RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

ON

A STUDY ON IMPACT OF ONLINE INSURANCE WEB AGGREGATOR LIKE

POLICY BAZAR ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of

Degree of Master of Business Administration

From
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

Submitted by

SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA

Roll no: 1712470139

MBA (Batch 2017-19), 4th Semester

Under the guidance of

INDRAKESH YADAV
Assistant Professor

ICCMRT

INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATIVE & CORPORATE MANAGEMENT,

RESEARCH AND TRAINING

21/467, RING ROAD, INDIRA NAGAR, LUCKNOW-226016

I
 Phone: 2716431, 2716092
Fax: (0522) 2716092
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.iccmrt.ac.in

Institute of Co-operative & Corporate Management, Research and Training

467, Sector-21, Ring Road, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016

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INTRODUCTION Date: -

CERTIFICATE
Date: -

This is to certify that SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA, a student of Master

of Business Administration (MBA) Programme (Batch 2017-19) at this Institute has
conducted a research project titled “A STUDY ON IMPACT OF ONLINE
INSURANCE WEB AGGREGATOR LIKE POLICY BAZAR ON CONSUMER
BUYING BEHAVIOUR” under my guidance during the 4th semester. The report has
been prepared towards partial fulfilment for the award of MBA degree from AKTU
University. The research project report is the original contribution of the student.

The research project report is hereby recommended and forwarded for evaluation.

INDRAKESH YADAV

Assistant Professor

(Faculty Mentor

II
 DECLARATION

I SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA,a student of Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Programme from the Institute of Co- operative & Corporate Management Research and

Training, Lucknow hereby declare that all the information, facts and figures used in this

research project title “A STUDY ON IMPACT OF ONLINE INSURANCE WEB

AGGREGATOR LIKE POLICY BAZAR ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR”

have been collected by me. I also declare that this project report has been prepared by me and

the same has never been submitted by the undersigned either in part or in full to any other

University or Institute or published earlier.

This information is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

DATE: SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA

MBA (Batch 2017-19)

Roll. No. 1712470139

III
 PLAGIARISM FREE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that research project detailed below has been evaluated by online anti

–plagiarism software. The contained and material was found satisfactory and within the

permissible limit of control copied.

Name of the student – SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA

Roll Number- 1712470139

Program and Batch –

M BA (2017-19) 4 th Semester

Title of the research report-A STUDY ON IMPACT OF ONLINE INSURANCE WEB

AGGREGATOR LIKE POLICY BAZAR ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR”

IV
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my deepest sense of gratitude the God almighty for the abundant blessing without which the

study would have never seen light of the day.

I hereby acknowledge my sincere gratitude to the Uttar Pradesh Technical University and the

Management for giving me an opportunity to undergo MBA Degree Course and to undertake this

project work successfully. I express my thanks to the Director Rajeev Yadav of Institute of

Cooperative & Corporate Management, Research & Training, Lucknow, Principal Dr.Avinash D.

Parthdikar of Institute of Cooperative & Corporate Management, Research & Training, Lucknow for

extending his support.

I owe my reverential gratitude to my faculty guideIndrakeshYadav, Associate Professor, for his

valuable guidance and suggestions rendered at each stage of the project.

Last, but not Least I would like to acknowledge the wholehearted support of my parents, faculties, and

friends who helped me at various stages in completing this work successfully.

DATE: SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA

MBA (Batch 2017-19)

Roll. No. 1712470139

V
 PREFACE

In our two year degree program of M.B.A, there is a provision for doing research
work in the specialization in last semester. The essential purpose of this project is to give an
exposure and detailed outlook of the practical concepts. For this purpose I was assigned the
project on “A STUDY ON IMPACT OF ONLINE INSURANCE WEB AGGREGATOR
LIKE POLICY BAZAR ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR”

This has given me an altogether new experience, which I believe, would be immense help
in my days to come. The project was Informative, interesting and inspiring.

I hope the readers would find the information found in this report useful and
interesting.

VI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.No. Topic Name Page No.

FRONT PAGE (i)

CERTIFICATE BY SUPERVISOR (ii)

DECLARAION (iii)

PLAGIARISM CERTIFICATE (iv)

(v)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
(vi)
PREACE

1. INTRODUCTION 1-40

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 41-46

3. OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH 47-53

METHODOLOGY

4. DATA ANALYSIS 54-64

5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65-69

6. CONCLUSIONS 70-75

7. BIBLIOGRAPGHY 76-78

8. ANNEXURE 79-82

VII
INTRODUCTION

1
 INTRODUCTION

In India, online has been a catchphrase from last few years across industries such as travel,

retail, banking and education. Already, most of the Indians are using net banking. Fixed

deposits and mutual fund investments are the most preferred investments when it comes to

online purchase. Money transfer and bill payment through net banking has become a common

thing nowadays. Insurance is not far behind. Insurance is also witnessing good response from

consumers as online purchase of insurance policies is catching up. Earlier, internet was the

preferred channel for product search, post sells services like renewals of policies and paying

premiums, however, now consumers are also purchasing different policies online in the wake

of increased transparency, ease and advantage of saving money. This paper tries to throw

light on the beginning of online insurance phenomenon to the growth story of online

insurance. While analysing the present trend of online insurance, it also highlights the

challenges and future prospects.

History of Insurance in India

❖ In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. It finds mention in the writings of Manu

( Manusmrithi ), Yagnavalkya ( Dharmasastra ) and Kautilya ( Arthasastra ). The

writings talk in terms of pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of

calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. This was probably a pre-cursor

to modern day insurance. Ancient Indian history has preserved the earliest traces of

insurance in the form of marine trade loans and carriers’ contracts. Insurance in India

has evolved over time heavily drawing from other countries, England in particular.

