Bancassuarance

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BANCAASSURANCE PRODUCTS

OF THE INDIAN BANKING COMPANIES. A SYUDY WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KERALA

INTRODUCTION

Both the term banking and insurance are the financial service industries which are beneficial to the customers forever. Untill recently banking and insurance had been two strictly segregated areas of activity. Now this position has changed. The era of privatization, liberalization, Deregulation and globalization has let loose a sense of urgency in most of the sectors and insurance is no exception. This sector too has been exposed to new challenges of competition and struggle for survival. The opening up of insurance market for private players by IRDA from November 1999 has allowed us to witness a new face of development. As a result, banking and insurance actors to combine their strengths and create a new form of marketing so that the vast untapped potential of growth could be tapped. The joining of the two sectors i.e banking and insurance is commonly known as bancassurance. Bancassurance is a French term, used for the situation when the insurance companies offer their products through the traditional distribution channels of the banking services, which translates into offering both banking and insurance services under one roof. Both banks and insurance companies have a huge customer network and the supporting infrastructure which can be used in cross selling each other’s products. Both life and non-life insurance products can be marketed through banks. However, life insurance selling has been more preferred, because savings is common factor and easily appreciated in both insurance and banking. More over the non-life insurance products of most of the leading banking companies are still have in experimental stage.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study lays emphasis on emerging competition in the field of insurance and banking sector

and its impact on customers. Bancassurance has enormous scope in Kerala where people are either...