8 6 14
Print (PR)
(3.33) (2.5) (5.83)
5 7 12
TV
(2.08) (2.92) (5)
7 7
Hoardings(HD) 0
(2.92) (2.92)
13 24 37
Sales people
(5.42) (10.0) (15.42)
2 2
PR,TV,HD 0
(0.83) (0.83)

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that 72.5% of the respondents were
not able to recall the company name with the assistance of “SLOGAN”. 27.5% of
the respondents were able to recall the company name with assistance of
slogan. Among those who were able to recall,3.33% were able to recall “ICICI”
and they were aware of the slogan through Print media, 2.5% were able to recall
“ICICI Lombard” and they were aware of the slogan through Print media, 2.08%
were able to recall “ICICI” and they were aware of the slogan through Television,
2.92% were able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were aware of the slogan
through Television, 2.92% of were able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were
aware of the slogan through advertisement Hoardings, 5.42% were able to recall
“ICICI” and they were aware of the slogan through Sales people, 10.0% were
able to recall “ICICI Lombard” and they were aware of the slogan through Sales
people, 0.83% were able to recall “ICICI” and they were aware of the slogan
through Print media, Television and advertisement hoardings.
 29

TABLE NO.4.9

COMPANY RECOGNITION AND ASSOSIATION WITH TYPE OF INSURANCE

-THROUGH NAME, LOGO AND SLOGAN

No. of No. of
Total
Kind of insurance Respondents Respondents
/percentage
Who Said Yes Who Said No
66 66
Cannot identify
(27.5) (27.5)
10 10
Automobile Insurance
(4.17) (4.17)
4 4
Health Insurance
(1.67) (1.67)
8 8
Travel Insurance
(3.33) (3.33)
36 36
Home Insurance
(15.0) (15.0)
116 116
General insurance
(48.33) (48.33)
Total / 174 66 240
Percentage (72.5) (27.5) (100)

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that, (72.5)% of respondents were

able to recognize the company with the assistance of the company name, slogan
and logo, (4.17%) of the respondents said the company is associated with
Automobile Insurance, (1.67%) of the respondents said the company is
associated with Health Insurance, (3.33%) of the respondents said the company
is associated with Travel Insurance, (15.0%) of the respondents said the
company is associated with Home Insurance, (48.33%) of the respondents said
the company is associated with General insurance, (27.5%) of the total
respondent were not aware the company.
30
 31

TABLE NO.4.10

AWARENESS LEVEL OF THE TYPES OF INSURANCE

No. of
S.No. Types Percentage
Respondents
1 Not aware 15 6.3
2 Automobile(A) 142 59.17
3 Health(H) 139 57.91
4 Travel(T) 90 37.5
5 Home(Ho) 134 55.83
6 A, H, T, Ho 65 27.1
7 A, H, Ho 13 5.4
8 A,H,T 8 3.3
9 H,T, Ho 6 2.5
10 A,H 22 9.2
11 A,T 2 .8
12 A, Ho 6 2.5
13 H, Ho 2 .8
14 T, Ho 1 .4

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that 27.1% of the respondents are
aware of all types of general insurance namely automobile, health, travel and
home insurance. On the other hand 6.3% of the respondents are not aware of
any of the general insurance products. The remaining 66.6% of the sample have
varying degrees of awareness about the various general insurance products as
detailed below.
 32

55.83% of the respondents are aware of home insurance, 59.17% of

the respondents are aware of automobile insurance,57.91% of the respondents
are aware of health insurance, 37.5% of the respondents are aware of Travel
insurance,9.2% of the respondents are aware of automobile and health
insurance,5.4% of the respondents are aware of automobile, health and home
insurance,3.3% of the respondents are aware of automobile, health and travel
insurance, 2.5% of the respondents are aware of automobile and home
insurance, 2.5% of the respondents are aware of health, travel and home
insurance, 0.8% of the respondents are aware of automobile and travel
insurance and 0.8% of the respondents are aware of health and home insurance.
33
 34

TABLE NO. 4.11

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF TYPES OF INSURANCE POLICY

Weightage
Rank
S.No. Policy types score
1 Automobile 632 III
2 Health 761 II
3 Travel 344 V
4 Home 617 IV
5 Life 1040 I

INFERENCE

From the above table the relative importance assigned by the

respondents to different types of insurance can be clearly inferred.

