Dissertation Report 3fui

DISSERTATION ON "A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: POST SALE SERVICES PROVIDED BY LIFE INSURANCE PROVIDERS"

Submitted in partial fulfillment of award of the degree of MBA (Insurance and Banking) from Amity University, UP Noida Campus.

Submitted to

Submitted by

Dr. Sunil Kumar Kadyan

Bishal Deep

AdhikariAsst.Professor, ASIBAS,

A2828414044Amity University, MBA - Insurance & Banking Noida, 2014 - 2016

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Bishal Deep Adhikari, student of Amity School of Insurance, Banking and Actuarial Science (ASIBAS), Amity University, Noida, U.P. has completed the project on "A study on customer satisfaction: post sale services provided by life insurance providers" during his dissertation in the period from January 4, 2016 till April 8, 2016. This project is original and authentic and it has been undertaken by him within the stipulated time under my guidance.

__________________________ Dr. Sunil Kumar Kadyan Assistant Professor Amity School of Insurance, Banking and Actuarial Science Amity University, Noida, U.P. 1

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the entire project report on “A study on customer satisfaction: post sale services provided by life insurance providers” under the guidance of Dr. Sunil Kumar Kadyan has been carried out by me and to the best of my knowledge a similar work has not been submitted earlier. This report is being submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of “Master in Business istration – Insurance and Banking” from Amity Institute of Insurance, Banking and Actuarial Science (ASIBAS) – Noida.

___________________________ Bishal Deep Adhikari A2828414045 MBA- Insurance and Banking, 2014-2016

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Project Report is the culmination of the effort done over a period of 3 months. During the course of this project, I had the privilege to learn new things about research, meet people and persuade them to participate in the survey. I gratefully take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my mentor Dr. Sunil Kumar Kadyanand my most able faculty Mr. Rajesh Verma, Asst. Professorfor his active interest, timely encouragement, valuable suggestions and unceasing assistance and creative criticism at every stage of this project.

Date: _______________________ (Bishal Deep Adhikari) A2828414044 MBA- Insurance and Banking 2014-2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

1

Topics

Page No. 1

Introduction

2

1.1 Background 1.2 History of Insurance in India 1.3 Introduction to life insurance 1.4 Definition of Service 1.5 Service in modern economic 1.6 After-sale services in life insurance

4 5 11 12 14

2

Review of Literature

16

3

Research Problem

22

Objective and Scope of the study

25

4.1 Objective of the study

26

4.2 Scope of the study Research Methodology

26 27

5.1 Hypothesis

28

5.2 Research Design

28

5.3 Sample Design

29

5.4 Methods of Data Collection

29

5.5 Tools for Data Analysis Data Analysis

29 30

6.1 Scoring of items

31

6.2 Statistical tool

31

6.3 Reliability Analysis

31

6.4 Population and Sample characteristics

32

6.5 Correlation Analysis

35

6.6 Regression Analysis

37

7

Findings

40

8

Suggestions

42

9

Limitations of study

44

10

Scope for future research

46

Bibliography

48

4

5

6

Appendix

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

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1.1 Background It has been realized by all business firms that post sale services is a fundamental element of management philosophy and the key to its triumph lies in focusing ever more on the customer. That is, it will be the customer who will decide where the firm is heading. Thus the challenge before the firm is to ensure that they fulfill every customer. The objective of production is consumption and one’s own purpose will be served only if the end s’interests are attended to. There exists no doubt that the quality of the product or service will decide whether it matches the consumer expectations or not, but the firm must make all efforts to ensure that consumer satisfaction is achieved. In the new era of Globalization, there exists dynamic global business environment for insurance companies. Profound variations are taking place owing to the internationalization of activities, the entrance of new risks,new types of covers to match with new risks situations,and eccentric and revolutionized ideas on customer service. There exists pressure on insurer’s resources and a trial to be able to survive in the industry due to low growth rates in developed markets, changing customer needs, and the uncertain economic conditions in developing world. The entrances of modern competitors in the industry with new approaches and through new channels have created difficulties for traditional insurers. Opening up of new service markets to provide the developing countries with new opportunities for the expansion of trade and economic growth is the basic principle of globalization. Life style in both urban and rural areas of India has been transformed due to the rapidly changing economic scene, the political attitude social values and structures, cultural patterns, developments in Information Technology (IT). Their collective impact has introduced an element of doubt in the apparent development in all sectors. With all the other industry, the insurance industry also does not remain intact. The impact on international industrial world also exists due to development in other parts of the globe. As these nations are witnessing rapid changes in of financial and insurance market through bancassurance, replacement of reinsurance contracts by financial instruments, sale of insurance through unconventional distribution channels and consolidation through mergers and acquisitions the impacts are unavoidable.

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Although insurance industry in India was a monopoly market till 2000, Insurance industry is going through cut-throat competition because a number of players have entered into Indian market in the form of t ventures with Indian private sector partners. Today, it has been made imperative for insurance companies to operate outside national boundaries as Indian insurance industry has closely integrated with world economy. Before 2000, at the time of monopoly, the government tried changing the procedure without going into the root cause. The deregulation requires the ample changes in the character and basic policies of the industry. In view of that, Indian insurance companies have countered positively to the constraints of globalization.Especially, private sector has introduced new policies of insurance which were long awaited by the people of India. This gave significant and boost to the insurance business in India. In the globalized reality today, insurance companies are facing a dynamic business environment. There exists a cut-throat competition in the market. The traditional business focus of acquiring a new customer has now been shifted more towards retaining the existing customer. Especially in life insurance industry retaining the customer is very important because life insurance products are long-term contracts and if a customer is lost the company is deprive from huge sum of money in form of . Therefore, keeping a customer satisfied is very important in life insurance industry and this can be achieved by continuous effort of fulfilling the customers’ desires and keeping them happy even after the sale of the policy. Insurance companies are facing competition from within and overseas. The prudent management accepting or adjusting maneuvers and strategies can always help to transform this problem-situation into an opportunity.Being the information-driven approach to customer analysis and process automation; and thereon complement customer-value proposition, providing post-sale services can be the measure of winning competitiveness. An action on tangible services – prompt and accurate issue of document, prompt and fair settlement of claim,good listening mechanism, better problem solving approach, reliable manner of service and meeting requirement of customers on time every time - in lieu of intangible promises would give utmost satisfaction to customers. This would retain the

