Summer Internship_SBI Life Insurance_Abhishek Roy

Industry Internship Project - 2013

Understanding Various Aspects & Leveraging Online
Platform for Channel Development:- A case of
Bancassurance Channel
Submitted By: Abhishek Roy
Marketing Batch
PGDM-1380

Company Guide: -

Faculty Guide: -

Mr. Anup Kumar Singh

Mrs. Arpita Pandey

Deputy Manager, Bancassurance

Assistant Professor, Marketing

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Understanding Various Aspects & Leveraging Online Platform for Channel Development:
- A case of Bancassurance Channel

I would like to thank my College Guide Mrs. Arpita Pandey (Asst. Professor, Marketing
Deptt.) who have supported me throughout this course of this project indirectly as a moral
support to me to face any challenges or to overcome any hurdles during part of the Project.
I would also like to thank Dr. C.S. Adhikari (Dean, Academics) who helped me regarding
valuable suggestions and guidelines which helped me to prepare my Project Report.
I would like to thank from bottom of my heart to SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. for giving me the
privilege as well as a great opportunity to work with them as a part of Summer Internship. It was
a great experience for me like never before to work with such an esteemed organisation where
truly the Life prevails in a larger way. I would definitely miss such an organisation which
supports every young bright mind to carve a niche and achieve a success through sustained hard
work. Not only hard work this organisation taught me to live fuller and enjoy the spirit of being a
part of this environment where every new idea gets appreciation.
I would like to thank Mr. G. Durgadas (Country Head, Relationship Marketing, SBI Life
Bancassurance) who supported me and gave me a meaningful Project which was not only
challenging but interesting as well. I would also like to thank my Project Guide Mr. Anup
Kumar Singh (Deputy Manager, Bancassurance) for giving me unconditional support and
innumerous guidance which was necessary throughout the course of this project. I would like to
mention few names of Banca Staffs- Ms. Aakansha Mittal, Mr. Sandeep Belgaonkar and Ms.
Richa Bansal for small but important support throughout my Project Course as they helped in
gaining insight for the Project.
I extend my gratitude to all the Certified Insurance Facilitators (CIFs) of SBI and associate banks
and Business Development Managers (BDMs) of SBI Life Insurance, who took out time and
provided their insights that, have been an important phase of learning in this Project duration.
Finally, I would like to thank entire Bancassurance Team which imbibed in me the unity of
strength they have shown. I feel proud to be a part of this team which is not only workaholic but
also the Team which is very lively and supportive to each and every member of this team.

Institute for Technology and Management, Navi Mumbai

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TABLE OF CONTENTS


1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................5
2. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................7
2.1. INSURANCE........................................................................................................................7
2.2. SBI LIFE INSURANCE.............................................................................................. 7
2.3. BANCASSURANCE............................................................................................................8
2.4. SBI LIFE BANCASSURANCE ........................................................................................10
3. OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................................16
3.1. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE ..................................................................................................16
3.2. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................16
3.3. PROBLEM DEFINITION ................................................................................................16
4. RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................................18
4.1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................18
4.2. SAMPLING ........................................................................................................................20
4.3. DATA COLLECTION METHODS.................................................................................21
5. KEY TERMS RELATED TO PROJECT.............................................................................23
5.1. SURAKSHA PLUS ............................................................................................................23
5.2. RINN RAKSHA .................................................................................................................25
5.3. BANCA ONLINE...............................................................................................................27
5.4. ABOUT Z-CARDS.............................................................................................................28
5.5. ABOUT MDRT ..................................................................................................................31
6. KEY ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS .......................................................................................34
6.1. FIELD WORK ...................................................................................................................34
6.2. REWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS...............................................................................35
6.3. LICENSE RENEWAL PROJECT...................................................................................40
6.4. SURAKSHA CUSTOMER CALLING............................................................................45
6.5. MDRT SORTING..............................................................................................................47
6.6. BANCA ONLINE ANALYSIS .........................................................................................49
7. DESIGNING OF Z-CARDS ...................................................................................................57


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8. LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................58
9. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................59
10. RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................61
11. REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................63
12. APPENDIX.............................................................................................................................64
List of Figures: Figure 1: Different Channel Performances of SBI Life.....................................................................11
Figure 2: New Business Premium Total Market Share......................................................................14
Figure 3: New Business Premium among the Private Players............................................................14
Figure 4: Original Z-Card layout .....................................................................................................29
Figure 5: C-Fold Layout ..................................................................................................................30
Figure 6: K-Fold Layout ..................................................................................................................31
Figure 7: Book Fold Layout.............................................................................................................31
Figure 8: CIF calling summary those who met persistency criteria....................................................37
Figure 9: CIF calling summary those who did not met persistency criteria ........................................38
Figure 10: Calling Summary for Branch Manager Contest...............................................................39
Figure 11: Calling Summary of CIFs whose license already expired .................................................40
Figure 12: Break-Up of Responses of CIFs Interested in Renewing License......................................40
Figure 13: Break-Up of Responses of CIFs Not Interested in Renewing their License .......................41
Figure 14: Calling Summary of CIFs license about to be expiring in Quarter-4 FY 2012-13..............42
Figure 15: Calling Summary of CIFs license about to be expiring in Quarter-1 FY 2013-14..............43
Figure 16: Break-Up of Reasons for those CIFs that were informed .................................................44
Figure 17: Break-Up of Reasons for those CIFs that were not informed............................................45
Figure 18: Summary of calling Customers for eSuraksha Plan .........................................................46
Figure 19: SBI Life Channel-wise contribution of performer CIFs to MDRTs (FY-2013-14) .............47
Figure 20: Break-Up of SBI Circle-wise contributions to MDRTs .....................................................48
Figure 21: Break-Up of Associate Banks Circle-wise contributions to MDRTs ..................................48
Figure 22: The Non–Users of BAOL ..............................................................................................50
Figure 23: Break-up of Non-User CIFs into
Figure 24: Break-up of Non-User ..........51
Figure 25: Different Reasons for not using Banca Online Portal by CIFs .........................................52
Figure 26: Top of mind issues and suggestions based on rated premium ...........................................53
Figure 27: Top of mind issues and suggestions based on age group...................................................54
Figure 28: Top of the mind issues and suggestions based on years of association ..............................55


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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Insurance is considered to be important as it is an alternative to any unforeseen situation which
may result into accident/death of a person. It is a very promising service sector considering huge
population in India where everyone needs it but many are unaware of it. But still the picture is
far from reality. Its penetration in India is very low (less than 3%). People have lost trust in
Insurance Sector since there has been a lot of mis-selling of Insurance Products, delay in
settlement of claims, etc. in last few years. This along with Economic Recession there has been
negligible growth in Insurance Industry. Last 3-5 years there has been a decline in performance
of Insurance Industry be it public or private sectors.
Channels have always been a backbone of Insurance Industry. Concept of Bancassurance
Channel came to India only in 2000 the model has been adopted from European Countries where
it came back a long ago. Keeping in mind that Banks forms a large distribution network
geographically spread it should do good amount of business but the reality is exactly opposite.
Being an effective channel where State Bank Group (State Bank of India comprising 14 circles
and Associate Banks having 5 circles) have joined with SBI Life and has presence of more than
18000 branches all over India covering Rural, Semi-Urban, Urban and Metros still its
performance is declining. Our Project is to study and find out the cause behind this decline and
give some recommendations after doing in-depth research through telephonic conversation with
CIFs (A CIF is an employee of State Bank Group which does cross-selling of Insurance Products
on behalf of SBI Life) , BDMs (SBI Life Representative who visits branches and keep a track
record of CIFs). Also some researches about latest happening of Insurance Industry by accessing
various reports from IRDA, reading various articles about Insurance on Internet and
understanding Insurance Terminologies is done to back above research.
Another problem was seen related low usage or awareness of SBI Life Banca Online Intranet
Portal which is made exclusively for CIFs where information is readily accessible which are very
useful for any CIFs. So research was carried out in this direction to find out which links they
normally visits and any suggestions or improvement they want in portal. Also feedback was
noted for various issues they were having when they visited the portal. For helping CIFs further
like awareness of rewards structure and for product like RiNn Raskha design of Z- Cards were
done so that they can refer it anywhere and size is so small that they can keep in pocket and roam
anywhere and access it.
For new products like e-Suraksha Plus which is a pure term plan that is redirected from Online
SBI website Customer Relationship was given top priority and any doubt or queries regarding
online filling up of form or product information in general, all were resolved by having detailed
conversation with them so that a good relationship is established with our valuable customers.
Also layout or process of filling up forms were slightly modified based on problems that


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customer faced. So everything was done as a part of Customer Feedback and having a strong
relationship with our customer.
Scope of the Study: An attempt was made to find out reasons why there has been decline in Performance of
Bancassurance Channel of SBI Life by various researches as mentioned above. Along with that
there was also an attempt to find out low usage of Banca Online Intranet Portal by leveraging
online portal. Also main issues have been highlighted in this report which is given under
Recommendations that can be incorporated to improve efficiency of Bancassurance Channel of
SBI Life.


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2. INTRODUCTION


2.1.