 ‘Life insurance’ occupies Ist rank with the highest score of 1040 points.
 ‘Health insurance’ occupies IInd rank with the score of 761 points.
 ‘Automobile insurance’ occupies IIIrd rank with the score of 632 points.
 ‘Home insurance’ occupies IVth rank with the score of 617 points.
 ‘Travel insurance’ occupied Vth rank with the low score of 344 points.
 35

TABLE NO. 4.12

TYPES OF GENERAL INSURANCE POLICY TAKEN

S.No. Policy types Policy taken Percentage

1 Automobile 139 57.9

2 Health 80 33.3
3 Travel 35 14.6
4 Home 88 36.7

INFERENCE

From the above table it can be seen that majority of the respondents
(i.e.) (57.9%) have taken Automobile insurance, (33.3%) of the respondents have
taken health insurance, (14.6%) of the respondents have taken travel insurance
and (36.7%) of the respondents have taken home insurance,
36
 37

TABLE NO. 4.13

TYPES OF POLICY TAKEN BY CLIENTS OF ICICI LOMBARD

No. of
S.No. Policy types Percentage
Respondents
1. AUTOMOBILE 17 22.37
2. HEALTH 6 7.89
3. TRAVEL 5 6.58
4. HOME 55 72.37
5 AUTO,HOME 7 9.22

INFERENCE

From the above table it is clearly understood that,(22.37%) of the

respondents have taken automobile insurance,( 7.89%) of the respondents have
taken health insurance, (6.58%) of the respondents have taken travel insurance,
(72.37%) of the respondents have taken home insurance,(9.22%) of the
respondents have taken automobile and home insurance,
38
 39

TABLE NO.4.14

AWARENESS ABOUT INSURANCE COMPANIES PROVIDING

HOME INSURANCE

No. of
Companies Percentage
S.No. Respondents
1 Bajaj Allianz 84 35.0
2 Cholamandalam 50 25.8
3 HDFC-Chubb 67 27.9
4 Iffco-Tokyo 18 7.5
5 ICICI Lombard 168 70
6 Oriental Insurance 122 50.8
7 Royal Sundaram 42 17.5
8 Reliance 63 26.3
9 Tata AIG 95 39.6
10 United India Assurance 117 48.8

INFERENCE

From the above table it is inferred that, out of the respondents who
were aware of various companies providing home insurance with the assistance
of the company name, (35.0%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “Bajaj Allianz”, (25.8%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “Cholamandalam, (27.9%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “HDFC-Chubb“,(7.5%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “Iffco-Tokyo“, (70%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company name “ICICI Lombard”, (50.8%) of the respondents were able to
recall the company “Oriental Insurance“, (17.5%) of the respondents were able to
recall the company “Royal Sundaram“, (26.3%) of the respondents were able to
recall the company “Reliance“, (39.6%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “Tata AIG“, (48.8%) of the respondents were able to recall the
company “United India Assurance”.
40
 41

TABLE NO. 4.1.15

EXTENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF HOME INSURANCE

No. of
S.No. Opinion Percentage
Respondents
1 Good 125 52.1
2 Fair 108 45.0
3 Poor 7 2.9
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From The above table it is inferred that, 52.1% of the respondents

opined that their knowledge of home insurance as good, 45.0% of the
respondents opined that they had fair knowledge and 2.9% of the respondents
stated that their knowledge of home insurance was poor.
 42

TABLE NO. 4.16

OPINION ABOUT NEED FOR HOME INSURANCE

No. of
S.No. Opinion Percentage
Respondents
1 Necessary 200 83.3
2 Not necessary 21 8.8
3 No idea 19 7.9
Total 240 100.0

INFERENCE

From The above table it is inferred that, (83.3%) of the respondents

opined that home insurance is Necessary, (8.8%) of the respondents opined that
home insurance is Not Necessary, (7.9%) of the respondents had no clear
opinion about the need for home insurance.
43
 44

TABLE NO. 4.17

NEED FOR HOME INSURANCE- (REASONS)

No. of
S.No. Reasons Percentage
Respondents

1 Burglary(BUR) 102 42.5

2 Natural disaster(ND) 66 27.5
3 Peace of mind(PCE) 51 21.25
4 Cost is less(<CST) 45 18.75
5 BUR,ND,PCE,<CST 4 1.7
6 BUR,ND,PCE 5 2.1
7 BUR,ND,<CST 3 1.2
8 BUR,PCE,<CST 2 0.8
9 BUR,ND 16 6.6
10 BUR,PCE 2 0.8
11 ND,PCE 2 0.8
12 ND,<CST 2 0.8
13 PCE,<CST 4 1.7