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existing customers and would also help to create positive word-of-mouth publicity thus leading to acquisition of new customers. 1.2 History of insurance in India The concept of insurance has evolved over last 300 years. It was in the 18th century when for issuing life policies in UK societies began to be formed. Amongst such societies, the imperative ones were the Amicable Society (1705), the Equitable Assurance Society (1762), the Westminster Society. Even in ancient India, the practice of insurance was ubiquitous even though it was in another form with the similar underlying objective. From the ancient Indian text of Rig-Veda, the concept of “Yogakshema” (the wellbeing, prosperity, security of the society) originated.The practices of insurance have also been developed by The Indus valley. With the arrival of Europeans, the modern concept of insurance came to India. In 1818, Oriental Life Insurance Company, the first life insurance company was established in India by Europeans for the welfare of widows of Europeans. Thereafter many of the companies hovered looking after European interest and even charged extra on Indian lives. Established in 1870, Bombay mutual life assurance society Ltd. was the first to stop this discrimination. This was the year in which the first Insurance Act was ed by the British Parliament. Thereafter, the insurance business started to blossom.There were 245 insurance companies and provident societies, out of which 16 were non-Indian companies, by the year 1955. With a view to consolidate and amend the law relating to the business of insurance, a comprehensive legislation “The Insurance Act 1938” was ed. With the effect from July 01, 1939, the act came into force.It was then modified in 1950. The government was prompted to nationalize in 1972 through GIC Act 1972 for the broader objectives of socialism. LIC has a pre accomplished market leadership which makes it difficult for the new players to compete. It is the fact that cannot be denied because LIC has enjoyed a dominant market of life insurance for a long period of time. While the new players struggle to increase their market in India, LIC continue to leverage advantage of its old establishment and government for maintaining its growth.

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By incorporating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1956, life insurance in India was nationalized. At that time,all private life insurance companies were taken over by LIC. To lay down a road map for privatization of the life insurance sector, RN Malhotra Committee was appointed by the Government of India in 1993. The committee submitted its report in 1994. After six years of the report being submitted, in the year 2000 the enabling legislation was ed. This legislation was for amending the insurance Act of 1938 and for legislating the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act 2000. In the same year, the newly appointed insurance regulator – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) – started issuing licenses to private life insurers. As the sector was opened up for the private and foreign players in year 2000, life insurance sector in India started growing rapidly. In the last decade of the 20th century, India watched history repeat itself. After 1991 with the implementation of the New Industrial Policy by the government, the country underwent a major wave of globalization. Strategic sectors such as the banking and the financial sector were reformed. In the Indian insurance industry as well, time had come for the policymakers to introspect the current policies. Committees on insurance sector reforms followed suit and it was found that till the last 20th century, India had continued to be one of the least insured countries. According to experts, within the industry, customer service, insurance coverage, allocation of resources needed to be improved. Thus, it was recommended that in order to enhance competition, the industry should be opened up. With the aim of increasing contribution to the GDP and to the society, the life insurance was liberalized. 1.3 Introduction to Life insurance Insurance is a contract for payment of a sum of money to the person assured, or failing him/her to the person entitled to receive the same, on the happening of the event insured by the contract. Life Insurance is a contract where by the insurer undertakes to pay annuity or a certain sum of money either on the death of insured or on expiry of a certain numbers of years in consideration of paid either in lump sum or in periodical installments. In another words, life insurance is a protection against the loss of income that would result if the insured ed away. The named beneficiary receives the proceeds and is thereby safeguarded from the financial impact of the death of the insured. In business life insurance 5

has definite advantages. It provides protection against premature death of of a staff, develops loyalty among employees if extended to them, ideal collateral security for securing loans and repayment of debts of business. Section 2 (ii) of the Insurance Act 1938 defines life insurance business as "the business of effecting tract upon life. It includes: a) Any contract whereby the payment of money is assured upon death (except death by accident only) or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life; b) Any contract which is subject to the payment of s for a term dependent on human life; c) Any contract which include the granting of disability and double or triple indemnity, accident benefits, the granting of annuities upon human life and the granting of superannuation allowances." Therefore if summarized in a nutshell, life insurance helps in two ways: premature death, which leaves dependent families to fend for itself and old age without visible means of .Unlike other forms of insurance, which insure against an event that may or may not happen, life insurance effectively insures against death, something that will definitely happen. Therefore Life insurance is also sometimes known as life assurance.Life insurance is universally recognized as an instrument to reduce risk, substitute certainty or uncertainty and safeguard timely assistance of the family in the ill-fated event of the death of the breadwinner. Sometimes it is also described as the civilized world's partial solution to the problems caused by death. To provide a measure of financial security for the family after the person es away, is the goal of a life insurance. Therefore one should consider the financial situation and the standard of living he wants to maintain for his dependents or survivors before purchasing a life insurance policy. It is wise to re-assess the life insurance policies annually or when one experiences a major life event like marriage, the birth or adoption of a child, or purchase of a major item such as a house or shop for business.

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The cost of life insurance differs depending on various individual circumstances. It depends on:   

The sum assured (the amount payable on a claim); The type of cover required; The age, state of health, occupation and lifestyle of the life assured (the person whose death



triggers payment under a policy); Any other factors that may affect the policy. Life Insurance Principles The principles which are applicable to life insurance are different from those of general insurance, they are as follows:



Utmost Good Faith Normally, the commercial contracts are subject to the principle of “Caveat Emptor” i.e. let the buyer beware. Each party can examine the items or services which is the subject matter of contract. For example: If someone goes to the fruit vendor to purchasesome fruits then he/she has to be careful about the quality while purchasing the fruits and after purchasinghe/she cannot question the seller. Each party keeps faith in the other party and believes in the statement of the other party. The question of avoiding the contract would not ariseas long as there is no attempt to mislead & the answers are given truthfully. The product sold in insurance contract is intangible. It cannot be seen or felt. Mostly, the proposer is only the party to know about most of the material facts relating to health, habits, personal history and family history. Only if the proposer decides to disclose these facts truthfully, the insurer can be able know most of these facts. It is true that the underwriter can have the assistance of medical report for life Insurance proposal. However, sometimes these aspects are not detected by the medical examination. For example, a person can manage to hide the facts of suffering from high B.P. or diabetes from the examining doctor. The facts like history of past serious sickness, operations and injuries can be suppressed. The life expectancy of the proposer may be affected by these aspects. Hence, from the underwriter’s point of view these constitute material information. The insurers as well as the community of policyholders are put in an unfavorable position due to non-disclosure of such. Because of 7