INSURANCE

Insurance is a contract between the insurance company (insurer) and the policyholder
(insured). In return for a consideration (the premium), the insurance company promises to
pay a specified amount to the insured on the happening of a specific event. In layman
term Insurance is the mechanism of transfer of risk wherein the person taking out
insurance transfers their risk to the insurance company in return for a payment (known as
the premium).
Insurance is necessary because no one foresees the event which may happen in future. If
anybody can see their future then there was no need of Insurance. In case of future
untoward events risk like Accident/Death, Insurance comes to rescue where the financial
gap due to these risks is compensated upon. Insurance is generally divided into two
parts:(1) Life Insurance: - Life insurance companies cover risks that relate to human lives.
They offer different benefits under different types of products and cover the risk of
early death, as well as the risk of living into old age. Under traditional plans, like term
insurance plans, insurance companies provide death cover. If the insured person dies
within the term of the policy then the nominee/beneficiary is paid a specified amount
(also known as the sum insured). Under pension plans, insurance companies offer
periodic monthly payments (annuities) to support the insured during their retirement.
(2) Non-Life Insurance (General Insurance): - Non-life insurance companies generally
cover risks other than those relating to human lives. The exceptions to this are
personal accident and health insurance, which are provided by non-life insurance
companies. Any asset either gives a monetary return (e.g. a house given on rent), or
offers convenience (e.g. a car which can be used to travel from one place to another)
can be insured. All assets are exposed to various risks: they can be damaged or
destroyed by fire, earthquake, riot, theft, flooding, cyclones etc. If the asset is
damaged by any of these risks, the owner will be at a disadvantage and they will lose
the income or the convenience the asset provided. Non-life insurance companies offer
products that cover these risks and compensate the owner should the asset be
damaged by one of them. It is a product from this type of company that an individual
would buy to protect their assets, for example, their home against fire etc.

2.2.

SBI LIFE INSURANCE
SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas
Cardif. SBI owns 74% of the total capital and BNP Paribas Cardif the remaining 26%.


Page 7

2.2.1. Mission, Vision and Values of SBI Life: Mission: "To emerge as the leading company offering a comprehensive range of life
insurance and pension products at competitive prices, ensuring high standards of
customer satisfaction and world class operating efficiency, and become a model
life insurance company in India in the post liberalization period".
Vision: "To be the most trusted and preferred life insurance provider."
Values: Trustworthiness.
Ambition.
Innovation.
Dynamism.
Excellence.
2.2.2. Channels of SBI Life: SBI Life has got four important channels of distribution of its Life Insurance
Products: Bancassurance.
Institutional Alliance.
Retail Agencies.
Corporate Solutions.
2.3.

BANCASSURANCE
The bank insurance model (BIM), also sometimes known as Bancassurance, is the
partnership or relationship between a bank and an insurance company whereby the
insurance company uses the bank sales channel in order to sell insurance products, an
arrangement in which a bank and an insurance company form a partnership so that the
insurance company can sell its products to the bank's client base.BIM allows the
insurance company to maintain smaller direct sales teams as their products are sold
through the bank to bank customers by bank staff and employees as well. Bank staff and
tellers, rather than an insurance salesperson, become the point of sale and point of contact
for the customer. Bank staff are advised and supported by the insurance company through
product information, marketing campaigns and sales training. The bank and the insurance
company share the commission. Insurance policies are processed and administered by the
insurance company. This partnership arrangement can be profitable for both companies.
Banks can earn additional revenue by selling the insurance products, while insurance
companies are able to expand their customer base without having to expand their sales


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forces or pay commissions to insurance agents or brokers. Bancassurance, the sale of
insurance and pensions products through a bank, has proved to be an effective
distribution channel in a number of countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
2.3.1. Brief History:The first countries to venture into the field were Spain and France. In the early
70s, ACM (Assurances du Crédit Mutuel) Vie et IARD (life and general
insurance) were officially authorized to start operations, a watershed event in the
history of insurance. It was their idea to bypass the middleman for loan protection
insurance and to insure their own banking customers themselves. They thus
became the precursors of what – 15 years later – would become “Bancassurance”.
For their part, the Spanish began their adventure in the early 1980s, when the
BANCO DE BILBAO Group acquired a majority stake in EUROSEGUROS SA
(originally LA VASCA ASEGURADORA SA, incorporated in 1968). However,
their control was initially only financial, since Spanish law prohibited banks from
selling life insurance. This legal barrier was removed in 1991. Today, the top five
Spanish Bancassurance companies control one third of the market (Vida Caixa,
BBVA, SHC Seguros, Aseval, Mapfre Vida). However, from a purely historical
point of view, the real pioneers were the British with the creation of Barclays Life
in September 1965. This subsidiary was not a great success in the UK, and nor,
for that matter, was the concept of Bancassurance. On the other hand, the
Bancassurance concept attracted more than one bank on the continent and the big
players very quickly began to set up subsidiaries or joint ventures, thereby
introducing the model into their respective countries:
France: in 1971, Crédit Lyonnais acquired the Médicale de France Group and
in 1993 signed an agreement giving the Union des Assurances Fédérales
Group exclusive rights to sell life insurance through the Crédit Lyonnais
network.
Spain: in 1981, the Banco de Bilbao Group acquired a majority interest in
EUROSEGUROS SA, an Insurance and Reinsurance company
Belgium: in 1989, AG – Belgium’s leading insurance company – and
Générale de Banque, created Alpha Life. One year later, the big Dutch
insurance company AMEV N.V., and VSB, a Dutch bank, went into business
together. In the same year, they were joined in the first cross-border merger by
AG Group, thereby creating the Fortis Group.
In Europe, Germany and Italy took much longer to get involved, as did Asia,
where Bancassurance only really began to attract existing Korean banks after
government authorization in 2003. In 2004, Fortis signed a contract in
Thailand with Muang Thai Group for life and non-life policies, in the process
taking a 25% stake in Muang Thai Life Insurance. Fortis, which was seeking


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to extend the Bancassurance model to Asia, already had partnerships in
Malaysia and China. On markets where Bancassurance is sufficiently
developed, like France or Belgium, companies are now moving into a new
phase of development.
Start
1975 - 1985
External
partnerships/
creation of
subsidiaries
(internal)
Distribution
only

Maturity
1985 – 2000
Takeovers/acqui
sition driven
growth

Diversification
2000 – 2005
Alliances Partnerships

Service
integration

Concentration
2006 onwards
Acquisitions

Customized approach

Table 1: Evolution of Bancassurance Channel over the years

2.3.2. Bancassurance in India: - In 1993 the Government set up a committee under the
chairmanship of R N Malhotra (Malhotra Committee), the former Governor of
RBI, to make recommendations for the reform of the insurance sector. In its
report in 1994, the committee recommended, among other things, that the private
sector and foreign companies (but only through a joint venture with an Indian
partner) be permitted to enter the insurance industry. Following the
recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, the insurance sector was
opened to private companies. Foreign companies were also allowed to participate
in the Indian insurance market through joint ventures (JVs) with Indian
companies. Under current regulations the foreign partner cannot hold more than a
26% stake in the joint venture. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body in 1999 (following Malhotra
Committee recommendations) to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The
IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body in April 2000. SBI Life started its
Bancassurance Channel on 10th May, 2002 as a first private life insurer. LIC
followed the trend as forming Bancassurance Channel by tying up with
Corporation Bank on 9th Sept, 2002. After that many players entered the arena and
thus Bancassurance Channel was seen as most promising channel in Insurance
Sector.
2.4.

SBI LIFE BANCASSURANCE
It is the largest channel of distribution compared to others (i.e. Institutional Alliance,
Corporate Solutions, and Retail Agencies). Bancassurance Channel only contributed
around 40-50% profits for SBI Life.


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Source: SBI Life Annual Report 2011-12

Figure 1: Different Channel Performances of SBI Life

2.4.1. Process of Insurance Selling:It has its Bancassurance tie-up with State Bank of India and it 5 associate banks,
namely State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore, State bank of Travancore,
State Bank of Hyderabad and State bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. Employees of
these banks are volunteer or chosen by their managers to become Insurance
Advisors for SBI Life. The prospective Insurance Advisors have to pass an exam
and undergo a stipulated amount of hours’ of training after which they obtain a
license from the IRDA. These individuals are called Certified Insurance
Facilitators (CIF). In addition to their banking duties and responsibilities, the CIFs
undertake the task of cross selling insurance products in order to earn cross selling
revenue for their bank. Thus all CIFs are employees of SBI and its associate
banks. Business Development Managers (BDMs) from SBI Life oversee and coordinate the activities of the CIFs in the bank branches. The branch target and
individual targets are assigned by the head offices. Incentive driven contests are
run by both, SBI Life as well as SBI in order to motivate and encourage the sales
force. Since the CIFs are bank employees, they report to their managers in the
branch itself. The CIF approaches the customers on his/her own and goes ahead to
complete the deal. In certain cases, CIFs pass on the leads to their respective
BDMs who tales it ahead from there. The number of CIFs varies from branch to
branch depending on its nature of business, span of operation, location and scale.
2.4.2. Products of SBI Life:Products are broadly categorized into:(1) Individual Plans


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(2) Health Plans
(3) Group Plans
(1) Individual Plans:- Individual Plans are further classified into:(i) Unit Linked Plans: - Under Unit Linked Plans there are 7 products offered by
SBI Life. These products are Smart Performer, Unit Plus Super, Saral
Maha Anand, Smart Elite, Smart Scholar, Smart Horizon and Smart
Wealth Assure. Unit Linked Insurance Plans are long term investment cum
protection plans that offer customer an opportunity of availing market linked
returns while providing life insurance protection. Depending on risk appetite,
customer has the option of choosing from host of funds having varied degree
of risk exposure. Flexibility and transparency are some of the other attractive
features that make ULIPs an attractive long term investment option.
(ii) Child Plans: - There are two products offered under this plan namely Scholar
II and Smart Scholar. These plans basically secure child’s future by taking
care of expense like education and provide financial support in case of any
uncertainty in future. Also it secures child life from an unfortunate event, by
securing financial gap where nominee would receive full sum assured along
with vested bonus, plus regular guaranteed survival benefit if there is death of
parent.
(iii)Pension Plans: - Two products are offered under this plan namely Annuity
Plus and Saral Pension. About nearly 70-80% of people doing job does not
have the facility of pension. So this plan secure financial gap that might occur
after retirement. Thus the products mentioned here provide regular income
even after retirement so that people do not compromise their standard of living
even after retirement.

