"Instead of pushing policies down the throat we educate the customer and offer guidance on how much insurance the individual needs, an approach that is slowly paying off."
- A private insurance advisor, in 2001.
In July 2002, India's state owned insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) announced aggressive marketing plans with a budget of around Rs 1 billion. The aim of this unusual decision was to woo customers across the country through a multimedia campaign including advertisements on the radio and the press media, the outdoor media and the television. However, this did not come as a major surprise to industry observers who said that LIC did not have too many options. With the insurance bill being passed in 2000, the Indian insurance sector saw a host of private players enter the market with multinationals as their partners. These new players resorted to aggressive marketing and advertisement strategies – something the market had never seen earlier. This sudden spurt of advertisements and awareness programs was visible on all the media channels.
Print, electronic and outdoor advertisements of the new private insurers flooded could be seen everywhere. This prompted many comparisons of such behavior of insurance companies with the advertising frenzy of the dotcoms in India not too long ago – with similar full-page advertisements, huge hoardings and costly electronic media advertisements. |
The life insurance industry in India dates back to 1818, when a British firm Oriental Life Insurance Company opened its office in Kolkata, followed by Bombay Life Assurance Company in 1823. During the British rule in India, 'The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act' was enacted in 1912, which was followed by the Indian Insurance Companies Act, 1928 enabling government to collect the data regarding life and non-life business conducted by both Indian and foreign insurance companies.
Life Insurance Marketing in India (A) The Changing Advertising & Promotion Norms - Next Page >>>
Case Code : MKTG026
Themes: Advertising and Promotion
Case Length : 11 Pages
Period : 2000-2002
Organization : ICICI Prudential, Max New York Life, ETC
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Insurance
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