2
❖ 1818 saw the advent of life insurance business in India with the establishment of the

Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. This Company however failed in 1834.

In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life insurance business in the

Madras Presidency. 1870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the

last three decades of the nineteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), Oriental

(1874) and Empire of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era,

however, was dominated by foreign insurance offices which did good business in

India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe

Insurance and the Indian offices were up for hard competition from the foreign

companies.

❖ In 1914, the Government of India started publishing returns of Insurance Companies

in India. The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act, 1912 was the first statutory

measure to regulate life business. In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was

enacted to enable the Government to collect statistical information about both life and

non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including

provident insurance societies. In 1938, with a view to protecting the interest of the

Insurance public, the earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the

Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive provisions for effective control over the

activities of insurers.

❖ The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. However, there

were a large number of insurance companies and the level of competition was high.

There were also allegations of unfair trade practices. The Government of India,

therefore, decided to nationalize insurance business.

3
❖ An Ordinance was issued on 19th January, 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance

sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The LIC

absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245

Indian and foreign insurers in all. The LIC had monopoly till the late 90s when the

Insurance sector was reopened to the private sector.

❖ The history of general insurance dates back to the Industrial Revolution in the west

and the consequent growth of sea-faring trade and commerce in the 17th century. It

came to India as a legacy of British occupation. General Insurance in India has its

roots in the establishment of Triton Insurance Company Ltd., in the year 1850 in

Calcutta by the British. In 1907, the Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd, was set up. This

was the first company to transact all classes of general insurance business.

1957 saw the formation of the General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance

Associatonsof India. The General Insurance Council framed a code of conduct for

ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.

❖ In 1968, the Insurance Act was amended to regulate investments and set minimum

solvency margins. The Tariff Advisory Committee was also set up then.

❖ In 1972 with the passing of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act,

general insurance business was nationalized with effect from 1st January, 1973. 107

insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, namely National

Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental

Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General

4
 Insurance Corporation of India was incorporated as a company in 1971 and it

commence business on January 1sst 1973.

❖ This millennium has seen insurance come a full circle in a journey extending to nearly

200 years. The process of re-opening of the sector had begun in the early 1990s

and the last decade and more has seen it been opened up substantially. In 1993, the

Government set up a committee under the chairmanship of RN Malhotra, former

Governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in the insurance

sector.The objective was to complement the reforms initiated in the financial

sector. The committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein , among other things, it

recommended that the private sector be permitted to enter the insurance industry.

They stated that foreign companies be allowed to enter by floating Indian companies,

preferably a joint venture with Indian partners.

❖ Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999, the

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an

autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was

incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA

include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through

increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security

of the insurance market.

❖ The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application

for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The

Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance

5
 Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from

registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of

policyholders’ interests.

❖ In December, 2000, the subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation of India

were restructured as independent companies and at the same time GIC was converted

into a national re-insurer. Parliament passed a bill de-linking the four subsidiaries

from GIC in July, 2002.

❖ Today there are 31 general insurance companies including the ECGC and Agriculture

Insurance Corporation of India and 24 life insurance companies operating in the

country.

❖ The insurance sector is a colossal one and is growing at a speedy rate of 15-20%.

Together with banking services, insurance services add about 7% to the country’s

GDP. A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is a boon for economic

development as it provides long- term funds for infrastructure development at the

same time strengthening the risk taking ability of the country.

DgitalizationOf Insurance:

• In India, online has been a catchphrase from last few years across industries such as

travel, retail, banking and education. Already, most of the Indians are using net

banking. Fixed deposits and mutual fund investments are the most preferred

investments when it comes to online purchase. Money transfer and bill payment

through net banking has become a common thing nowadays. Insurance is not far

behind. Insurance is also witnessing good response from consumers as online

6
 purchase of insurance policies is catching up. Earlier, internet was the preferred

channel for product search, post sells services like renewals of policies and paying

premiums, however, now consumers are also purchasing different policies online in

the wake of increased transparency, ease and advantage of saving money. This paper

tries to throw light on the beginning of online insurance phenomenon to the growth

story of online insurance. While analysing the present trend of online insurance, it

also highlights the challenges and future prospects.

• Today more than 165 million Indians have internet connections Nowadays Indians

spend more time on the internet than watching television and are the third-largest

users of social networking sites like Face book. Already, most of the Indians are using

net banking. From a modest beginning, like the banking sector, with online

transaction facilities for existing customers, insurance companies are now rapidly

moving towards selling products online. It has been found that more than 45% of

internet users search for financial services and insurance as a category. The online

journey of insurance started with emergence of comparison and research platforms. At

the same time, the concept of insurance aggregation came into picture in 2005 with

players like Apnainsurance and Bimadeal entering the market. Around 20 other

players such as Policybazaar, Zibika, Fintact, Myinsuranceclub and InsuringIndia

launched their own aggregation sites. After testing the aggregation model, startups

forayed into selling leads to insurance companies and earned a commission on every

lead conversion. Most of the existing insurance companies started selling online in

2010-2011 and at present, almost close to 33 insurers are offering more than 1000

products online. A majority of them are currently focusing on term insurance but

many brands are looking beyond term insurance and car insurance. They are

considering the Internet as a future channel of distribution which can bring immense

7
 expansion to their business. Three insurance companies i.e. AegonReligare, Aviva

Life Insurance & HDFC Life Insurance have already included internet and online

aggregators as a major focus in their distribution strategy. Over 65% of insurance

based searches are dominated by one player i.e. Policybazaar.