(iv)Protection Plans: - There are 6 products under this plan and they are eSheild,
Grameen Bima, Swadhan, Saral Sheild, Smart Sheild and Smart Income
Shield. These plans are basically pure term plan (term plan has got only death
benefit no maturity benfit) and thus these plans are cheaper at cost. They
provide death cover with full sum insured during term plan.
(v) Savings Plans: - In this plan there are 6 products mainly Smart Income
Protect, Sanjeevan Supreme, Shubh Nivesh, Saral Life, Flexi Smart and
Money Back. These types of plans are for those who want to invest so that


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they can save. Instead of saving and keeping at home the money can be
invested under these plans to get better deal with interest and bonus which
will be payable at maturity.
(2) Group Plans: - SBI Life offers a wide range of employee benefit solutions
which helps organizations to retain, reward and encourage the best talent in
the industry. It also provides a host of corporate solutions to both statutory
needs as well as voluntary needs of the employers and hence ensures to
strengthen the employer -employee relationship in the long run. Under this
plan there are many Products but main two products which are selling huge
are – RiNn Raksha and Swadhan.
(i) RiNn Raksha- RiNn Raksha provides Insurance against Car Loans as
well as Home Loans. Thus it provides tension free life without any
liability worries and thus the best seller product since most of family
wants a Home and Car which today has become a necessity. This plan
offers life to live “Debt Free” and thus tagline of the product says “Inherit
your home and not home loan”.
(ii) Swadhan (Group):- It is a Non-Participating Group Term Insurance Plan
which offers dual benefits of life cover protection in the event of death and
refund of premium in case of survival up to the end of the cover term.
The top selling products are Smart Performer and RiNn Raksha.
2.4.3. Competitive Analysis:Until year 2000, LIC was the only company providing life insurance. In the year
2000, private companies and foreign companies (only through a joint venture with
an Indian company) were allowed to enter the business. The foreign companies
are allowed to have a 26% stake in the joint venture. Presently, there is one public
company in life insurance business, LIC which has & 71.36% share of total
market share of new business premium (FY 2011-12) and the rest 28.64% is with
the private players (see Figure 2).


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Source: IRDA New Business Report FY 2011-12
Figure 2: New Business Premium Total Market Share

Figure 3 shows the market shares of major private players in the insurance
industry. SBI Life is the leading private insurance company amongst private
players.

Source: IRDA New Business Report FY 2011-12
Figure 3: New Business Premium among the Private Players

Comparative chart of the performances of SBI Life and different private insurers
are being shown below: -


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IRDA Industry Ranking for March 2013 (Figures in Rs. Crores)
Company

March '13
NBP Private Share
1161.7
16.7%
825.2
11.8%
1003.6
14.4%
629.8
9.0%
311.6
4.5%
468.5
6.7%
233
3.3%
676.4
9.7%

SBI Life
ICICI Prudential
HDFC Life
Bajaj Allianz
Max Life
Birla Sunlife
Reliance Life
IndiaFirst
Kotak Mahindra Old
345
Mutual
Met Life
169.5
Total Private
6968.8
LIC
15,540.2
Total Market
22,508.9

NBP
5184.2
4808.8
4435.6
2992
1899.4
1836.8
1376.6
1316.4

Private Share Total Share Rankings Growth
16.9%
4.8%
1
-20.6%
15.6%
4.5%
2
-5.3%
14.4%
4.1%
3
15.7%
9.7%
2.8%
4
10.3%
6.2%
1.8%
5
-0.5%
6.0%
1.7%
6
-4.6%
4.5%
1.3%
7
-23.9%
4.3%
1.2%
8
34.0%

5.0%

1188.1

3.9%

1.1%

9

2.0%

2.4%

840.6
30,765
76,245.6
107,010.7

2.7%
84.2%

0.8%
28.7%
71.3%
100.0%

10

-21.8%
-6.0%
-6.5%
-6.3%

Table 2: Comparison of SBI Life and its competitors


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3. OBJECTIVE


According to work done in Project being assigned the objectives is being divided into two parts
on the basis of importance and goals that need to be achieved on immediate basis.
3.1.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
To understand various aspects of Bancassurance Channel in terms of its performance,
its strength and areas where it can be improved, its sales force efficiency and how it
performs the tasks at ground level.
To leverage Bancassurance Online (in short named as Banca Online) which is an
Intranet Portal dedicated exclusively for the sales force who are interested in selling
Insurance Products of SBI Life.

3.2.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE
To know about Bancassurance Channel as for a general overview.
To explore the Banca Online Intranet Portal.

3.3.

PROBLEM DEFINITION
The Project was taken on the basis of two major problems related to the objectives
mentioned above: The main problem regarding Bancassurance Channel of SBI Life was that it was
declining for past 3 years which was way below than other competitors in
Bancassurance Channels like ICICI Prudential, HDFC Life etc. There has been
constant decline in Bancassurance Channel Performance of SBI Life whereas in case
of competitors channels are improving, delivering better business even though they
are having less number of branches to sell Insurance as compared to SBI which has
largest number of branches in India (approx 18000+). It contributed 40-50% of profits
of SBI Life recently. Still there is a scope for huge improvement as considering
competitors it has largest number of branches but they are not doing business as they
can do. Competitors with far less number of branches are doing approximately near to
same amount of business. So the objective was based on the fact to Improve
Bancassurance Channel of SBI Life along with giving some suggestions to
implement upon. So for better understanding of problem there was a necessity to
understand various aspects of Bancassurance Channel.


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SBI Life Insurance Performance

Competitor Insurance Performance

Year

Year

 Another problem was that regarding low usage of Bancassurance Intranet Portal
(better known as Banca Online). Bancassurance Online (BAOL) is an intranet
platform designed for those employees of State Bank Group who are interested in
Life insurance business. It is a single point of getting information for the Certified
Insurance Facilitators (CIFs). There might be possibility of low efficiency of CIFs
especially the non-performer ones as they have low awareness of this portal. So the
objective was to increase the usage rate of this portal by CIFs so that they can deliver
performance in a better way.


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4. RESEARCH DESIGN


4.1.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Primary as well as Secondary Research is done to find out the cause behind decline in
Bancassurance Channel Performance and low- usage of Banca Online Portal (BAOL).
4.1.1. Primary Research: Visiting various branches along with BDMs to know more about how they perform
their tasks and problems they are facing in business during branch visits, also to
gather information from the CIFs working on a particular branch by having detailed
conversation and from these information to generate more ideas for improving
efficiency of the Channel by focusing on problems related to CIFs. This is available
on Field Work.
During JFM period, New Year Hungama Contest was launched by SBI where
different rewards and recognitions are entitled to CIFs those who have done
voluminous businesses for SBI Life by selling insurance on their behalf. As a
representative of SBI Life to monitor the performance and as general awareness
telephonic conversation with the CIFs to make them aware of the rewards they are
getting for their performances and to motivate them to perform to their utmost
potential and drive volume business for SBI Life so as to achieve maximum
rewards. Also making note of suggestions or any problems they are facing right
now while doing their business. On similar lines this contest was also for Branch
Managers for rewarding them and steps followed were exactly the same. The
detailed findings are given under Rewards and Recognitions under Analysis and
Findings.
CIF are branch staffs of SBI and Associate Banks and cross-sell insurance products
on behalf of SBI Life. For selling Insurance they need license and IRDA has the
authority for issuing license. For first timers CIFs need to give exam and pass that
exam for obtaining license from IRDA along with stipulated hours of training. The
license is valid for only three years. Over past few years a trend is seen that many
CIFs are unaware of their license expiry date and thus they get exited from the
system. They are so large in numbers that they exceed CIFs added into system by
huge margin. Thus throughput of the system declines. Thus a telephonic
conversation with CIFs was made to make them aware about their license being
expired or on verge of expiring. Analysis is given under License Renewal Project.