all these reasons the law levies a greater duty on the parties to an insurance contract than in case of other commercial contracts. This duty is one of utmost good faith (uberrima fides). To make a full disclosure to the underwriter without being asked is the duty of the assured. There is an implied condition that each party must disclose every material fact known to him in case of insurance contract. This type of contract is contract of utmost good faith also known as uberrima fides. Hence,whether requested or not, a positive duty to disclose accurately &completely all facts material to the risk being proposed is utmost good faith. The fact which influences the judgment of a prudent insurer in fixing the or determining whether to accept the risk is a material fact. Therefore, facts regarding age, height, weight, previous medical history, smoking/ drinking habits, operations, details of earlier insurances and hazardous occupation must be disclosed as they are all important to be considered while taking an insurance policy. There are certain facts, which need not be disclosed like: a) b) c) d)

Facts which everyone is supposed to know in general, Facts of common knowledge, Facts which lessen the risk, Facts which could be reasonably discovered by reference to previous policies records of which are available with the insurer. In insurance contract, the level of good faith required is above the level of what is required in the usual commercial transaction.



Insurable interest An insurable interest is necessary for the contract to be valid. It means a life or limb, property, potential liability, or financial interest should be involved. The insured should suffer loss due to the occurrence of the insured event. The loss should be pecuniary. Loss should be recognized by law e.g. Father has no insurable interest in the event of death of the son, unless the father can prove that he has a financial dependency on the son.

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Life Insurance Classes There are three main classes of life insurance. They are:   

Whole-life insurance, Term insurance, and Endowment Policies.



Whole-life insurance As the name infers, whole-life insurance policies provide cover for the whole of the policyholder’s life. The s decided must be paid on time to keep the policy in force. There are various categories of whole-life insurance policies. Some of them are:

 Without profit This type of policy provides a guaranteed sum at death. The amount chosen at the start remains the same throughout the life of the policy.  With profits This type of policy provides a guaranteed sum at death, plus a share of any profits from a special fund, which are added to the sum assured as bonuses. This can further be classified into two types. Conventional with profits:In this type the “reversionary” bonuses are added throughout the

i.

duration of the policy. Once added, they permanently increase the sum assured and cannot be removed. Unitized with profits:This is a type of unit-linked policy. It provides regular bonuses

ii.

(declared in advance) which are guaranteed not to fail.  Low cost It is a combination of with-profits and decreasing term assurance. The with-profits part is initially low, supplemented by the decreasing term assurance. Over the years, “bonuses” are added and the decreasing term assurance goes down.  Unit linked This type of policy provides combine guaranteed level of cover with an investment element. Returns on the policy depend on the performance of the fund to which they are linked. 

Term insurance

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The opposite of whole-life insurance is term insurance.This type of policy only provides temporary cover: a cash lump sum is only paid out if the life insured dies during the term selected for the policy at outset.If death does not occur during the term of the policy no payment is made and the policy comes to an end. One should note that most term insurance policies also include a terminal illness benefit, which means that in the event of a terminal illness being diagnosed the sum insured is paid out – it can therefore be thought of as an accelerated death benefit. The various types of term insurance policies are:  Level term In this type of policies the benefit payable on death remains the same throughout the term of the policy. After this date, the policy expires and has no value.  Decreasing term assurance Often referred as mortgage protection insurance, in this type of policy the initial sum assured decreases at a predetermined rate, until by the end of the term the cover is zero.  Convertible term assurance In this type of term insurance there is a variation on level term. It can be converted into a whole-life or endowment policy at any point before the term expires. No further evidence of health is required, provided the new policy is for no more than the original sum assured.  Family income benefit A special type of decreasing term policy, where the sum assured is to be paid out in installments rather than as a lump sum. Some policies are arranged to increase the income benefit by, say 3% or 5% each year, to help offset the effects of inflation. Typically the policy is linked to the age at which the youngest child will leave full-time education.  Renewable term assurance Similar to convertible term assurance, except the option is to replace the term policy with another one at the end of the term, without the need for evidence of health. The term commonly lasts five years and is renewable until the upper age limit (usually 65) is reached. Suitable for a young person with limited resources who needs life cover, as the initial will be low.  Increasing term assurance In this type of policy, the sum assured and automatically increase during the life of the policy, unless the policyholder requests otherwise. This policy allows the assured to protect against the effects of inflation. 10



Endowment policies These are the types of life insurance policies where the sum insured is payable on a fixed date - the maturity date - or on the life insured’s earlier death. The term is fixed and can be of 10, 15, 20 or 25 years. Endowments can be on a with-profits basis or unit-linked basis - although one should note that there is virtually no new business of with-profits endowments and the market for unitlinked business is much smaller than previous years. Low-cost and low-start versions are also available, but like the with-profit endowment virtually no new business of these products is now written. The criticisms leveled against with-profit endowments are their inflexibility and their low returns if policies are surrendered early. Surrender values can be less than the investor’s total contributions, even when the policy has been in force for half of its term. 1.4 Definition of service Because of their diversity, conventionally services have been challenging to define. The way in which services are produced and provided to customers is often hard to grip, since many inputs and outputs are intangible. Most individuals have slight trouble defining manufacturing or agriculture, but defining service can stump them. Here are two approaches that capture the spirit of the word. Approach 1: An act or performance offered by one party to another is a service. Even though the process may be tied to a physical product, the performance is fundamentally intangible and does not generally result in ownership of any of the factors of production. Approach 2: Services are economic undertakings that generate value and deliver benefits for customers at specific times and places, as an outcome of bringing about a wanted change in or on behalf of the receiver of the service. More amusingly, service has also been described as "something that may be bought and sold, but which cannot be dropped on your foot." 1.5 Service in Modern Economic 11