• The concept of web aggregator is used for online enquiry/shopping, wherein end

consumers could get information and quotes on diverse financial products across

service providers at one point. Web aggregators are essentially insurance portals that

help you compare products, and enable purchase by directing you to the insurer or the

insurer to you. Web Aggregator is a company registered under the Companies Act and

approved by IRDAI which maintains or owns a website and provides information on

insurance products of different insurers. At present, there are eighteen such

aggregators.

Role of Insurance web aggregator:

• The primary role is to enable comparison across insurance products. Aggregators have

agreements with insurers and insurers have to provide all the relevant information.

The Web aggregators in turn, display this information in a set format on its website.

Web aggregators, however, are not allowed to display ratings, rankings, endorsements

or best-sellers of insurance products. They can’t display any product other than

insurance products, nor can they carry advertisements.

• Web aggregators are allowed to solicit policies. In other words, the portal can transfer

the lead or call you itself to sell a policy. They also have to ensure that no

inconvenience is caused. Such a website will share your contact details with insurers

so that they can call you. But it will have to prominently display the message on its

8
 homepage that visitor’s particulars could be shared with insurers. It can share the lead

with three insurers in the same class of business. In fact, you can choose insurers.

REMUNERATION:

• Only licensed aggregators can display products and price comparisons of insurance

company products. For this, each insurer is required to tie-up with the company and

pay a flat fee of not exceeding Rs. 50,000 per year towards each product displayed by

the web aggregator in the comparison charts of its website. No charges are paid for

leads to the insurer provided by the web aggregator through its Lead Management

System. It can also undertake outsourcing activities such as premium collection for a

fee which will be mentioned.

• The use of online platforms for personal finance needs has become more apparent

over past few years. This has led to the advent of dedicated websites known as ‘Web

Aggregators’, offering the key information on financial products. This way,

consumers are able to compare different products, targeting the same group, on one

platform. The value proposition for web-aggregators is in giving customers an

unbiased selection of products, enabling them to make wise-decisions. It is a large

growing market. The key would be having the entire infrastructure in place for right

delivery to client, both product and service.

Significance Of Recent Regulatory Changes:

• Insurance brokers have been regulated for over 16 years in India, with the regulations

governing insurance brokers being introduced in 2002 by the Insurance Regulatory

and Development Authority of India. The IRDA (Insurance Brokers) Regulations

2002 (2002 Regulations) primarily stipulated the norms for solicitation and

9
 procurement of insurance, physically, by the employees of the insurance broker. As at

the time that the 2002 Regulations were introduced there was very limited solicitation

and procurement of insurance business online or through other means of distance

marketing, the 2002 Regulations did not address these forms of marketing.

• With the advent of new technology and increase in the popularity of e-commerce, it

became imperative for the regulatory framework to be updated to allow for the sale

and servicing of insurance online by insurance intermediaries. The first step was the

introduction of the IRDAI's Guidelines on Distance Marketing of Insurance Products

of 5th April 2011. Subsequently, the IRDAI introduced a new channel, ie, a web

aggregator, as a specific channel for the solicitation of insurance products online. The

IRDAI notified the "Guidelines on Web Aggregators" of 21st November 2011 (2011

Guidelines) to regulate the setting up and operation of insurance web aggregators. A

web aggregator registered under the 2011 Guidelines was permitted to display product

comparisons on its website and transmit leads to Insurers as well as insurance brokers,

with which it had an agreement, for a fixed fee, as set out under the 2011 Guidelines.

• In 2013, however, a need was felt to establish web aggregators as an independent

channel of insurance intermediation. The IRDAI therefore, released the IRDA (Web

Aggregator) Regulations 2013 (2013 WA Regulations) to replace the 2011

Guidelines, and recognize insurance web aggregators as an independent insurance

intermediation channel that would solicit and procure insurance online on behalf of

Insurers. At around the same time, the IRDAI replaced the 2002 Regulations for

insurance brokers with the IRDA (Insurance Brokers) Regulations 2013 (2013

Brokers Regulations). The 2013 Brokers Regulations now allowed insurance brokers

to themselves solicit and procure insurance online and in this regard, specified the

norms that would have to be followed by an insurance broker for the same.

10
 • There remained, however, clear distinctions in the scope of activities that could be

undertaken by an insurance broker and a web aggregator and both the channels had a

distinct set of activities and, therefore, revenue sources. For example, an insurance

broker was permitted to undertake solicitation through online and offline mode, ie,

both electronic and physical solicitation of insurance. On the other hand, while an

insurance web aggregator was permitted to undertake only online or other distance

marketing forms of solicitation, it was also allowed to perform certain activities for

Insurers, on an outsourced basis that an insurance broker was not permitted to

undertake. The activities included:

• Premium collection, including printing and dispatch of premium reminders/ other

reminders;

• Policy services, such receiving requests in physical/electronic/telephonic forms from

clients and transmitting to the Insurer without accessing the original database of the

Insurers.

Further, an insurance web aggregator was allowed to charge a fee for display of a product

online, which an insurance broker was expressly prohibited from charging.

With e-commerce gaining popularity and increase in the security threats in relation to online

transactions, there was an increased need for a uniform framework to be put in place to

govern the online solicitation and servicing of insurance by the market participants. The

IRDAI, therefore, issued the "Guidelines on insurance e-commerce" of 9th March 2017 (e-

commerce Guidelines) to regulate the setting up and operation of an ISNP set up by the

market participants (including both insurance brokers and web aggregators).

11
Soon after, the IRDAI also released the IRDAI (Insurance Web Aggregator) Regulations

2017 (WA Regulations) to replace the 2013 WA Regulations. While the WA Regulations

continued to allow an insurance web aggregator to undertake outsourcing activities for an

Insurer, the erstwhile list of outsourcing activities as set out under the 2013 WA Regulations

did not find place under the WA Regulations, and the new regulations provided that web

aggregators shall be permitted to undertake outsourcing activities only through tele-marketing

and distance marketing modes. It is relevant to note that the WA Regulations continue to

remain silent on physical solicitation of insurance by web aggregators.