Page 18


e-Suraksha Plus plan is the new product launched on this year. Since it is an online
plan, customers were facing many difficulties while filling up the online form. The
main task was to guide them and understand the responses given by the customers
and suggest possible solutions or redirect them to some other alternative way out so
that to have a better customer relationships. Research was done on basis of
telephonic conversations with esteemed customers through lead generation in MIS.
Detailed Analysis regarding this can be found under e-Suraksha Customer
Calling.
Personal research was also carried out in the area regarding number of CIFs for the
top honors who do among the best business so that they are recognized in the
MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) League. Every year Bancassurance Channel
of SBI Life produces large number of MDRT CIFs which is globally recognized as
highest standard of business by a Life Insurance Agent. So from MIS report
accessible found out the number contributed from each and every circle. Detailed
Analysis is given under MDRT Sorting.
To know about the reasons of Bancassurance Online (BAOL) not being used
widely, primary research was required. The research was conducted in three phases.
In the first phase, telephonic interview of 500 CIFs were taken. Since there were no
predetermined factors, open ended questions about issues being faced while using
Bancassurance Online were asked. This gave insights about top of the mind issues.
Also, it was observed how CIFs use the platform and the practical issues that exist
were noted. The questions asked included the following points:
 Usage rate of BAOL
 Problems faced in using BAOL
 Requirements in BAOL/ Suggestions
In the second phase, close ended telephonic interview of 100 CIFs were taken
based on the identified issues faced and the requirements of content in the online
platform, Bancassurance Online. This helped to find out what are the issues that
are also faced by CIFs when asked in particular. A calculator, Custom Benefit
Illustrator (CBI), is provided as a tool which calculates the amount of premium
customer will have to pay based on the product, sum assured and the customer’s
details. This calculator is of prime use to the CIF. Most CIFs might be using
Bancassurance Online to use this tool. However, lot of other useful information
and reports are provided in the platform. In order to find out the awareness about
other features of the platform, users were asked if they knew about all the features.
This all are given under Banca Online Analysis.


Page 19

4.1.2. Secondary Research: Before doing above activities, read about different Products in SBI Life through
Brochures given by the company.
Gone through IC-33 manual which gave a lot of confidence to understand various
terminologies used in Insurance Industry which was completely new.
Also gone through various reports on Bancassurance Channel to find out different
models followed in India and across the World.
Along with that got accessed to various news and reports from IRDA to find out
recent channel performance decline and current trend going on regarding future
scope and penetration of Insurance in India.
Also accessed information of comparison charts of SBI Life Products and their
competitors from their Quarterly Magazine (e- Bandhan).
Accessed several data about CIFs form MIS system of SBI Life and made a
detailed study.
The Banca Online Portal website was extensively browsed; all links and reports
were checked. This was done in order to personally observe the kind of issues that
a CIF might face in accessing certain features or reports provided in the website.
4.2.

SAMPLING
(i) Field Work- Sample size of 4 CIFs were taken who were questioned in details.
(ii) Rewards and Recognitions- Telephonic Conversations with CIFs and Branch
Managers (BMs).
(1) JFM Contest for CIFs
Sample Size of the CIFs meeting the persistency criteria- 720
Sample Size of the CIFs not meeting the persistency criteria- 659
(2) Branch Manager Contest
Sample Size of the Branch Managers called- 399
(iii)License Renewal Project- Sample Size for telephonic interaction with the CIFs
whose licenses are about to expire- 196 in the Quarter 4(FY 2012-13) and 946 CIFs
in Quarter-1(FY 2013-14). Sample Size of CIFs license already being expired- 104.
(iv)e-Suraksha Customer Calling- Sample size taken for customer calling as part of
telephonic conversation- 314.
(v) Banca Online Analysis- Sample size of 600 CIFs taken for understanding the
problems they faced in the portal. Sampling was done by accessing CIF Master File
from MIS of organisation where details about them were there.


Page 20

4.3.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS
4.3.1. Field Work: Primary Research was done by direct one to one conversation with CIFs where
open ended questions were asked about to know in details about how they
approach customers when they sell insurance, what are the problems they are
facing on ground level and any suggestions to improve the situation based on their
problems. Also primary research was carried out in same fashion with BDMs who
were coordinating and supervising their works. Detailed interview were taken by
asking them open-ended questions. Noted down the suggestions if any mentioned.
All was documented which is available in Key Analysis and Findings-Section.
Secondary Research was carried out where details of CIFs received from MIS of
the organization and made detailed study of about CIFs and BDMs as available
from the Reports on SBI Life Intranet Portal mainly how they functions to have
better knowledge before actual Field Visit which aided Primary Research
mentioned above.
4.3.2. Rewards and Recognition: Primary Research was done by telephonic conversations with CIFs and Branch
Managers and the feedback or responses were noted. This research helped to gain
insights about the awareness about the rewards and how many were really
interested to work harder to achieve these rewards. It brought out the attitude and
problems of CIFs in better way by having detailed conversations.
Secondary Research was done earlier by accessing and studying various types of
rewards the CIFs and Branch Managers were eligible for and structure of rewards.
Some rewards were Quarterly Based whereas some rewards were given on basis
of annual performance. Also Club Membership there is reward which is given at
end of Financial Year based on bracket which they fall under. Also information
about CIFs and Branch Managers lists were given from MIS data of organization
which were properly studied beforehand.
4.3.3. License Renewal Projects: Primary Research was done to find out how many of them actually renew their
license which expires after every 3years. This research was based on telephonic
interview of CIFs where their responses are noted regarding whether they say yes,
no, not interested on awareness about their license which is about to expire. If
they are not interested the reasons are noted down. It helped to gain proper
insights how many of them really interested with business they are doing on
behalf of SBI Life.
Secondary Research was carried out to back above primary research. Data about
the CIFs were accessed from MIS of organization and studied in details. Also data


Page 21

was there regarding their last license renewal date, date when their license is
going to expire, contact numbers along with their BDMs contact number and
name (if in case CIFs were unable to respond when call is made).
4.3.4. e-Suraksha Customer Calling: Primary Research was done regarding the problems the customer faces while
filling up online form. Also some feedback or suggestions were noted related to
the product. This research was carried out by having a detailed telephonic
conversation with the customers by asking them the issues or problems they faces
while filling up form or anything related to product be it product knowledge, its
terms and conditions. Calling was done on behalf of SBI Life as SBI Life
representatives.
Secondary Research was carried out regarding detailed study of product which is
Suraksha Plus, features along with terms and conditions etc. Also accessed to lists
of Lead Customers from the MIS data.
4.3.5.

Banca Online Analysis: Both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data was collected by
conducting telephonic interviews of CIFs and during the field visit to various
branches. Secondary data about details of CIFs was obtained from SBI Life
office, it included:









CIF Code
Name
Phone number
Circle/ Bank
Area
Age
Time since CIF is associated with SBI Life
YTD Rated Premium (March’13) collected

This all are given under Banca Online Analysis.

.


Page 22

5. KEY TERMS RELATED TO PROJECT


5.1.

SURAKSHA PLUS

Suraksha Plus is a traditional, Non Participating, Non Linked Group Term Assurance
Product provided by SBI Life. Suraksha Plus a pure term non participating product for all
types of Groups such as Employer - Employee Groups, Credit Card or Banks or Mutual
Fund Customer and any group of people sharing a common view, at a very affordable
premium wherein SBI Life aims at Protecting your members and their family under all
circumstances.
5.1.1. Eligibility Criteria for Suraksha Plus Plan: SBI Accountholder: - The customer opting for this plan should have an
account in State Bank of India, also he or she should have the net banking
facility.
Free from all the diseases: - During the time of taking up this plan, the
person should never had a heart problem, a stroke, paralysis, high blood
pressure, cancer, diabetes, raised blood sugar, kidney failure, liver failure,
mental illness, tuberculosis, HIV infection or AIDS.
Should not be NRI/SEG: - Only Resident Indians having Savings Bank
Account with internet banking facility are eligible for this scheme.
Accountholders under NRE/NRISHG or Business/Loan/OC/OD or any other
related accounts are out of the purview of this scheme.
5.1.2. Key Features of the Plan: Simple, quick and hassle free online process: - Since it is purely an online
process so a person willing to buy this plan need be able to visit any branches,
rather it can be purchased through online only. Even the bond paper will also
be coming into the customer’s email.
Insurance at Affordable cost: - The premium one has to pay for this policy for
ten years is very nominal and that too yearly.
Easy Payment Option: - Customers have to pay through the SBI net banking
account which is very safe but easier to pay it.
Enrollment based on Declaration of Good Health: - A customer is eligible for
this insurance plan only if he/she is mentally as well as physically fit during
the time of taking this policy.