In today’s world, people use services every day. The examples of service consumption at the individual level can be turning on a light, watching TV, talking onthe telephone, riding a bus, visiting the dentist, mailing a letter, getting a haircut, refueling a car, writing a check, or sending clothes to the cleaners.Customers are not always much satisfied with the quality and value of the services they receive. Complains related to late deliveries, rude or incompetent personnel, inconvenient service hours, poor performance, and needlessly complicated procedures are not much difficult to find. They express frustration about mistakes on their credit card bills or bank statements, gripe about poor value, shake their heads over the complexity of new self-service equipment, grouse about the difficulty of finding sales clerks to help them in retail stores, and sigh as they are forced to wait in line almost everywhere they go. However, unlike consumers, suppliers of services often seem to have a very different set of concerns. Many suppliers complain about how hard it is to find skilled and motivated employees, how difficult it has become to please customers, or how difficult it is to make a profit. Some firms appear to think that the surest path to financial success rests in curtailing costs and disregarding "unnecessary" add-ons. Some of the firm even believe that they could have been much more efficient at running their operation if it weren’t for all the kind of customers who keep making unreasonable demands and messing things up. Fortuitously, in more or less every industry there are service suppliers who know how to gratify their customers while also running a productive, money-spinning operation supervised by pleasant and proficient employees. Researchers can extract imperative discernments about the most successful approaches to manage the different types of services found in today's economy which is known as service in insurance industry. Most of the companies have tried to create a combination program of sales and service for improving the system since they realized the importance of service. In this context Bruce Peeling (2004) states; Service and sales need to work together to understand the value we each create and to develop programs tly that will offer our targeted customers the added value they need to maintain long-term relationships.

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He also mentions; services are in front of customers more often than other channel partners and, as a result, generally have the greatest influence. That’s why we should start using service for what it is… a valuable tool in our sales toolbox. Through Micheal Porter’s (1980) value-chain analysis model the importance of customer service can be more recognized. As per this analysis, every activities of the entity are mapped into a value arrow. The total value created by the organization is represented by the right side of the arrow or that the customers are willing to pay i.e. revenue to the organization. Costs are incurred while creating those values and the difference between the revenue and these costs is the margin. In order to increase the margin, the enterprise can do many activities such as, increase value for customer (primary activities). The primary activities are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and continuing service.

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Posselt and Gerstner (2005) state that, there are two types of service for sales; service before the sales take place (pre-sale service), and after the sales is over (after sales service). 1.6 After Sales Service in Life Insurance The importance of after sales service in life insurance is significant as the customer purchases only these after sales services from the insurer. The customer does not get any physical product in this contract. By providing better after-sales services insurer can win a loyal customer as the customer feels that his is in safe and understanding hands. Life insurer should always try to keep their customer satisfied with proper care and whenever required by the customers. This helps to create a positive brand image. The loyal customer can always be a free marketer. Word-of-mouth publicity is one of the strongest way of marketing. If a customer is happy with the company, the company will be popular among the people through word-of-mouth publicity. However, the poor after sales services can lead to devastating impact on brand value of the company. Therefore, the focus on providing better after-sales service should always be a priority for life insurance companies. Some of the after sales services the life insurance companies can provide are: 1. Quick response to a customer’s enquiry. 2. Reminders/notices for payment of . 3. Quick and hassle free effecting corrections/amendments in policy like change of nominee, address, etc. whenever required by the insured. 4. Proper documentations of statements, receipts, contracts, claims and other documents. 5. Keeping the customers well updated about various schemes, products and material changes related to the Acts or anything that can alter the policy conditions. 6. Proper attitude towards the customers. 7. Proper attention and acknowledgement towards the complaints/ of the customers. 8. In case of money back policies, timely payment of money back amounts. 9. to insured during assignment of policy for getting bank loan. 10. Quick and hassle-free claim settlement.

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CHAPTER II REVIEWOF LITERATURE

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Review of Literature A relationship between a company and a customer has previously been based on a productcentric view; however, today’s relationship between the two parties has taken a shift and customers are the main focus in maintaining relationships (Gaiardelli et al., 2007). Creating a good relationship is to generate value for both ends: seller and buyer (Cannon &Perreault, 1999; Palmatier et al., 2006). A crucial element in differentiating a company’s offer and excelling in meeting customers’ needs is by providing services (Anderson &Narus, 1995). Moreover, after-sales service is considered as a tool for enhancing a valuable advantage for the customer as well as it is a business opportunity for the company (Saccani et al., 2007). It is clear that services are becoming a more important component of every firm’s business, even if the firm’s main businesses are physical products (Blythe and Zimmerman 2005, p155). In practice, “customer service has moved from descriptive and reactive activity of 1970s to a proactive management task of the 1990s” (Lalondeetal. 1988). Recent evidence shows that improving the quality of customer service is a key to achieving a competitive advantage; a good “product” is necessary, but not sufficient to compete in today’s marketplace (Barnes, 1993). According to Asugman, Johnson and McCullough (1997), customer service provides one important means by which a company can tailor its offerings to the needs and desires of its customers. By offering good service, a company assures consumers that it stands behind its products and projects a reliable and high quality image. Customer services offered after the sales transaction is completed are of crucial importance in this respect. (Cohen and Lee 1990) Rigopoulou, et al., (2008) described aftersales services as services that are provided to the customer after the products have been delivered. Cavalieri, et al., (2007) viewed after-sales service as those activities occurring after the purchase of the product and devoted to ing the customer in the usage and disposal of the goods. Urbaniak, (2001) defined after sales service as those activities that enhance or facilitate the role and use of the product. 16

(Asugman, et al., 1997) defined after sales service as those activities in which a firm engages after purchase of its product that minimize potential problems related to product use, and maximize the value of the consumption experience. Ehinlanwo and Zairi, (1996) also defined after sales service as “all activities geared towards maintaining the quality and reliability of the car carried out after the customer has taken delivery with the goal of ensuring customer satisfaction.’ Relationships between buyers and sellers can be seen as the one between husbands and wives (Levitt, 1983; Dwyer et al., 1987; Morgan & Hunt, 1994; Wilson, 1995; Zineldin, 2002; Celuch et al., 2006; Kandampully, 2010). The relationship linking a buyer and a seller seldom ends after a purchase transaction; the outline of the relationship affects the decision of the buyer on the next round of purchase (Levitt, 1983). It is well known that the margin from after-sales service is much larger than that from the product. That is, aftersales service is considered a key revenue generator in certain categories (Cohen et al., 2006; Cohen and Whang, 1997). Hence, on one hand, offering a large number of extra after-sales service plans to consumers, leads to higher profitability. Recent marketing management focuses on lifetime value of a customer and maintaining long-term relationships with customers (Gupta and Lehmann, 2007). According to Levitt (1983), the sale of a product is only the beginning of a seller-buyer relationship where the long-term bond between the two parties is the key for long-term profitability enhancing the fact that after-sales services are crucial in a company to stay competitive and to collect profits. There are several classifications of activities within aftersales services; to mention few: customer , product , technical and service (Goffin& New, 2001). After-sales has many times been classified as a business network process, due to the fact that it has a direct impact on the overall business performance and the competitive advantage (Earl & Kahn, 1994). The activities within a business can be provided through alternative channels and actors, or through multiple channels and actors concurrent. The services could be complementary, like field assistance and customer care, or they could be competing services, such as field assistance provided through repair centers or by authorized assistance networks. Internet has also provided at after-sales service channel which has made it possible for companies to have more touch 17