At the beginning of this year, IRDAI released the IRDAI (Insurance Brokers) Regulations

2018 (Brokers Regulations) to revise the norms governing the setting up and operations of an

insurance broker in India. The Brokers Regulations have introduced a myriad of changes

which, to a great extent, appear to bring parity between the norms applicable to insurance

brokers and web aggregators, particularly with respect to solicitation over online and

telemarketing/distance marketing modes. The Brokers Regulations now specifically allow

insurance brokers to perform outsourcing activities for Insurers for solicitation of insurance

through telemarketing and/or distance marketing mode. Further the Brokers Regulations also

now expressly permit an insurance broker to perform risk management and claims

consultancy functions, for a fee, subject to certain conditions specified under the Brokers

Regulations.

Therefore, post introduction of the new regulations, the Brokers Regulations, permit

insurance brokers to solicit and procure insurance business through the online and off-line

modes, provide certain outsourced services to Insurers and also perform risk management and

claims consultancy functions. This, in our view, provides a distinct competitive edge to

insurance brokers vis-à-vis web aggregators who are permitted to solicit and procure

12
insurance business only through the online mode and distance marketing/telemarketing mode

and to provide certain outsourced services to Insurers.

As the regulatory framework and restrictions applicable to web aggregators broadly do not

appear to be less stringent than those applicable to insurance brokers, in our view, one

fundamental issue to be considered by web aggregators is whether they wish to continue with

this form of insurance intermediation or whether they should consider converting into

insurance brokers.

Introduction to Policybazaar and Insurance Web Aggregators

Policybazaar.com, started in 2008, is one of the status holder in India’s leading insurance web

aggregators. Since its inception, the company has been steadily growing with millions of

customers nationwide and an array of awards & recognition under its belt. Policybazaar.com

is a platform to compare insurance plans. This website allows insurance-seekers to make

financial decisions by comparing an array of insurance policies, based on different insurance

aspects and filters chosen by an individual. Other than comparison of policies, it provides

instant coverage, 24*7 services and easy communication for queries.

Insurance Web Aggregators:

As per the definition of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

(IRDAI), Insurance Web Aggregators compile and provide information about insurance

policies of various companies on a website. In other words, they collect data from various

sources and databases, such as insurance company websites, and compile this data to make it

presentable to any potential insurance policy buyers.

13
 • USP – Leading insurance aggregator with largest consumer base, heavy marketing,

aggressive selling techniques, better incentives to employees.

• Remuneration

A.) A flat fee not exceeding INR 50000 per year towards each product displayed by the

insurance web aggregators in the comparison of its website.

B.) Apart from this fee, it may also charge premium or commission of sorts, of not more than

30%, for any conversions into a sale and may also charge a pre-decided fee for certain other

activities such as premium collection carried out by it. Commission given is totally up to

insurer but on average, it’s about 10-15%.

• Annual Registration fee to IRDAI – Every Insurance Web Aggregator shall pay

annual license fees of INR 5,000.

• Future Plans

Insurance is still a category which is not understood properly by majority of the customers

who purchase it. Overall insurance penetration (premiums as % of GDP) in India reached

3.69 per cent in 2017 from 2.71 per cent in 2001, which means, it’s not that people are not

buying insurance (though India is still woefully poor in insurance penetration), but a lot of

people who are buying insurance may not be doing so optimally. They want to increase

awareness further about the idea of buying insurance only post comparing all prices and

features. Apart from that, they wish to increase their share of influence on the online

14
insurance market by playing a pivot role in the education and information of customers. They

believe at the end of the day we provide a service and they want more and more customers to

adopt that service.

• Trustworthiness – Yes, positive results are there. However, there are lots of cases

when people are fooled by its agents whose primary aim is to do push selling for their

commissions. Also, there are cases when a policy is bought but its terms and

conditions aren’t updated with the insurer. At last but not least, their customer care

services are heavily accused.

Safety Tip – Use Policybazaar to collect all the information you need and then confirms it

from the insurer and directly buy it from insurer’s site. There are chances that you can get the

exact deal at a lower price on insurer site if you don’t use the redirected link of Policybazaar.

Interesting Fact –Insurance web aggregator act comes in 2013 while Policybazaar started in

2008. So basically, at that time it has a status of insurance broker instead of an insurance web

aggregator.

Sources – Quora, IRDAI (WEB AGREGATOR LICENSE),Various social media link related

to Policybazaar

An Overview of Insurance Web Aggregators:

When action grows unprofitable, gather information”

From driverless cars to high-tech drones, mankind reveals an inclination to innovate first and

plan later. The internet, for instance, has developed so fast making one wonder whether laws

could ever keep pace with the speed with which the internet, online businesses, and new ideas

formulate. Technology today clearly has grown beyond the highways built to support them.

15
One such challenge, for example, is with the newly found distribution system of insurance-

the web aggregators. The words fair share today has a completely different meaning than

what it was prior to the existence of web aggregators.

India’s policybazaar.com, a web-based insurance aggregator, generated a revenue of $1

million in the year of 2015, whereas it only made half that amount in the year 2014. One of

the most popular websites for financial services known as Moneysupermarket.com

made over£200 million in 2014. This is an incredible amount of revenue for web aggregators

who don’t actually sell a physical, tangible product as evidenced by Policybazaar’s motto,

“We don’t SELL, we TELL”. The web aggregator is a business in itself, facilitating the

development of other businesses. The question remains, what do business aggregators do to

generate revenue? They pull together information by assimilating and assembling data from

various sources and providing a centralized repository or interface for users to access the

information in one place. At some point, every person can attest to having used one,

considering the multitude of applications available to compare prices, access social network

interfaces, and financial products. One might think that web aggregators are similar to

brokers, but they aren’t. Brokers require a broker license from the relevant insurance

authority which allows them to sell policies through their platform. Web aggregators,

however, only provide information.