Page 23

No Maturity or Surrender Benefit: - If a customer wants to surrender the
policy, there is no surrender benefit in it. Also, there is no maturity benefit in
this policy.
In other words a customer is not entitled to get anything return after the term
period of policy is over.
5.1.3. Boundary Conditions: -

Para meter
Entry A ge*
Max imum Cover Ceasing A ge
Sum Assured
Premium P ayme nt Term
P olicy Term
P remium Payment M ode

Fe ature
1 8-45 ye ars
5 5 ye ars
5/10 lakhs
10 years
1 0 ye ars
A nnual

Table 3: Plan Details of Suraksha Plus

(*Age as on last birthday)
Benefits of Suraksha Plus: Death Benefit: - In the Event of death of the Life Assured, the sum assured
will be paid immediately. Suraksha Plus is offering accidental death benefit as
well as natural death benefit.
Online Term Plan: - Unlike any other plans of SBI Life, customers can buy
this plan online without even going to SBI branches and visit SBI Life
representatives and also they do not require any medical certificate in order to
purchase this product.
Grace Period: The Grace period under the plan is 30 years. If premium is not paid within the
grace period the policy lapse that is there will be no life cover once the grace
period is over.

Revival Period: -


Page 24

The policy can be revived within 180 days from the first unpaid premium. The
policy can be reinstated on payment of all unpaid premiums along with the
interest at the rate prescribed by the company from time to time.
Cessation of Insurance Cover: The cover will cease on the earliest of: the Date of Lapse of the Life Cover
Member ceases to be a part of the group as defined in the scheme rules
The date of death claim has been admitted.
Free Look Period: If a customer is not satisfied with the terms and conditions of the policy you can
return the policy within the 30 days from the date of receipt of the Certificate of
Insurance. In case of cancellation during Free Look Period, refund of Premium
Less Stamp Duty will be made.
Exclusion: In case the Life Assured commits suicide within one year from the Date of
Commencement of risk, the death benefits shall not be payable.
Nomination: Nomination is compulsory. The nominee shall be a person nominated by the
member in accordance with the provision of section (39) of the Insurance Act
1938 to receive the benefits under the scheme in the event of his/her death .
5.2.

RINN RAKSHA
RiNn Raksha is among top and bestseller products of SBI Life. Everyone
always
aspires to own his/her Dream Home! To fulfill this dream, an individual works towards it
systematically and stretches to acquire loans. To safeguard this liability, SBI Life
launched “SBI Life -RiNn Raksha”, a Group Credit Insurance Plan that assures the
customer’s family gets the best and also enjoys the asset (Home) which he/she has so
lovingly acquired, without having to worry about the liability in case of any eventuality.
As India is a nation which is booming with high aspirations from millions of people and
buying Home is not only a necessity but today has become the pride factor! People are
buying homes( for investment) like never before as like gold it has good value and
always increases on time to time So real estate has seen a rapid growth with upward


Page 25

projection of property prices especially in Tier-I cities (Metros) and Tier-II cities (SemiUrban like Nagpur, Ahmadabad etc.).
Property prices are now over the roof so banks are offering Home Loans at special
interest rates to woo customers and they have seen tremendous growth in Home Loan
applications over the last few years. SBI was offering Home Loans long way back. But
there was liability factor that remain (Home is a biggest liability for middle and uppermiddle class which forms large chunk of Indian Population) even if you buy a Home
because you need to pay interest along with the money you have taken loan. Thus, SBI
Life started insuring Home Loans so that you can have a “Peace of Mind” not worrying
about liability. In other words, “SBI Life- RiNn Raksha” is the answer for your home
loan liability worries.
Key Features of RiNn Raksha:  Cover can be availed for a Policy Term as low as 8 years and up to maximum
period of 30 years.
 Limited Premium Paying Option- 5 years
 Up to 3 Co-Borrowers (including primary borrower) can be insured.
 Tax Benefits* as per prevailing laws.
 The premium is financed by bank.
 Insurance cover that it protects works out to be less than Rs. 10 per day. So
protection per day is less than cup of coffee and travel that people spends every
day!!
 Family inherits the Home not Home Loan.


Page 26


Table 4: Rinn Raksha Plan Details

5.3.

BANCA ONLINE
Bancassurance Online (BAOL) is an intranet platform designed for those employees of
State Bank Group who are interested in Life insurance business. It is a single point of
getting information for the Certified Insurance Facilitators (CIFs). It helps the CIFs to
communicate the right information to the customers by giving them access to the
following features: Products: CIFs can get product snapshots and highlights
Download Center: Download product brochures and forms for proposal, claims,
policy servicing etc
CIF Zone: CIFs can get personalized reports for their business and performance.
They can login by entering their CIF code.
Latest Updates & Events: It gives updated information about new products, services
and events.
Fund Details: Present and historic fund values for various products is shown
Cracking Competition: Information about the life insurance industry is shown and it
allows to compare SBI Life products with competitors.
Branch Related Reports: Various useful reports can be downloaded
Appendix 3 shows a look of the existing home page(s) of Bancassurance Online.


Page 27

Bancassurance Online (BAOL) is a very helpful tool provided that the CIFs are able to
exploit all the features provided. It has been observed that the tool is not being used
widely amongst the CIFs. It is imperative to promote this tool so as to ultimately promote
Bancassurance channel of marketing SBI Life products and tap the huge potential that
exists due to the existing extensive network of State Bank Group branches all over the
country.
5.4.

ABOUT Z-CARDS
Z-CARD is the registered trademark for the foldable guide invented by George
McDonald when he was a travel writer and consultant for British Airways. McDonald
found that traditional fold-out maps were too bulky to carry with him on travel research
trips and wanted a more convenient solution. From this the Z-CARD was developed and
launched in 1992, with the company as it looks today being founded in 2003. Since then
we have been on a constant journey of development, taking Z-CARD Ltd from a singleproduct entity to a solutions-led agency focused on delivering high value
communications to an increasingly mobile audience. The Z-CARD was quickly adopted
as a marketing communications tool and reached such prevalence that the term z-card is
now used as reference to many z-folds or concertina card and not just those produced by
Z-CARD Ltd. While Z-CARD pioneered the z-fold market from 1992, a number of other
companies have since entered the market by producing their own take on the z-fold
format. The original inspiration for the product came from the familiar fold-out map
format.
Z-CARD has won industry recognition for their products, with clients winning awards
such as Euro RSCG's Heist Awards. Loughborough University developed the Maths
Card—a classic Z-Card format that opens out to reveal an extensive list of pure maths
formulae—that also claimed top honors in the Direct Marketing category of the Heist
Awards.
Different types of Z-Cards: 1) Original Z-Card.
2) C-Fold.
3) K-Fold.
4) Book Fold.
5) Direct Mail.
1) Original Z- Card: - The Original Z-CARD is the ideal way to condense
information into a retainable and highly portable format. Most popular product


Page 28

remains the 6-panel Z-CARD®. Perfect for all communications, there are many
options for customizing inserts and covers. These include:
Recycled or sustainable forest paper stocks.
Digital printing for cost-effective small orders.
Personalization options.
Cover extras - pockets, RFID, lenticular.
Z-CARD Specifications below are most popular Z-CARD sizes. There are many
options for customizing inserts and covers. The smallest cover size that is offered is
48mm x 48mm and the largest is 150mm x 300mm. All sizes in between these are
possible.

4 panel Credit Card*
Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Insert: 234mm x 200mm
4 panel Pocket Card*
Cover: 108mm x 78mm

Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm

Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm

(* available in up to 13 panels)

Figure 4: Original Z-Card layout

2) C-Fold: - The C-Fold Z-CARD is concertina folded and is a great lower cost
option for conveying smaller amounts of information. It can be used for vouchers,


Page 29

support banners, product information and much more. Customization options
include:
Recycled or sustainable forest paper stocks.
Digital printing for small orders.
C-Card specifications below are most popular C-Fold sizes. There are many
options for customizing inserts and covers. The smallest cover size we offer is
48mm x 48mm and the largest is 150mm x 300mm. All sizes in between these are
possible.

Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm

Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm

Figure 5: C-Fold Layout

3) K-Fold: - K-Fold Z-CARD is the ideal format for delivering promotional coupons
or vouchers. It is also one of the best formats for incorporating a response
mechanism, with options including tear-off panels and horse-shoe re-moist.
Customization options include:
Tear-off vouchers/response forms
Personalization
Recycled or sustainable forest paper stocks
Below are most popular K-Fold sizes. There are many options for customizing
inserts and covers. The smallest cover size we offer is 48mm x 48mm and the
largest is 150mm x 300mm. All sizes in between these are possible.


Page 30


Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm
panels)

Cover: 85mm x 54mm
Cover: 108mm x 78mm
Insert: 99mm x 560mm (* available in up to 13

Figure 6: K-Fold Layout

4) Book Fold: - Z-Book and Z-Wrap formats open like a book creating a tactile
marketing tool that engages the end user. Each format contains a Z-CARD insert
and can include:
A cover pocket - perfect for travel cards or hotel room key cards.
A closing mechanism - the Z-Wrap has a wrap-around cover, hinged like a
book, that holds contents safely inside when closed.
Below are most popular Book Fold sizes. There are many options for customizing
inserts and covers, with a number of possible size variations.

Z-Book 6 panel Credit Card*
Cover: 85mm x 54mm (closed)
Z-Book 6 panel Pocket Card*

Z-Wrap 6 panel Credit Card*


Figure 7: Book Fold Layout.

5.5.

ABOUT MDRT
Founded in 1927, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of
Financial Professionals, is an international, independent association of nearly 38,000 of
the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 450


Page 31

companies in 79 countries. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional
knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is
recognized internationally as the standard of sales excellence in the life insurance and
financial services business.
5.5.1. Mission: To be a valued, member-driven, international network of leading insurance and
investment financial services professionals/advisors who serve their clients by
exemplary performance and the highest standards of ethics, knowledge, service
and productivity.