points with its customer, therefore made it easier to perform the activity of customer care (ibid). According to Saccani, et al. (2007), after-sales could be seen as a business, consisting of multiple activities. Further on, there are three major activities critical to after-sales’ success, these are: field technical assistance, spare parts distribution and customer care (Saccani et al., 2007). After-sales service is regarded as an important factor that has an impact on establishing good relationships with customers. On the other hand, a default and free basic after-sales service, also plays an important role in attracting more customer attention in a market with severe brand competition (Chien, 2005). Offering adequate after-sales service to customers has become a major generator of revenue, profit, and competency in modern industries (Cohen et al., 2006; Cohen and Kunreuther, 2007). Accepting the claim that returning customers are the most profitable ones, as they require less marketing effort and relationship building, after-sales service acquires a critical role as a means to achieve customer satisfaction and retention (Alexander et al., 2002). The after-sales service constitutes a means to uncover customer needs and a strategic driver for customer retention. It represents, in fact, “one of the few constant connections that customers have with a brand” (Gallagher et al., 2005), influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, after-sales service is a way to allow a continuous improvement of product design and quality (Armistead and Clark, 1992; Cohen and Whang, 1997; Thoben et al., 2001). The perception of after-sales as a source of competitive advantage and business opportunity requires a shift from a traditional product-centric view, in which after-sales is considered a “necessary evil” (Lele,1997) to customer-centric view. Goffin and New, (2001) discovered that after-sales services maximize the value extracted by customers over the entire product life cycle. Kurata and Nam, 2010; and Ahn and Sohn, (2009) agreed that after-sales services can create sustainable relationships with customers and contribute significantly to customer satisfaction by offering different after-sales services during the various stages of the primary product lifecycle, the provider can ensure product functionality and thereby customer satisfaction. This may lead to a fruitful relationship between the provider and the customer over time, allowing for more transactions.

18

Perspectives of relationship marketing can be described as targeting profitable customers using strongest possible strategies for customer bonding, and building trust as a marketing tool (Berry, 1995). There are various activities which are dedicated towards enhancing relationship with customers (Pendapudi& Berry, 1997) and after-sales service lengthens interactions with customers and provides basis for influencing and developing the relationship (Brax, 2005). Lawler Edward (1995) explained that companies are successful which possess quality service in the top of their vision list. Protective Life Insurance Company depended on Loma’s FOCUS Customer Service Survey to get from customers on how they were being served. They measured customer satisfaction differently and determined the most common causes for customer dissatisfaction and to eliminate them. The Insurance companies basically have similar products, similar services, and similar technology. In fact, everything the company does was tied to its core values which inurn tied with its employee’s performance. Employees agree with this continuous improvement process. They conclude as people never like to buy insurance, so service provider must make it as easy and pleasant as possible and that was one focus of continuous improvement in service provided for the benefit of the customer. Dr Jack West and Dr. John Ryan (2006) explained satisfaction with quality as a cumulative experience rather than a most-recent transaction experience. Companies that have more effective quality management systems improve the quality of their goods and services faster than those that do not. The differences between service quality and product quality are explained as most of the products are produced by machines with highly defined and controlled processes. On the other hand, most services are the result of an interaction between two persons. Since people are inherently more variable than machines there are more opportunities for defects to occur in the delivery of a service. Because of this variability, many service providers operate in a response mode where the conditions change constantly as the service transaction progresses. As a result, it was difficult to predict and script in advance. Ramesh Jain (1980) conducts a case study at Sagar branch, Calcutta, of Life Insurance Company view the spread of life insurance in a particular area and to channelize the 19

mobilized saving for nation building activities. Analyzing the processing of procurement of insurance business and istration of Life Insurance Company in branch level, the study also brings out the growth of total new business and about 30% of Life Insurance Companies individual assurance business originated from the rural sector - it adds to the privilege of Life Insurance Company to contribute their investments to many of the vital projects and schemes under 20 point programmes. The findings of the study were to establish servicing center to have continuous interaction with the policyholders and the Sagar branch has still greater potentialities of expansion in rural area. Venkatesh, N.C. (1987) in his article entitled “On the Trail of Better Service” has discussed the importance of better and personal servicing to the customers and has emphasized the importance of satisfying the policyholders. Parmjit and Meenakshi (2010) studied explores factors which are important determinants of customer satisfaction in case of life insurance customers, to see how much effect the factors have on overall customer satisfaction; and identify the common grievances of customers with regard to their life insurance policies. They restricted their study in the tri-city of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. The factors identified for overall customer satisfaction are customized and timely service, Brand USP Considerate employees Price Immunity and their results indicate that satisfaction with product offerings is the primary driver of overall customer satisfaction in case of insurance policies, even if the after sale service is not up to the satisfaction level. Customers were satisfied with their insurance policies but they were not satisfied with the quality of agents. Studies about after-sales services have proven the importance of having a strategic aftersales framework (Lele, 1997; Gaiardelli et al., 2007; Zackariasson& Wilson, 2004); however, there exists the research gap on intensive after-sales study within a specific industry (Gaiardelli et al., 2007).