The instances of the aggregators are varied in many countries for various industries. One such

instance in the restaurant industry is Open table. Insurance has now become a necessity. It is

not only important to be able to live a carefree life, but is also considered a major investment

prospect by people unwilling to enter ostensibly complicated security/equity financial

markets.

The traditional way to acquire policy information is through agents. They usually charge a

higher commission to provide information, which cannot be vouched for as accurate and is

16
often deceptive due to non-disclosure of various provisos. However, due to a growing need

for policy information, the aggregators have tapped the opportunity to provide users with an

information platform.

In view of the above, we will discuss the legal aspects governing the commercials of

insurance web aggregators (the WA) in India and UAE.

• In India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (the IRDA) is the

regulatory body governing the licensing and other activities of the insurance WA. The

regulation governing this industry is Insurance Regulatory and Development

Authority (Web Aggregators) Regulations, 2013 (the Regulation, 2013). The key

points to be considered are as follows:

WA is defined under the Regulation, 2013 as “a Company registered under Companies Act,

1956 (1 of 1956), approved by the Authority under this regulation, which maintains /owns a

website and provides information pertaining to insurance products and price/features

comparisons of products of different Insurers and offers leads to an Insurer.”Further, the

17
application procedure is provided under the Regulation, 2013 wherein the WA must fulfill the

eligibility criteria.

Eligibility Criteria - To obtain a license as a WA, pursuant to Schedule 1, Form-A, the

applicant must satisfy the eligibility criteria under clause 3 of Regulation, 2013. The

eligibility criteria for the license of WA provided under clause 5 of the Regulation, 2013 inter

alia, requires the following:

The applicant must be company formed and registered under the Companies Act 1956 and

comply with Foreign Direct Investment norms in force from time to time as applicable for

insurance sector at the time of submission of application and continue to comply during the

period in which the license (if granted) to act as a WA is in force.

MOA main object: The Memorandum of Association of the company states web aggregation

as one of its main objects.

Principal Officer Qualification: The Principal Officer shall possess the qualification as

specified in Schedule V of the Regulation, 2013.

IRDA even specifies the manner in which a WA should speak when discussing products

on offer. WA's are required to provide the following:-

• Display of Product Comparison: Clause 13 of the Regulation, 2013 provides for the

categories that can be displayed under life and non-life insurance and further provides

for the displaying the basic product features. Templates of products can be mutually

agreed upon with the insurers.

• Unbiased and factual details: WA shall not display ratings, rankings, endorsements or

bestsellers of insurance products on their website. The content set out on the website

of aggregators shall be unbiased and factual in nature; they shall desist from

18
 commenting on insurers or their products in their editorials or at any other location on

their website(s). It further sets out that product information displayed by web

aggregators shall be authentic and be based solely on information received from

insurers.

The Position in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Within the United Arab Emirates, insurance is largely governed WA. The nature of WA’s

business activity may seem more of an online e-commerce portal and such activity could be

classified as e-commerce B to B or B to C model. Sweeping changes recently introduced by

the Department of Health and those introduced by the Insurance Authority (the IA) may call

for a careful legal review and opinion. For argument's sake, even if such activity were

approved as online B to C marketplace by a free zone the stand of the Department of Health

and the IA would need to be understood.

It is the author’s position and views that such activity would be regulated as that of an

insurance broker unless the WA signs a contract with an existing broker and such contract is

approved and accepted by the relevant insuring body. Clearly, the compounding situation

triggered by constantly changing regulations puts WA’s at risk. It is equally vital that the

authorities dealing with insurance after a careful study pave way for WA’s and related

determinants. If the streets of Dubai could soon have driverless cars WA’s may only be a step

closer.

Domain Names

The domain name of the website must be registered in line with the Telecommunications

Regulatory Authority’s (the TRA) Domain Name Eligibility Policy - AEDA-POL-007

(the Eligibility Rules). Since cyber squatting is becoming a common issue, similar to

trademark an infringement matter, the domain name needs to be registered at the earliest. It is

19
also registered on first filing or registration basis. In view of the growing domain name

disputes, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (the ICANN) adopted

the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the UDRP). The UDRP went into

effect on December 1, 1999, for all ICANN-accredited registrars of Internet domain names.

In UAE, there has been a rise in .ae domain name registration. TRA also established .ae

Domain Administration (AEDA). The AEDA regulates, lays down and enforces policies with

regard to the operation of .ae and further deals with disputes on domain names. Any

deliberate or otherwise registration of a well-known domain name comes under the scrutiny

of AEDA. The AEDA dispute resolution policy (the Rules) by TRA mirrors the provisions of

UDRP and provides instances of using a domain name with bad faith or of evidence of

registration with bad faith. The Eligibility Rules lays down the eligibility for using domain

name with suffix classified as ‘.ae’ – restricted zone, .ae – unrestricted zone, and restricted

zone for ‘co.ae’, ‘net.ae’, ‘org.ae’, ‘sch.ae’, ‘ac.ae’, ‘gov.ae’ and ‘mil.ae’. The complaint can

be raised against infringer under the Rules if your domain name has been registered or is

being used in bad faith.