5.5.2. History: In 1927, 32 extraordinary life insurance producers, each of whom had sold at least
$1 million of life insurance, dreamed of a forum dedicated to fostering a highstandard, professional approach to life insurance sales and service. Founded on
the belief that growth is a result of exchanging ideas, the concept was: "To
receive, individuals must give." Out of this dream emerged MDRT – an
international, independent association that represents the world's best sales
professionals in the life insurance-based, financial services industry. MDRT, a
positive influence in the life insurance industry, has developed a rich tradition of
sharing knowledge for the benefit of clients, prospects, producers and companies.
5.5.3. Code of Ethics: MDRT members should be ever mindful that complete compliance with and
observance of the Code of Ethics of the Million Dollar Round Table shall serve to
promote the highest quality standards of membership. These standards will be
beneficial to the public, and the insurance and financial services profession.
5.5.4. Strategic Plan:MDRT has a strategic plan that it follows when developing new programs and
benefits for its members. The strategic plan contains nine goals and objectives to
guide the organization in helping its members better serve their clients and learn
from one another.
5.5.5. Executive Committee:MDRT is governed and managed by a five-member Executive Committee duly
elected each year by the MDRT membership.
5.5.6. Court of the Table and Top of the Table: Court of the Table and Top of the Table serve as additional incentives for
members to increase their levels of production. Court of the Table members must
earn three times the MDRT base production requirement, and Top of the Table


Page 32

members must earn six times the base production requirement. Both Court of the
Table and Top of the Table members can take advantage of additional member
benefits provided exclusively to them.
5.5.7. Annual Meeting:The MDRT Annual Meeting has been described as a one-of-a-kind event,
unrivaled in the world of business. Every year, approximately 4,000 of the world's
top producers gather in a spirit of camaraderie for one of the greatest gatherings of
financial services professionals in the world. Annual Meeting attendees are
exposed to some of the finest and most innovative sales ideas in the life
insurance-based, financial services business. The meeting offers about 100
speakers during its motivational Main Platform presentations, educational Focus
Sessions and insightful breakfast and evening sessions. And, perhaps most
importantly, members can network with other top financial services professionals
from around the world, building friendships that last a lifetime.
5.5.8. Top of the Table Annual Meeting:The purpose of the Top of the Table Annual Meeting is to provide an annual
educational meeting for the exchange of advanced sales ideas and for the
development of interpersonal relationships among leading financial producers
who are Top of the Table members. During the four-day meeting, about 40
professional, nonmember and Top of the Table member speakers discuss subjects
of vital concern to those in the life insurance and financial services industry.
5.5.9. MDRT Experience:The purpose of this event is to bring MDRT's Annual Meeting experience to
producers in other countries. This event, modeled after MDRT's prestigious
Annual Meeting, delivers cutting-edge sales techniques and ideas, technical
information and motivational concepts for those in the life insurance and financial
services business. The MDRT Experience is open to both MDRT members and
non-members.
5.5.10. MDRT Foundation: The MDRT Foundation is the philanthropic arm of MDRT. Since its formation in
1959, the MDRT Foundation has granted more than USD 26 million to charitable
organizations serving people in 67 countries and all 50 U.S. states. The MDRT
Foundation awards grants to charitable organizations that are empowering people
in need in MDRT member communities worldwide. The grants given by the
MDRT Foundation are distributed to organizations in which members have a
vested interest. Grant recipients have either been endorsed by an MDRT member
or receive money in honor of a member's volunteerism.


Page 33

6. KEY ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS


6.1.

FIELD WORK

6.1.1. SBI, Carter Road Branch, Bandra: -

Reporting Person: - Mr. Ajay Singh (BDM)
Products on Demand on that branch: - Child Plan, Smart Performer.
Name of the CIF Present there: –Mrs. Hemlata.
Target Customers- Middle Income customers but mostly targeted upon HNI and
NRI customers aged from 20 to 80 years.
Key Observations: CIF is not motivated enough.
Does not push for products to customers as CIF might not be interested.
There was unawareness about new products launched by SBI Life when asked
about. Thus there was huge gap between knowledge about the Products.
SBI Life conducts training for CIFs whenever there is new product launch or
if there any modification about existing product. When the CIF questioned
about this fact responded negative. Thus CIF does not attend training
properly.
CIFs are busy with their branch work and they are hardly focusing on
insurance policy selling.
6.1.2. SBI , Turnor Road Branch, Bandra
Reporting Person: - Mr. Ajay Singh (BDM)
Products on Demand: - Smart Performer.
Name of the CIF Present there –Mr. Ashutosh.
Target Customers- Middle Income customers but mostly targeted upon HNI and
NRI customers aged from 20 to 80 years.
Key Observations: CIF have the proper knowledge about the products and most of the customers
are also loyal to SBI so, they can be easily convinced from the minimum
effort of CIF and they are ready to pay the premium of more than 2 lakhs.
More HNI prospects are turning up for the insurance policy.


Page 34

This one is very active CIF as judged through by having the knowledge of
competitors’ product and also maintains good relationships with the
customers.
6.1.3. SBI, Naupada Branch, Thane
Reporting Person: -Yogesh Deoghare (BDM Region-IV THANE)
Products on Demand: - Child Plan, Smart Performer.
Key Observations: During interaction with BDM it was found out that new CIF are not doing
business as the old ones are doing. As per him only 40% new CIFs are doing
business. Most of business is driven by old CIFs.
Heavy work load from Branch to do its own business so concentrating more
on Branch Business rather than cross-selling Insurance.
Many CIFs are unaware about SBI Life products. Even if they are aware most
of times they cannot push for products due to lack of knowledge of other
competitor products. They cannot make comparison so many customer turns
away resulting in loss of business.
SBI Life provides training for CIFs periodically about product knowledge or
for new products but many CIFs cannot attend that training due to lack of
time(huge pressure from bank).
Money is not a motivating factor since having various incentives for every
quarter provided by SBI Life still many CIFs not willing to do business.
6.2.

REWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
6.2.1. For CIF: Brief Description:Calling was done as part of Reward Contest organized by SBI during Jan-FebMar, 2013 (better known as JFM Contest/ New Year Hungama Contest). The
main objective behind calling was to monitor performance of CIFs as a SBI Life
Representative and appreciate them who have done considerable amount of
business as pre-defined by SBI Life. Also another objective is to make them
aware about the rewards as many CIFs do not know what is reward structure
followed by SBI Life and to increase their performance by mentioning about extra
rewards they will be eligible for if they achieve next immediate shortfall in
business. Calling was done in two parts:(1) CIFs meeting the Persistency Criteria.
(2) CIFs not meeting the Persistency Criteria.


Page 35

Along with that parallel contest was going on regarding Annual Club Membership
Rewards where CIFs were eligible for rewards according to various clubs as
mentioned below in increasing order of rewards: (i) AGM Club
(ii) DGM Club
(iii)GM Club
(iv)CGM Club
(v) MD Club
Persistency Parameter: Persistency Parameter is most important criteria for qualifying for any reward.
Premium as well as Policy Persistency of 50% is mandatory requirement. It
is calculated using simple mathematical formula:Premium/Policy Persistency= Premium/Policy Collected * 100 (in %)
Premium/Policy Due
For Persistency Calculation, collectable Rated Premium at end of a Particular
Quarter and collected with an extension of 1 month after Quarter end shall be
taken into consideration. For Example- For Quarter-1 contest collectable dues as
on 30th June, 2012 and collected as on 31st July, 2012 shall be taken for
persistency percentage calculation (min. 50% required).
6.2.1.1.

CIFs Meeting The Persistency Criteria: -

Contest Total Calling= 720
0%
35%
Informed about Contest
65%

Could not be informed
On Leave/Not
well/Language problem


Page 36


Number of CIFs

Contest Total Calling= 720
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

469

248

3
Informed about Contest Could not be informed

On Leave/Not
well/Language problem

Summary of Calling

Figure 8: CIF calling summary those who met persistency criteria

6.2.1.2.

CIFs Not Meeting The Persistency Criteria: Total CIFs called= 659 those who do not meet the persistency criteria
in spite of eligibility for rewards in relation to amount of business done
in particular quarter.


Page 37


Sample Size- 659
Figure 9: CIF calling summary those who did not met persistency criteria

Implications: In both the cases a large number of CIFs were not communicated. It may
happen due to number of reasons. Those who were not picking up the call
might be busy with their work. Those who have been transferred to other
regions their contact numbers were not updated.
Feeble responses from CIFs those who have not achieved persistency. Also
those CIFs who met persistency very few of them really tracked their business
details to know about their rewards they are eligible for.
Many CIFs were not aware of what is Persistency so they were made aware of
this fact and the importance of it for eligibility of any rewards.
Some were not interested to do more business citing reasons that it is time for
Annual Closing so they have to prioritize the Bank’s main business and too
much pressure is affecting them to do Insurance Business.
6.2.2. Branch Manager Contest: Brief Description: This contest was again launched during same period i.e. JFM by SBI to reward
the Branch Managers who looks after Branch. The objective was to reward them
on basis of performance their branch did on Insurance Business selling.