20

CHAPTER III RESEARCH PROBLEM

21

Research Problem Porter (1980) suggested that there are two ways that a firm can succeed relative to its competitors. Firm should either become low cost provider or develop a sustainable differentiation of the firm’s product. In his expressions, “Differentiation is the ability to provide unique and superior value to the buyer in of product quality, special features, or after-sales service.” An effective path to differentiation and competitive advantage can be paved by product quality. After-sales service is one among many ways to enhance consumer perceptions of product quality. These after sales services can be considered as integral component of enhanced product as they add value to the product itself. However, poor after sales services also has huge consequences on company situation. It has been found that often the customers downgrade high-quality products because of poor customer service and unresolved post-purchase customer complaints. The aftermath is loss of repeat sales resulted from the dissatisfaction among customers. In many cases, in order to promote the product and create the better image for company, after sales service is being used as a competitive tool. For long time, the preoccupation of after sales has been equipment breakdown and the concomitant need for repair services and spare parts. Now, a change in concept can be observed in an effort to obtain competitive advantage based on a wider view of customer service (Herve and Roy, 1999). Not only for manufacturers but the value of after sales service is equally important for distributors as well. In recent days, even in a distribution environment the demand for service has steadily increased. Today’s firms need to re-evaluate their existing distribution and post sales service channels and make adjustments whenever necessary in order to compete effectively in the market place. There are many literaturesaboutthe marketing and management issues that recognizesthe importance of customer satisfaction for business. However, rather than focusing on how to satisfy and create loyal customers research the concentration has been more on discussing 22

how to increase customer sales. The services are visible to the customer, in businesses where services are part of the business. Hence, it is quite natural that such services have a major impact on the customer satisfaction. In particular after sales services in service industry have received very little attention in the management literature. We can find many articles and research papers about the significance of after sales service for goods manufacturer but there exists very little research about the necessity of after-sales service for service provider and particularly a life insurance provider. At last, by using the proper data collection method and research strategy, I try to find out the customers’ viewpoint of after-sales service provided by their life insurance companies and explain the advantages of after-sales service which encourage the life insurance companies for providing it.

23

CHAPTER IV OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

24

Objectives 

To find out different post-sale services that the customers desire from their life insurance



companies. To identify the importance of post-sale services by life insurance providers for customers’



satisfaction. To suggest the initiatives required by life insurance companies in order to maintain post sale services.

Scope 

The scope of my research is limited to the area of Delhi-NCR. The study is focused on finding the level of customers’ satisfaction on after-sale services provided by the life



insurance providers in India. Ten independent variables were considered to conduct this study with satisfaction as the



dependent variable. This research has been conducted for a period of over 3 months.

25

CHAPTER V RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

26

5.1Hypothesis H1:Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Time Taken to respond enquiry H2: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Payment Reminders H3: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Effecting Amendments or changes with ease H4: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Documentations H5: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Updating Customers H6: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Attitudes of employees towards customers H7: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Attention to H8: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Timely Payment of Money back amounts H9: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to during assignment of policy for getting bank loan H10: Customer Satisfaction is positively and significantly related to Hassle-free Claim Settlement

5.2 Research Design The research design used to conduct this research is Causal Research. It is conducted in order to identify the extent and nature of cause and effect relationships. It also determines how the dependent variable changes with variations in the independent variables.

27

5.3 Sample Design Target Population Customer of life insurance companies having at least one life insurance policy from the life insurance companies of India. Sample Frame Residents of Delhi-NCR who have at least one life insurance policy fromthe life insurance companies of India. Sample Size 200 respondents were considered to conduct this research. Sample Unit Each customer having a life insurance policy from within a Delhi-NCR region. Sampling Method Convenient Sampling method is used to conduct the research. 5.4 Method of data collection 

Survey has been done to collect the data .

Tool used for data collection Questionnaire is used as the toll for data collection 5.5 Tools for data analysis SPSS version 20 software was used to do data analysis. Data Analysis Tool Multiple regression analysis is used as the data analysis tool.

28

CHAPTER VI DATA ANALYSIS

29

6.1 Scoring of items For the dependent variable i.e. Customer Satisfaction, score 1 is assigned if the response is “Not at all satisfied”, score 2 is assigned if the response is “Somewhat satisfied”, score 3 is assigned if the response is “Satisfied”, score 4 is assigned if the response is “Very satisfied” and score 5 is assigned if the response is “Delighted”. Similarly for the independent variables, Score 1 is assigned if the response is “Extremely Poor”, 2 for “Poor”, 3 for “Neither poor nor good”, 4 for “Good” and 5 for “Extremely Good”. 6.2 Statistical Tool To perform data analysis, SPSS version 20 had been used and to do regression the following has been considered. Y= α + ∑ βn Xn+ei Where Y is a dependent variable andX are independent variables. 6.3 Reliability Analysis Reliability analysis showed that there is no need to delete any item as the value of alpha was more than 75%. Case Processing Summary N Valid Cases

Excluded Total

% 200

100.0

0

.0

200

100.0

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

30

Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.939

11

6.4 Population and Sample The target population for this study is the people having one or more life insurance policies in Delhi/NCR region. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and convenient sampling technique was used.

Sample Characteristics Out of 200 respondents, 

Gender:126 were male and 74 were female.

Gender Male

Female

37% 63%

31



Age: 91 were between 20-30, 63 were between 30-40, 24 were between 0-50, 19 were between 50-60 and 3 were above 60.

Age Distribution 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Number of Respondents 30 20 10 0



Annual Income: 23 earn below 2 lakhs, 79 earn 2-5 lakhs, 82 earn between 5-10 lakhs and 16 earn between 10-20 lakhs.

Income distribution

Number of Respondents

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

32



Number of Life Insurance policies:  152 had only 1 policy, 39 had 2 policies and 9 had 3 policies.

Number of policies Only 1 policy

2 policies

3 policies

5% 20%

76%



Type of Policies taken:  192 had one or two endowment plans. 26 had whole life plans. 34 had term plans and only 7 had ULIP.

Types of plans taken 200 180 160 140 120 Number of Respondents

100 80 60 40 20 0

6.5Correlation Analysis 33

Endowment

Term

Whole life

ULIP

Timetakentores pondtoenquiry

pay mentnotices

Effectinga mendment s or changes

Docume Updating ntations customers

Timetakentorespon dtoenquiry

1

paymentn otices

.461

1

Effecting amendments or changes

.628

.304

1

Documentations

.691

.274

.707

1

Updatingcustomers

.592

.274

.753

.671

1

Attitudestowardscu stomers

.746

.456

.751

.807

.630

Attentiontocomplai nts

.557

.200

.419

.416

.495

Timelypaymentofm oneybackamounts

.653

.272

.662

.627

.430

duringassig nmentofpolicy

.459

.311

.697

.635

.538

Claims

.706

.353

.583

.751

.658

Customersatisfactio n

.888

.481

.792

.851

.665

34

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level 2-tailed. *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level 2-tailed.