Conclusion

The UAE has 61 national and foreign insurance players in the market at present which is a

large number for a ‘small in size’ market like the UAE. Indian Regulation, 2013, being as

restrictive as it is, has kept casual aggregators at bay and only companies with excellent

competitive perseverance have been able to hold their ground. Only 10 companies being the

registered WA license holder. The WA are growing despite any restrictions imposed. Not

only is the entire industry benefitting from the service of WA, but tech savvy internet users

are the web aggregators’ actual insurance against any confines imposed by means of

regulations.

20
WEB AGGREGATORS IN INDIA: PAST IMPERFECT, PRESENT

TENSE, FUTURE UNCERTAIN

Web Aggregators compile and provide information about insurance policies of various

companies on a website. Insurance aggregators provide a platform to compare various

insurance policies in the same category, typically aiming at buying one that suits the needs of

an individual. The platform aims at enhancing the user experience by either letting

individuals compare policies right there or redirect them to the website of that particular

insurer. Although the primary aim of these websites is to let the customers make their choices

based on a thorough comparison, the comparison criterion includes basic common factors,

such as insurance premium and sum assured. IRDAI has recently launched Insurance

Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Insurance Web aggregators) Regulations

2017 and it will supersede Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Web

Aggregators) Regulations, 2013. The new guidelines for the web aggregators mandate that no

insurance web aggregator should promote or push a particular product of a particular

company either through its web-site or through distance marketing. Further, the product has

to be sold based on the need analysis of the prospect. While soliciting and procuring the

insurance business, the Insurance Web Aggregator has to ensure that if the Web Aggregator

is having tie-ups with more than one insurer, they have to provide prospective buyers with the

details such as scope of coverage, term of policy, premium payable, premium terms and any

other information which the customer seeks on all products available with them. The earlier

guidelines made it difficult for web aggregators to offer products that could earn them

reasonable income so that they could sustain themselves in the long run. Consumers will now

also benefit from the easy access to these products online, as the digital channel is

increasingly becoming their preferred mode for research and transactions.

21
While soliciting and procuring the insurance business, the Insurance Web Aggregator has to

ensure that if the Web Aggregator is having tie-ups with more than one insurer, they have to

provide prospective buyers with the details such as scope of coverage, term of policy,

premium payable, premium terms and any other information which the customer seeks on all

products available with them. The objective of the Insurance Web Aggregator Regulations is

to supervise and monitor. Web Aggregator is an insurance intermediary who maintains a

website for providing interface to the insurance prospects for price comparison and

information of products of different insurers and other related matters. IRDAI has clearly

defined and given a structure to some of the important activities and functions of the Web

Aggregators. They include: display of product comparisons on web-site and their conditions,

transmission of leads by web aggregator to the insurer in a specified manner, the manner and

process of sale of insurance online by web aggregators, sale of insurance by tele-marketing

mode and other distance marketing for solicitation of insurance based on the leads generated

from its designated website. Even the payment of remuneration of an Insurance Web

Aggregator shall be governed by the regulations as set by IRDAI. The new guidelines for the

web aggregators also mandate that no insurance web aggregators should promote or push a

particular product of a particular company either through its web-site or through distance

marketing. Further, the product has to be sold based on the need analysis of the

prospect. Apart from more products to sell, the regulations also bring good news to the web

aggregators on the issue of remuneration. Since these web aggregators have gained

prominence in India, IRDAI has brought about a set of regulations for these aggregators. This

set of regulations define the process of attaining a license to act as a web aggregator,

disclosure norms, penalties for aggregators without a license, remuneration of web

aggregators and other related matters.

22
ROLE OF WEB AGGREGATORS:

While the role of web aggregators requires them to facilitate comparison of various insurance

policies by entering into agreements with insurers, it does not include endorsing any

particular insurer or advertising a particular insurance policy. The primary motive should be

merely to provide the required justified information to the potential buyer. While performing

its duties, an insurance web aggregator has to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the

customer. It can act as an insurance broker or solicitor, contacting the potential buyer

directly. It may also provide the buyer’s contact details to various relevant insurance

companies, provided the buyer is made aware of the fact that their contact details are going to

be shared with any such insurance company. Classified as Insurance intermediaries, web

23
aggregators are portals that help the customer to compare and buy insurance products. They

further improve the purchase expense by either directing customers to the insurer’s website or

helping them through the sale process. The primary role of these portals is to enable

comparison. In the sense, they provide a listing of products and showcase comparison on

parameters such as eligibility criteria, sum assured and premiums. As per rules, web

aggregators need to display product pricing that is inclusive of all taxes. Further, the rules

prohibit web aggregators from displaying ratings, rankings, endorsements or bestselling

insurance products. They are also to refrain from commenting on insurers or their products at

any location in their websites. Web Aggregators have played an important role in boosting

the online market for several products, such as term plans. Comparison is essential for the

customers in the online products, such as term plans, that over 90% of the customers compare

and buy them through web aggregators. IRDAI has clearly defined and given a structure to

some of the important activities and functions of the Web Aggregators. They include –

display of product comparisons on web-site and their conditions, transmission of leads by

web aggregator to the insurer in a specified manner, the manner and process of sale of

insurance online by web aggregators, sale of insurance by tele-marketing mode and other

distance marketing for solicitation of insurance based on the leads generated from its

designated website.

24
PAST IMPERFECT:

With the growing need for customers to compare insurance products before making a

purchase, the concept of insurance aggregators was introduced. Aggregators provide

customers a comparison between similar insurance products, thus enabling them to make an

educated choice before purchase. Though insurance aggregators have seen a good success

rate in the UK, India and other key European markets, they are yet to achieve the same levels

of success in other regions in the world. With an increased focus on developing digital

technologies, the Asia-Pacific and American regions will see many growth opportunities for

online insurance aggregators over the next 5-10 years, with online aggregators already having

been established in Canada, Australia, USA, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and India.