Page 38


Figure 10: Calling Summary for Branch Manager Contest

Implications: Those who were busy can be tried later as many may answer when they are free. So
the calling can be done again at later to increase the Contacted Column.
Here also due to transfer they cannot be contacted so there must be system in place
where updating of contact details takes place.
Those who were contacted were not aware of their reward structure. So there should
be a general awareness campaign before contest starts.


Page 39

6.3.

LICENSE RENEWAL PROJECT
Brief Description: This Project was generally a sort of awareness campaign for CIFs. For becoming a CIF
one has to give exam and obtain a license from Regulatory Body i.e. IRDA on successful
completion of exam. This license is valid for only 3 years and after that they have to
renew their license. Most of CIFs that were interacted were not aware of their license
expiry and continue to do business even after that. It has been seen that throughput of the
system decreases because of license expiry and thus less number of CIFs can do their
business as compared to before. This is larger than New CIFs being joined in the system.
Thus this may be one of reason why there is decline in performance of Channel.
6.3.1. CIF whose license already expired: -

Figure 11: Calling Summary of CIFs whose license already expired

Figure 12: Break-Up of Responses of CIFs Interested in Renewing License


Page 40


Table 5: Region-wise break up of Interested CIFs for renewal of license

Figure 13: Break-Up of Responses of CIFs Not Interested in Renewing their License

Implications: Those CIFs whose licenses were expired many of them are not aware about
their license expiry. They need to be told that license renewal is mandatory to
conduct business.
Those CIFs who did not respond the reasons were: - wrong number or
transferred, switched off, not reachable, temporary out of service etc.
Those CIFs who were really interested to renew their license after being made
aware have given reasons as based from Figure 12. Also the break-up of
Interested CIFs according to Circle wise is given under Table 5.
Those CIFs who were not at all interested the responses are shown in Figure
13. Main reasons seen here is huge pressure from Banks to do its own
business which led to Non- Interested in doing cross-selling in Insurance
Business.


Page 41

6.3.2. CIF whose license about to expire: 6.3.2.1.License about to be expiring during JFM Period (Quarter 4, FY 2012-13)

Total CIFs Called= 198

Informed

8%
23%

Not Interested
67%
2%

Busy/Wrong
No/Switched off
Not Picking up Call

Number of CIFs

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Series1
Informed

Not
Interested

Busy/Wrong Not Picking up
No/Switched
Call
off

Status of Call Summary
Figure 14: Calling Summary of CIFs license about to be expiring in Quarter-4 FY 2012-13

6.3.2.2.License about to be expiring during AMJ Period (Quarter 1, FY 2013-14)


Page 42



48%
Informed

52%

Not Informed

495

500

Number of CIFs

490
480
470
460

451

450
440
430
420
Informed

Not Informed

Status of Call Summary
Figure 15: Calling Summary of CIFs license about to be expiring in Quarter-1 FY 2013-14

Total CIFs Informed= 495
0%
5%

Interested
Not Interested

95%


Not Understanding
Language

Page 43


Number of CIFs

Total CIFs Informed= 495
468

500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

25
Interested

2

Not Interested

Not Understanding
Language

Reasons
Figure 16: Break-Up of Reasons for those CIFs that were informed

Total CIFs Not Informed= 451
Switched off
Busy Tone
6%

15%
11%

41%

10%

1%

13%

Incoming Call Facility
not there
No. does not exist
Temporary Out of
Service
Not Picking up Call

3%

Wrong No.

Number of CIFs

Total CIFs Not Informed= 451
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

186

69

47

58

47
4

12

Reasons


28

Page 44

Figure 17: Break-Up of Reasons for those CIFs that were not informed

Implications: There were also many cases in these where CIFs were unaware about their
license expiry in near future date.
Those CIFs who were informed majority of them were interested to renew
their licenses.
Those CIFs who were not informed has mostly their contact details wrong
updated. Also numbers being switched off caused considerable amount of
being not communicated.
Reasons for not being informed are given in Figure 17.
Not Interested cases being few were among either they were retired or about
to retire or not getting the reward as expected and huge pressure from banks to
do business were some reasons.
6.4.

SURAKSHA CUSTOMER CALLING
Brief Description: The main objective behind calling customers or lead suspects to convert them into
prospects. The calling was done to close the deal of buying an Online Term Plan which is
e-Suraksha Plus (For more details refer to Key Terms Related to Project). Also by
feedback taken from customers to change the design of Online Layout of filling up
Proposal Form was another objective. So Customer Centricity was kept at top most.

Total Customer Called= 314
2%
7%

Browser Problem

1%
9%

13%

Not Picking up Call

12%
15%
9%

8%
17%

2%

5%

Not Interested/Wants to
cancel policy
Unreachable/Wrong
numbers/No. does not
exist


Page 45


Total Customer Called= 314
60

53

Number of Customers

50
40

46
40

39

20

29

28

30

24

17

21

7

10

5

5

0

Summary of Calling
Figure 18: Summary of calling Customers for eSuraksha Plan

Total Customer Called
Browser Problem
Not Picking up Call
Not Interested/Wants to cancel policy

314
40
39
17

%
12.74
12.42
5.41

Unreachable/Wrong numbers/No. does not exist

28

8.92

Call after two days/one week

7

2.23

No Query/Product Brought,no issue
Tick in one of three options
Other Issues
Complete details of product
Have not applied for
Language Problem
No Number
Total

53

16.88

24
46
21
5
5
29
314

7.64
14.65
6.69
1.59
1.59
9.24
100

Table 6: Break-Up Number as well as Percentage-wise distribution of Calling Summary


Page 46

Implications:  Total customer called= 314.
 Customer using different browser (mostly Chrome) and having problem=40.
 17 customers are either not interested/already taken product want to cancel.
 28 customers are either unreachable/wrong numbers.
 7 customers requested calling after two-three days due to busy schedule.
 53 customers have either no query or already brought product (no issues).
 46 customers have various issues ranging from not having SBI A/C to claim process
to enquiring for Mediclaim/Health Insurance or variable amount policies (1 customer
does not want any phone call from SBI Life).
 Tick in one of three options in Step2 not going to Step3=24.
 Wants complete details of the product in mail=21.
 5 customers haven’t applied for this product. (2 of them either friend/husband applied
for them and not having any clue about the product).
 5 customers were having problem of understanding English Language.
 29 customers did not provide any number.
 39 customers did not pick up any call.
6.5.

MDRT SORTING
Brief Description: Details about MDRT are given under Key Terms Related to Project. The main
objective for this Project is to understand how many of active or performer CIFs gets
recognized for MDRTs which is highest level of recognition for anyone doing Insurance
Business. Also to get an idea how much Bancassurance Channel contributed to MDRT as
compared to other Channels of SBI Life.

MDRT Contributions
38, 2% 45, 3%

441, 27%

SBI
ASSOCIATE BANKS
1105, 68%

Corporate Solution
RRBs

Total=1629
Page 47

Figure 19: SBI Life Channel-wise contribution of performer CIFs to MDRTs (FY-2013-14)



SBI
76, 7%

75, 7%

Total=1105
AHMEDABAD

42, 4%
69, 6%

91, 8%

BANGALORE
BENGAL

131, 12%

120, 11%

BHOPAL

89, 8%

BHUBANESHWAR

100, 9%
132, 12%

74, 6%
52, 5%

13, 1%

41, 4%

CHANDIGARH
CHENNAI
DELHI
HYDERABAD

Figure 20: Break-Up of SBI Circle-wise contributions to MDRTs

ASSOCIATE BANKS

Total=441

48, 11%
142, 32%

52, 12%

SBBJ
SBH

59, 13%

SBM
SBOP
140, 32%

SBT

Figure 21: Break-Up of Associate Banks Circle-wise contributions to MDRTs

Implications: Total Forms received in bulk= 2000 approx.
Total forms received in Bancassurance Channel(SBI + Associate Banks + RRBs)
1629-38= 1591 (approx. 97.67%)
SBI contributed 1105 MDRT CIFs (FY 2012-13) = 68%.
Associate Banks (ABs) contributed 441 MDRT CIFs=27%.
State Bank Group (SBI + ABs) contributed (1105+441) 1546= 95%.
Corporate Solutions (another channel of SBI Life) contributed only 38 CIFs=2%.