INFERENCE

From The above table it is inferred, that the respondents opined that
home insurance is Necessary because of the following reasons.( 42.5)% feel
Burglary may occur, (27.5%) feel natural disaster may occur any time,(21.25)%
feel it gives peace of mind, (18.75)% feel it costs very less, (!.7)% accept with all
the four reason, (2.1)% feel Burglary, natural disaster may occur and it gives
peace of mind, (1.2)% feel Burglary, natural disaster may occur and it cost very
less, (0.8)% feel Burglary may occur, it gives peace of mind and it cost very less,
(6.6)% feel Burglary, natural disaster may occur, (0.8)% feel Burglary and it gives
peace of mind, (0.8)% feel natural disaster may occur and it gives peace of mind,
(0.8)% feel natural disaster may occur and it cost very less (1.7)% feel it gives
peace of mind and it cost very less.
 45

TABLE NO. 4.18

REASONS WHY HOME INSURANCE IS NOT NECESSARY

No. of
S.No. Reasons Percentage
Respondents
Nothing will
1 5 25.0
happen to home
2 Waste of money 9 45.0
Lack of
3 5 25.0
knowledge
Distrust about
4 1 5.0
honoring Claims
Total 20 100.0

INFERENCE

From The above table it is inferred that among the 20 respondents who
felt home insurance is not necessary, (25.0) % of the respondents opined that
home insurance is Not Necessary because of the reason Nothing will happen to
home, (45.0%) of the respondents opined that taking home insurance is Waste of
money, (25.0%) of the respondents opined that they do not have the adequate
knowledge about home insurance, (5.0%) of the respondents opined that they
don’t trust general insurance companies to honor the claims in time.
46
 47

TABLE NO. 4.19

PERCEPTION ABOUT HOME INSURANCE

Agree Disagree
Strongly Neutra Disagree
S.No. Statements some some
agree l completely
what what
Becoming
134 69 29 3 5
1 popular these
(55.8) (28.8) (12.1) (1.3) (2.1)
days
Willing to be
63 40 40 34 63
2 approached by
(26.3) (16.7) (16.7) (14.2) (26.3)
sales people
Not aware of
various 98 55 32 33 22
3
companies (40.8) (22.9) (13.3) (13.8) (4.2)
providing.
There is not
enough 120 47 39 19 15
4
advertisement (50.0) (19.6) (16.3) (7.9) (6.3)
done

INFERENCE

From the above table it is cleared that maximum (55.8%) of the

respondents strongly agreed that home insurance is becoming popular these
days, (26.3%) of the respondents strongly agreed that they are willing to be
approached by a sales people and equally disagreeing to be approached,
(40.8%) of the respondents strongly agreed that they are not aware of the
various companies providing home insurance and (50.0%) of the respondents
strongly agreed that there is not enough advertisement done for home insurance.
48
 49

TABLE NO. 4.20

COMPARISION OF PERCEIVED NEED FOR INSURANCE AND LEVEL OF

WILLINGNESS TO RECEIVE A SALE CALL

Opinion on need for home insurance

Level of willingness Not
Necessary No Idea Total
Necessary
Definitely yes 14 14
0 0
(5.83) (5.83)
Probably 43 2 7 52
(17.92) (0.83) (2.92) (21.61)
Probably not 18 4 6
28(11.67)
(7.5) (1.67) (2.5)
Definitely not 45 10 5 60
(18.75) (4.17) (2.08) (25.0)
Already have 80 5 1 86
(33.3) (2.08) (0.42) (35.833)
Total 200 21 19 240
(83.33) (8.75) (7.92) (100)

INFERENCE

It is inferred from above, that only 5.83% said that home insurance is
necessary and they are willing to be approached by sales people. Around 18% of
the respondents who said home insurance was necessary expressed by saying
“probably they are willing” and 18.75% expressed that they do not want to be
disturbed by sales people.
 50

CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 FINDINGS

Level of awareness-Home Insurance &Companies

Among the respondents, majority is salaried employees and most of

the respondents have annual income below Rs2Lakh.

Among the various types of insurance, only (27.1%) of the total

respondents are aware of all types of insurance such as Automobile, Health,
Travel and Home insurance. Majority of the respondents (around 60%) are aware
of automobile insurance and next to it (58%) are aware of health insurance.