Attitudest owardscus tomers

Attentionto complaints

Timelyp aymento dur fmoneyb ingassignm ackamo entofpolicy unts

Claims

Customersa tisfaction

Timetakentores pondtoenquiry payme ntnotices Effecting amendments or changes Documentations Updatingcustom ers Attitudestoward scustomers

1

Attentiontocom plaints

.565

1

Timelypayment ofmoneybackam ounts

.695

.151

1

duringas signmentofpolic y

.632

.394

.472

1

Claims

.797

.534

.470

.533

1

Customersatisfa ction

.948

.597

.734

.666

.841

1

From the two correlation tables, the value of α of satisfaction with itself is 1 and the correlation between Satisfaction and Time taken to respond to enquiry is 0.888 which shows 35

that both the variables are highly significant. The correlation between Satisfaction and payment reminder is 0.481 which shows that the variables are significant. The correlation between Satisfaction and Updating Customers is 0.665 which shows that they are significant. The correlations between Satisfaction and Documentations, Effecting changes or amendments easily and Attitude of employees towards customersare 0.851, 0.792 and 0.948respectively which shows they are highly significant. The correlations between Satisfaction and Attention to complaints and during assignment of policy for getting bank loan are 0.596 and 0.666 respectively which shows they are significant. The correlations between Satisfaction and Timely payment of money back amounts and Claims settlement are 0.734 and 0.841 which shows they are highly significant. This shows that the dependent variable i.e. Customer satisfaction is positively related to all the considered independent variables. 6.6Regression Analysis Regression Statistics Multiple R

0.998

R Square

0.996

Adjusted R Square

0.996

Standard Error

0.05149

From the above table, adjusted R square is 0.996 which means that Customer satisfaction is very much dependent which is 99.6% on the independent variables i.e. Time taken to respond to enquiry, payment reminders, attitude of employees towards customers, effecting amendments/changes easily, attention to complaints/s, documentations, updating customers, timely payment of money back amounts, during assignment of policy to get bank loan and hassle-free claims and 0.4% is affected by other factors.

36

Coefficients

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

T

Sig.

-11.900

.000

B

Std. Error

Beta

(Constant)

-.355

.030

Timetakentorespondtoenquir y

.268

.008

.301

31.967

.000

paymentnotices

.058

.007

.045

7.700

.000

Effecting amendments or changes

.161

.011

.149

14.747

.000

Documentations

.145

.011

.123

12.871

.000

Updatingcustomers

-.152

.011

-.117

-14.030

.000

Attitudestowardscustomers

.304

.012

.321

24.689

.000

Attentiontocomplaints

.072

.008

.067

9.153

.000

Timelypaymentofmoneyback amounts

.088

.011

.068

7.685

.000

duringassignmentofp olicy

.045

.007

.048

6.815

.000

Claims

.188

.011

.161

17.399

.000

Dependent Variable: Customer Satisfaction From the table, we can state that Time taken to respond to enquiry, payment reminders, attitude of employees towards customers, effecting amendments/changes easily, attention to complaints/s, documentations, updating customers, timely payment of money back amounts, during assignment of policy to get bank loan and hassle-free claims are highly significant and have positive impact on Customer Satisfaction as p value is less than 0.05.

37

38

CHAPTER VII FINDINGS

39

Findings Out of 200 respondents,  





Number of Life Insurance policies taken:  152 had only 1 policy, 39 had 2 policies and 9 had 3 policies. Type of Policies taken:  192 had one or two endowment plans. 26 had whole life plans. 34 had term plans and only 7 had ULIP. Satisfied with their life insurance companies:  7 were Not at all satisfied, 34 were somewhat satisfied, 118 were satisfied, 34 were very satisfied and 7 were delighted. Customer satisfaction is very much dependent which is 99.6% on the independent variables i.e. Time taken to respond to enquiry, payment reminders, attitude of employees towards customers, effecting amendments/changes easily, attention to complaints/s, documentations, updating customers, timely payment of money back amounts, during assignment of policy to get bank loan and hassle-free



claims and 0.4% is affected by other factors. Time taken to respond to enquiry, payment reminders, attitude of employees towards

customers,

effecting

amendments/changes

easily,

attention

to

complaints/s, documentations, updating customers, timely payment of money back amounts, during assignment of policy to get bank loan and hassle-free claims are highly significant and have positive impact on Customer Satisfaction as p 

value is less than 0.05. Out of 193 respondents who were even somewhat satisfied with their life insurance company, 173 said that they might probably recommend their insurers to others. All the 7 dis-satisfied respondents said that they will definitely not recommend their insurers to others.

40

CHAPTER VIII SUGGESTIONS

41

Suggestions 

Life insurance companies should concentrate more on customer care services and other



after-sale services. Life insurance companies should try to properly avail all the post-sale services to their



customers in an effective way. All of the after-sale services mentioned should be taken into consideration almost equally because almost all of them are very significant and highly affect the level of



customer satisfaction. Since all the unsatisfied customers said that they will definitely not recommend their insurers to others, insurance companies must know how negative word-of-mouth publicity may affect their company if poor after-sale services are delivered. Hence they should try to find out the customers who are unhappy and try to resolve their problems.

42

CHAPTER IX LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

43

Limitations 

This study is limited to the customers of the Indian life insurance companies who are

  

having at least one life insurance policy. This study is also limited to the respondents based in Delhi/NCR region. This study is limited to ten independent variables. Due to time and resource constraints, convenient sampling technique was used.

44

CHAPTER X SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

45

Scope for future research 

This study has provided us with an idea of how important after-sale services are in life



insurance industry in order to keep a customer satisfied. This research can open doors for future research in this area as only limited amount of research has been carried out regarding the post-sale services provided by life insurance



companies and their significance for customer satisfaction. These researches are necessary as this research has shown how customer satisfaction is affected by different after-sales services. Ultimately satisfaction of customers leads to



better performance of life insurance companies. Sample of 200 respondents only was considered in this research and the future researchers can take into a good and a valid sample size to conduct the research where more general conclusions can be drawn.