The emergence of insurance aggregators has completely revolutionised the distribution and

purchase of insurance products and services. They were first introduced in the UK insurance

industry in 2002 with the launch of the site ‘confused.com’. After merely a decade, they now

account for 50% of personal insurance products, and 60% of new motor insurance

policies, Insurance aggregators were introduced for the purpose of enabling customers to

compare insurance products, while deciding which product to buy. They are independent

entities, who are granted a license (by the IRDAI in the case of India, to display insurance

25
 product information of multiple companies on a common platform. Web aggregators are

lacking in following areas:

1. Only certain type of person can lead a Web Aggregator business:The Principle Officer

(for example, the CEO) has to be someone who has been carrying out reinsurance related

activity or insurance consultancy for a continuous period of seven years, or for not less than

seven years, has been a principal underwriter or a manager in a nationalized insurance

company in India, or is an associate or fellow of some of the institutes specified by the IRDA.

2. Can’t sell much stake to Indian Investors:Foreign investors can own up to 49% of

the paid-up equity capital of Insurance Web-Aggregator at any time. However, Indian

investors together, can only own 25%, and no Indian investor can own more than 15% of

the paid-up equity capital.

3. Founders and investors can’t exit in the last two years:The foreign promoter or foreign

investor or Indian Promoter of the existed venture have exit for any reason at any time during

the preceding two financial years from the date of application.

4. Approval of hosting provider and other vendors: including for the Lead Management

System, Webhosting, and Other core activities. It also needs to approve the “Change of

location of the Servers hosting the comparison website(s)”

5. Determination of name:All insurance web aggregators need to have the phrase “Insurance

Web-Aggregator” in their name. They also need to “take the prior approval of the Authority

for change of its name.” Oh, and “Insurance Web-Aggregators are not permitted to use any

other name in their correspondence/ literature/ letter heads without the prior approval of the

Authority.”

6. The lead generation work: Web Aggregator has to send the lead to the insurer “Not later

than three days of (the users) visit to the web site.” Specific products under specific criteria

can only be compared, such as eligibility criteria, premium term, riders, benefits, etc.

26
The guidelines for Web aggregators released in 2013 put a blanket ban on such entities for

advertising and giving reviews or ratings of products on their websites. Charging for lead

generation was also banned, when this was a widely accepted business model in e-commerce.

The regulations further prevented Web aggregators from selling non-insurance products.

Even unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) were not to be sold over the distance mode, even

though these plans were emerging strongly post revisions. The model was so tightly defined

by the guidelines that it left very little space for innovation.

27
 PRESENT TENSED:

The Indian insurance regulator, on 13th May, 2017, in a gazette notification, proposed new

rules for websites that allow individuals to compare a range of general and life insurance

policies, and then purchase a suitable policy. These new rules are not to cause any disruption

but to reduce vagueness only. Online aggregators provide full-fledged websites, where they

compile the information of insurance policies of varied companies, and give customers the

option of comparing the prices of products. They act as brokers, knowledge providers,

solicitors and telemarketers. Comparisons of various insurance policies offered by insurance

giants in the market have become extremely simple, with all the competing features, costs

and coverage displayed on a single screen. However, three changes to the rules are

noteworthy. First, the rules now allow all kinds of insurance products to be sold on the web

aggregators ‘portals. Earlier, Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) were not allowed. Two,

the ticket size of the policies that can be sold here has been increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs.

1.5 lakh, giving a fillip to bundled life insurance policies. Three, the rules now allow

remuneration even on zero commission policies, such as the online term plans, through

rewards. Following are the imposed limitations on the Web Aggregators:

▪ No referral arrangement:The Web Aggregator cannot have a referral arrangement with an

Insurer.

▪ No payment for transmission of leads generated:No charges shall be paid for transmission

of leads by the Insurance Web-Aggregator to the Insurer.

▪ Payments only for conversion sales: Leads which are converted into sale of insurance

policies will entitle the Insurance Web-Aggregator to earn remuneration as applicable to

insurance intermediaries.

▪ No payments for signing up an insurance co:No insurer shall pay and no Insurance Web-

Aggregator shall receive any signing fee or any other charges by whatever name called,

28
 except those permitted by the Authority under relevant regulations, for becoming its

Insurance Web-Aggregator.

▪ Only a display fee of Rs 50,000 per insurance productfor displaying the product on the

website.

▪ Deal with the insurance company three years only:The agreement between an insurer and

Insurance Web-Aggregator shall be valid for a period of three years from its date, subject to

the validity of registration of Insurance Web-Aggregator.

▪ Can’t market other products:A web insurance aggregator cannot display other products or

services (financial, FMCG or anything else) on their website.

▪ Can’t sell lead to more than three insurers, even with user permission:Insurance Web-

Aggregator should provide an option to select up to three insurers by the visitor, to whom the

lead shall be transmitted simultaneously.

▪ Can’t operate multiple websites:“or tie up with other approved / unapproved /un-registered

entities / websites for lead generation / comparison of product. Only exceptions available to

them are if they use the domain names with .com, .in or .co.in “for the primary website of the

Insurance Web-Aggregator…”. Even then, the Insurance web aggregator has to inform the

IRDA in writing of each new website and the date of launching such websites or mobile sites,

“within 15 days from the date of Domain Name Registration and Date of launching

respectively in case of any change in the name(s) of the existing websites or new websites.”

▪ Can’t operate the websites of other Financial / Commercial / marketing or sales or

service entities:

Even the payment of remuneration of an Insurance Web Aggregator shall be governed by the

regulations as set by IRDAI. In the interests of consumers, the product has to be sold based

on the need analysis of the prospect. The objective of the Insurance Web Aggregator

Regulations is to supervise and monitor the web aggregator as an insurance intermediary,

29
which maintains a website for providing an interface to insurance prospects for price

comparison and information about products of different insurers and other related matters.