Page 48

Major revenue of business is due to Bancassurance Channel of SBI Life (Based on
number of MDRT CIFs contributed by State Bank Group).
From SBI a total of 21 CIFs have made it to COT, in Associate Banks a total of 7
CIFs have made it to COT.
From North East Circle of SBI 1 CIF has made it to TOT.
Largest numbers of MDRT CIFs were contributed from Delhi (132) and Mumbai
(131) Circles of SBI (approx 12% each).
After that SBI Bhopal Circle contributed to maximum number of MDRT CIFs (120i.e. approx 11%).
Least number of MDRT CIFs are from SBI Chennai Circle (13 i.e. only 1%) and
followed by SBI Chandigarh (41) and Bangalore (42) Circles (i.e. approx 4%).
Highest contributor to MDRT CIFs from Associate Banks is State Bank of Bikaner
and Jaipur (SBBJ – 142) (i.e. approx 32%) followed by State Bank of Hyderabad
(SBH -140) (approx 32%).
Least contributor is State Bank of Travancore (SBT-48 i.e. approx 11%) followed by
State Bank of Patiala (SBOP-52 i.e. approx 12%) and State Bank of Mysore (SBM-59
i.e. approx 13%).
Key Findings: After this some feedback was taken in general from Bancassurance Staffs regarding the
MDRT produced every year so they said there is some decline over past few years. This
year it contributed only 1629 MDRT CIFs where it used to be more than 2000 two years
back. So there is again a reason in decline in Channel Performance. So by this activity
also it came to know that many potential CIFs (active/performer CIFs) are not able to
become MDRTs. Main reason as got to know from feedback is Persistency Parameter
which many are not either aware of or many may do considerable amount of business but
fail on this parameter. So even if many Performer CIFs do good amount of business but
fail on Persistency (Policy as well as Premium) so only a handful of them become
MDRTs. Thus considering a huge channel like Bancassurance and huge number of CIFs
its MDRT Contribution is almost nil.
6.6.

BANCA ONLINE ANALYSIS
6.6.1.

Telephonic interviews (phase 1) ( Overall Statistics)

Table 7: Overall Statistics Telephonic Interviews (phase 1)


Page 49

Top of the mind issues: Accessibility/ Slow:Users felt that the portal does not open at times , it is slow including business
illustrator, takes time to download.
Late updates:Users felt that the reports, including persistency report, are not updated.
Receipts of premium not updated until last day
Top of the mind suggestions: Business Details:CIFs want breakup of policies done and eligibility of rewards accordingly.
NAV details:Historical NAVs and Comparative charts are required by CIFs.
Surrender value:Amount recoverable if a particular policy is surrendered is required
Policy status:Status of policy should be shown before the time of acceptance/ rejection
Feedback/ Notification
Notifications of product updates, renewal time of a policy etc, sent by sms.

Figure 22: The Non–Users of BAOL


Page 50

Top of the mind issues & suggestions
It is necessary to find out the proportion of CIFs who are not using Bancassurance
Online at all and also the reasons for the same.

Table 8: Non-User Summary

32% of the CIFs are not using BAOL presently. This not evenly distributed. The
number of non-users is much more amongst the non-performer CIFs and also the
CIFs of Associate Banks.
Figure 23 shows percentage of non-users of BAOL in Non Performer category
and Performer category. Figure 24 shows percentage of non-users of BAOL in
Associate Banks (AB) and SBI Bank.
Table 8 shows the reasons of Bancassurance Online not being used by 32% of
CIFs.

Figure 23: Break-up of Non-User CIFs into
Performer and Non-Performer

Figure 24: Break-up of Non-User
CIFs from SBI and Associate Banks


Page 51


Figure 25: Different Reasons for not using Banca Online Portal by CIFs

Unawareness about the platform is the prime reason amongst the CIFs not using
of BAOL.
Observations based on Performance

Table 9: Break-Up of Observations based on Performance


Page 52


Figure 26: Top of mind issues and suggestions based on rated premium

Implications:  Highest frequency of use for the CIFs in rated premium >50 lakhs category.
 CIFs in category with rated premium > 50 lakhs have details of business as
the top of mind suggestion.
 Non-performers (=1 lakh rated premium) complaint most about speed.
Observations based on Age Group

Table 10: Observations based on Age Group


Page 53


Figure 27: Top of mind issues and suggestions based on age group

Implications: CIFs of higher age group(s) have higher average premium and want more
business details.
CIFs below 30 and low average premium have primary concern in the policy
status.
Observations based on number of years of association with SBI Life

Table 11: Observations based on number of years of association with SBI Life


Page 54


Figure 28: Top of the mind issues and suggestions based on years of association

Implications
 CIFs associated with SBI life for 2-5 years, have the highest average rated
premium and ask for more business details.
 CIFs associated with SBI Life for longer time but having lower YTD Rated
premium (march’13) have felt maximum problem due to speed of the
platform.
6.6.2. Visit to IT Department, SBI Life Office (Belapur)
A visit was made to the IT department at SBI Life office in Belapur was made to
discuss the feasibility of recommendations. This visit was generally done on an
objective that there were some suggestions based on feedback from calling CIFs.
In a meeting with Mr Randip Basu (IT Deptt. Head) the following were discussed:
Formal contact shall be made with various departments responsible for the
reports which are not working. Need of each report shall be reassessed and
then uploaded accordingly.
A new design for the home page of Bancassurance Online was suggested and
accepted. The new design has been shown. Please refer Appendix 3 and
Appendix 5.
A new design for Custom Benefit Illustrator was suggested in which the
customer’s details which are common for all products shall be taken once and


Page 55

then the product shall be chosen, this shall help to save time by removing
redundancy when a customer is being shown possibility of multiple products.
It was suggested that Custom Benefit Illustrator’s software should be made
downloadable on the platform. Whenever a new version is uploaded, a
notification can be sent to CIFs to upgrade. The file size is approx. 30 MB
hence, it was noted that the State Bank server speed may get slow when
multiple downloads occur. Therefore, a suggestion was made that the
download could be allowed after 6 PM which would reduce load on State
Bank server during busy hours.
Automated welcome message can be sent to CIFs (personalised with name
and CIF code).
The problem with the tool ‘My Customer Portfolio’ was discussed, that it was
not working properly.
CIF Zone can have a view if CIFs business done the way it is shown in ‘aaram
reports’ (which are a part of Management Information System at SBI Life, not
accessible to CIFs but only to SBI Life staff).
The ‘proposal tracker’ link shall be given in Bancassurance Online to allow
CIFs to track policy status.
A suggestion was made by IT department that Custom Benefit Illustrator if
hosted on State Bank server instead of SBI Life server then the problem of
speed shall be reduced as currently bandwidth size of SBI Life server reduces
the speed.
Different queries of CIF shall be mailed to info@baonline.com which can
then forward the queries of various departments responsible.


Page 56

7. DESIGNING OF Z-CARDS


7.1.

RINN RAKSHA Z-CARD: -

For RiNn Raksh the thinking was based on regarding the shape and size of Z-Card which
was crucial in designing. For an idea, an access was made to last year simple design of ZCard as a sample to study upon. From there it was got to know how much information
would be needed to be included in Z- Card so that everything in short is covered.
Keeping in mind of above things the challenging task was to think of some innovative
shape that will attract the attention of anybody using that card. As RiNn Raksha product
was based on securing the Home Loans an idea struck that shape should be in size of a
Home. The complete design is given in Appendix 2. (Details about RiNn Raksha Product
is given in Key Terms Related to Project).

7.2.

SMART CELEBRATIONS REWARD OPTIMIZER: As based on previous experience of calling CIFs as a part of telephonic conversation it
was implied that many CIFs were unaware about their reward structure. This led to the
making of Smart Celebration Reward Optimizer to help CIFs plan their business quarterwise as well as annually. For designing Smart Celebration Contest research was done by
getting the knowledge about Z-Cards from its website and also from the previous year ZCard design. ( For Z-Card Details refer to Key Terms Related to Project).
In Smart Celebration Reward Optimizer the thinking was based upon two thingsdesigning the structure for Reward Optimizer so that all the rewards get into that structure
and then designing the illustrator so that CIFs could avail maximum rewards by doing
certain amount of business. After so much of brainstorming, an idea came up with the
optimizer wheel that is mentioned in Appendix 1. The proposed layout will be two
layered structures (in the shape of circle) where one will rotate above the other. One
circle will be giving details about the various rewards structures a CIF can get per quarter
and another circle will contain the illustrators along with the various awareness
campaigns on the back side of that circle.


Page 57

8. LIMITATIONS


As undergoing tasks related to project there were indeed many limitations which might have
interfered in actual results. Also some limitations have been listed down here is due to system
itself. Thus on summing it up some of them has been mentioned below: Due to telephonic way of conducting interviews, the responses were recorded may not be as
accurate as it would be in case of questionnaire format.
Some of the respondents may have been biased while disclosing the issues they have in using
Bancassurance Online. The analysis has been conducted assuming that the responses given
were correct.
The sample size of calling CIFs or Customers may not represent the complete population.
Due to huge pressure from Banks to do their business CIFs do not cross-sell much.
In spite of many rewards and recognition programs from SBI Life many CIFs are not
interested to do business even if they have time. They are happy with Bank’s business. Thus
it may be seen that money is not a motivating factor.
Many CIFs cannot be tracked because they get transferred often and their mobile numbers
are not updated with SBI Life.
Due to transfer CIF does not feel motivated to do business in new surroundings. Those CIFs
who are there in rural areas branch do very little business due to poor demand.
Less co-ordination of CIF with BDM is also a major limitation. Often BDM cannot track
individual CIFs as they continuously go on field visit and training programs.
Less awareness of Banca Online Portal which is exclusively dedicated to CIFs for any type
of enquiry related to Insurance Business. Less use of technology is also a major limitation.
Designing Z-Cards is purely subjective to Perception that varies from Individual to
Individual. Thus the design may or may not be similar to some other perceptions.


Page 58

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