46

REFERENCES

47

References 

Asugman G., Johnson J. L. and McCullough J. (1997) “The role of after-sales service in



international marketing” Journal of International Marketing, 5 (4), pp. 11-28. Anderson, E.W., Fornell, C., Rust, R.T. (1997), Customer Satisfaction, Productivity, and Profitability: Differences between Goods and Services. School of Business



istration University of Michigan. Marketing Service, 16(2)129-145 Bhave, A. (2002), “Customer Satisfaction Measurement, Featured Article, Symphony



Technologies”, Quality and Productivity Journal, February Brax S. (2005) “A manufacturer becoming service provider – challenges and a paradox”



Managing Service Quality, 15 (2), pp. 142-155. Bundschuh R. G. and Dezvane T. M. (2003) “How to make after sale services pay off”



The McKinsey Quarterly, 4 (2), pp. 116-127. Cannon J. P. and Perreault Jr. W. D. (1999) “Buyer-seller relationships in business



markets” Journal of Marketing Research, 36 (4), pp. 439-460. Cavalieri S., Gaiardelli P. and Ierace S. (2007) “Aligning strategic profiles with operational metrics in after-sales service” International Journal of Productivity and



Performance Management, 56 (5), pp. 436-455. Celuch K. G., Bantham J. H. and Kasouf C. J. (2006) “An extension of the marriage methaphor in buyer-seller relationships: An exploration of individual level process



dynamics” Journal of Business Research, 59 (5), pp. 573-581. Chien Y. H. (2007) “Determining optimal warranty periods from the sellers perspective and optimal out-of-warranty replacement age from the buyer’s perspective” International



Journal of Systems Science, 36 (10), pp. 631-637. Cohen MA, Whang S (1997). Competing in product and service: a product life-cycle model. Manage. Sci., 43(4): 535-45. Cohen MA, Agrawal N, Agrawal V (2006).



Winning in the aftermarket. Harv. Bus. Rev., 84(5): 129–138. Dennis, M./Kambi, A. (2003): Service Management – Building Profits After the Sale,



Supply Chain Management Review, January 2003, 42-48. Gaiardelli P., Saccani N. and Songini L. (2007) “Performance measurement of the aftersales service network- Evidence from the automotive industry” Computers in Industry,

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58 (7), pp. 698-708. Gautam, V. and Kumar, M. (2012). A Study on Attitudes of Indian Consumers towards Insurance. Services Management Research and Practice, 4 (1), pp. 51-62.

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

Kuhlemeyer, G. A. and Allen, G. H. (1999). Consumer Satisfaction with Life banking: A



Benchmarking Survey. Financial Counseling and Planning, 10 (2), pp. 35-44. Lele M (1997). After-sales service—necessary evil or strategic opportunity? Full Text

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via CrossRef. Manag. Serv. Qual., 7(3): 141– 145. McCollough, M.A., Berry, L.L., Yadav, M.S. (2000), “An empirical investigation of



customer satisfaction after service failure”, Journal of Services Research, 3:121-137 Shaharudin, MR. Muzani, K. Yusof, M. (2009), „Factors Effecting Customer Satisfaction in After Sales Service of Malaysian Electronic Business Market”, Canadian Social



Science, 5(6): 10-18 Vavra, Terry G. (1994), "Selling after the sale: The advantages of aftermarketing",

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Supervision, Burlington, Oct, 1994, Vol. 55, Iss. 10, 9-11, 21. Vavra, Terry G. (1995), "Aftermarketing: How to Keep Customers for Life through Relationship Marketing", McGraw-Hill, New York, USA.

49

APPENDIX SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE SECTION A

1. Name ________________________________________________ 2. Age □ Below 20 □ 20-30 □ 30-40 □ 40-50 □ 50-60 □ Above 60 3. Gender □ Male □ Female 4. Marital Status □ Single □ Married □ Widowed □ Divorced 5. Occupation □ Business □ Employed □ Self-employed □ Professional □ Retired 6. Annual Income □ Below 2 lakhs □ 2-5 lakhs □ 5-10 lakhs □ 10-20 lakhs

□ Above 20 lakhs SECTION B

7. How many life insurance policies have you purchased? Number: _______________ 8. What kind of life insurance policies, have you taken? □Term Plan □ Endowment □ Whole-life □ ULIP □ Others (Specify)___________________________ 9. How important do you feel post-sale services in life insurance is to keep customer satisfied? □ Very important

□ Important

□

Neither important nor unimportant □ Unimportant □ Very Unimportant 10. Have you received the policy bond within 15 days from the date of paying first ? □ Yes □ No 11. For each of the following statements please indicate one of the five categories by placing (

) depending on your satisfaction level you feel about your life

insurance company. Here, Extremely Poor = 1, Poor = 2, Neither poor nor good = 3, Good = 4, Extremely good = 5 S.No.

Statements 50

1

2

3

4

5

a.

Time taken to respond to your enquiry

b.

payment notices/reminders

c.

Effecting corrections/amendments in policy like change of

d.

nominee, address,etc. Documentations of statements, receipts, contracts, claims

e.

and other documents Keeping you with updated information

f.

Attitudes of company employees towards you

g.

Attention given to your complain/

h.

In case of money back policies, timely payment of money

i.

back amounts of insurer during assignment of policy for getting

j.

bank loan Claim Settlement

12. Rate the following statements from 1 to 10 as per their importance level on customer satisfaction, ‘1 being Most important’ and ‘10 being Least important’. S.No

Statements

. a. Time taken to respond to your enquiry b. payment notices/reminders c. Effecting corrections/amendments in policy like change of nominee, address,etc. d. Documentations of statements, receipts, contracts, claims and other documents e. Keeping you with updated information f.

Attitudes of company employees to you

g. Attention given to your complain/

51

Rating

h. In case of money back policies, timely payment of money back i.

amounts of insurer during assignment of policy for getting bank loan

j.

Claim Settlement

13. Overall, how satisfied are you with your life insurance provider? □ Not at all satisfied □ Somewhat satisfied □ Satisfied □ Very Satisfied □ Delighted 14. Compared to how you felt about the company before you purchased the life policy, what is the likelihood of purchasing another life insurance policy from your insurer? □ Better, based on performance □ About the same □ Worse, based on performance 15. Based on your experience with the company, would you recommend this company to a friend? □ Definitely will □ Probably will not

□ Probably will □ Definitely will not

THANK YOU !!!

52

□ Might or might not