Among various general insurance products, Automobile insurance was

most commonly used (i.e.) with around 60% of the respondents using it, The next
most common used product was Home Insurance (36%) health insurance came
third with 33% of the respondents using it.

When the preference among various insurance products was studied,

majority of respondent’s ranked Life insurance as number 1, followed by Health
 51

insurance as number 2, Automobile insurance as number 3 and Home insurance

was ranked 4th.

When opinion about the necessity of home insurance is studied,

majority of them (i.e.) 200 out of 240 respondents opined that it is necessary, but
still when the preference among the various insurance products is studied home
insurance was ranked at 4th place. When respondents who did not have a home
insurance policy were asked whether they were willing to be approached by
sales personnel, equal number of respondents replied affirmatively and
negatively.

When the awareness level of various companies providing Home

insurance was studied, majority of the respondents (i.e.) 70% of them, were
aware of ICICI Lombard Next to it around 50% of them were aware of Oriental
insurance and United India assurance and almost 40% of them are aware of
TATA AIG.

Most of the respondents expressed that they have good or fair

knowledge about home insurance.

Almost 90% of the respondents opined that home insurance is

“Necessary”. Responding to the question as to why home insurance was
necessary, 42.5% stated Burglary as the cause and 27.5% stated natural
disaster as the reason

Among the total respondents, 10% opined that home insurance is Not
Necessary and among them (45%) fell it is a waste of money.
 52

Brand awareness

Only (30%) of the total respondents were able to recall ICICI Lombard
with out any assistance, However, among the various insurance companies, the
recall of ICICI Lombard was the highest (i.e.) 72 out of 240 respondents could
name ICICI Lombard.

Many of respondents (20.42%) who identified ICICI through the LOGO

were influenced by television and (8%) of them who identified ICICI Lombard
were influenced by the sales people.

Most of respondents (5.42%) who identified ICICI through the

SLOGAN were influenced by sales people and most of the respondents (10%)
who identified ICICI Lombard were also influenced by the sales people.

Majority of respondents (72.5%) identified ICICI Lombard through the

assistance of the company name, logo and slogan and were able to recognize
the industry with which the company is associated. Among those respondents
(48.33%) of them recognized it is a general insurance company, (15%) of them
recognized it as a home insurance company.
 53

5.2 SUGGESTIONS

Below given are a few suggestions to enhance the awareness and

preferences for home insurance product and ICICI Lombard in general.

The attractiveness of the offering can be communicated more clearly.

The attractiveness includes communicating the product attributes (less premium,
easy settlements, and brand credibility), benefits (emotional benefit, security and
peace) and value (low premium but high value and worth).

The ‘core’ need that underlines the existence of the product, the
essence of the brand (relates to the deeper and abstract goals that the
customers are willing to satisfy with the brand) must reach the man to create
awareness and preference.

Home insurance is classified under the category of unsought goods

(these are goods which the customer does not know about (or) does not normally
think of buying). Hence it cannot do well without personal selling effort and one-
to-one marketing efforts. At the same time many consider sales people as a
nuisance. So the company must improve the level of awareness and also create
a ‘perceived need ‘ for home insurance. Once this background has been created,
then the customer resistance to sales call by insurance counselors will be
reduced.

The number of companies providing home insurance is continually on

the rise. Hence positioning and differentiation are of prime importance.

All the above stated suggestions would build more awareness and the
brand would be retained at the top of the mind by the consumers.
 54

5.3 CONCLUSION

The study could be concluded by saying that home insurance is

deemed to be a great necessity today, especially after natural disasters like
Tsunami took place. However priority wise, it has a lower priority when
compared with other forms of insurance like life, health and automobile.

ICICI Lombard has fairly good recall levels. The need, awareness and
preferences for home insurance can be enhanced by communicating the core
need of the product consciously.
 REFERENCES

1. Umasekaran (2002), ' Research Methods for Business', John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. 4th edition.

2. Richard I. Levin, David S. Rubin (2002), 'Statistics for Management',

Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, 7th edition.

3. Kothari C.R (2002), 'Research Methodology', Wishwa Prakashan,

New Delhi, 2nd edition.

4. Philip Kotler (2003), ‘Marketing Management’, Pearson Education

Limited, Singapore, 11th edition.

6. Websites:

www.irda.com
www.iciciLombard .com
www.google.com
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