The existing players will continue under the New Regulations. The New Regulations retains

the provisions in relation to intimation/ obtaining approval of IRDA in case of transfer of

shares of any Aggregator. Also the documentation between Aggregator and Insurance

companies are almost the same. There are few minor changes in the corporate governance,

conflict of interest, intermediary registration provided to group, remuneration to Aggregator

etc. Digital is all about business improvement; it is not about making things look pretty.

Online platforms enable capture and storage of rich, reliable and insightful consumer data

that can be leveraged in the future to customise underwriting for individual customers, based

on past history. Customer ease or solving the customers’ problem is the most important

element in this entire journey. Digital would not have happened otherwise.

FUTURE UNCERTAIN:

The IRDA of India has brought in new changes for insurance aggregators keeping in view the

remunerations issue. These companies are now eligible for renewal commissions too, in case

30
of a non-life insurance policy, such as motor insurance, health insurance, and home

insurance. The e-filing income tax associated with health insurance remains the same, i.e.

under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Life insurance policies are still not

considered as per the remuneration issue, as these policies are long-term agreements.

Insurance aggregators must continue to emerge and offer insurance products directly to

consumers, while coming up with new and inventive services to encourage loyalty and brand

retention. In the non-life space—for products such as health insurance, motor insurance and

home insurance—it has now been clarified that web aggregators are entitled to renewal

commissions as well. However, for life insurance policies, renewal commissions are still not

allowed as they are long-term contracts. So, when they sell a life insurance policy, web

aggregators are entitled to first-year commissions only.

General insurance products are annual contracts and every time the policy is renewed, there is

a new policy number assigned to the policyholder. This means that web aggregators are

entitled to renewal commissions, but it was a huge grey area and many insurers interpreted

the rules differently. But, in the non-life space—regarding general insurance products such as

health insurance, motor insurance and home insurance policies—it has now been clarified

that web aggregators are entitled to renewal commissions as well. However, for life insurance

policies, they are still not allowed the renewal commissions as they are long-term contracts.

So, when they sell a life insurance policy, web aggregators are entitled to first-year

commission only—remember that commissions in life insurance are front loaded. In the life

insurance space, the rules now even allow for zero commissions products remuneration, in

the form of rewards. As per the new rules on commissions, which were announced in

December last year, insurers can pay extra—over and above commissions—to distributors

through rewards. The reward, however, is capped at 20% of first-year commission and is for

intermediaries who primarily sell insurance. Allowing rewards brings in transparency and

31
regulates the amount that can go to intermediaries. However, there is still considerable

flexibility for web aggregators as they can engage in other activities such as outsourcing. This

is currently not at par with rules for other intermediaries. While the current rules don’t allow

commissions for pure online products, the industry practice has been to compensate web

aggregators under different cost heads such as by paying them a fee for outsourcing activities.

These regulations, in that sense, have acknowledged these activities and formalised these

payments. This, however, will not hike prices. The regulator has acknowledged the role of

intermediaries in expanding the online platform. However, as the rewards will usually be a

part of the companies’ marketing budgets, allowing them is unlikely to result in higher prices

for the products

Insurance is a large growing market. Various estimates say that there would be 450 million

internet users by 2020. The insurance industry has increased multiple-fold post the

introduction of insurance web aggregators in the market. They have become extremely

receptive to these aggregators and are rushing to enter into agreements and tie-ups with them.

32
They understand the reach of the internet and have played wisely by embracing the power of

the online aggregators, especially after the regulations provided by the IRDA. The insurance

web aggregators act as information providers, telemarketers, solicitors and brokers. They

have made life so much more convenient for busy buyers today and have helped raise the

insurance industry of the country to an all-new high. The scope for them is enormous today

since the online market is one so vast that leaving it untapped would be a grave blunder on

the part of the insurance companies. Insurance will continue to see massive changes thanks to

insurance aggregators, transforming from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market world over.

Insurers will continue to partner with these aggregators, while focusing primarily on the

needs of the consumer, in so doing. Aggregators will face competition from other insurance

aggregator websites, threats on the cyber-security front and the challenge of personalisation

of products according to the profile of the customer; however they will continue to emerge as

the most popular choice for purchasing insurance products. New web aggregator rules

gazetted by the IRDAI now allow all kinds of insurance products to be sold on the

aggregators’ portals, as well as make doing business on the platforms easier in several other

respects.

33
Key changes made to the regulations are as follow:

Sr. Old

No. Head Regulations New Regulations Impact

To meet the

INR requirement within

1. Net Worth 10,00,000 INR 25,00,000 1Yr

This is as per the

change in the FDI

Equity held Less than policy. Specific

by Foreign equal to 26% conditions are

Investors of the paid-up Less than equal to provided under

(“FI”) equity capital 49% of paid-up equity Schedule XII of the

2. at any time. capital at any time. New Regulations.

Minimum –

INR

10,00,000

Maximum –

3 times the
Minimum – INR
remuneration
25,00,000 Maximum
received
Professional indemnity has been
during the Maximum – INR
3. Indemnity provided.
previous year 100,00,00,000

34
Sr. Old

No. Head Regulations New Regulations Impact

Renewal

4. Fees INR 10,000 INR 25,000 Low impact.

If the FI or Indian

promoter has exited at

any time during the

preceding two

financial years from

the date of

application, then the IRDA can exempt

applicant may not be the requirement. In

eligible to obtain future, the exit

registration as should be scheduled

Grant of Insurance web in accordance with

5. registration None aggregator. renewal timelines.

Annual

6. Fees INR 5000 Nil Low impact.

Premium
Insurers shall Insurers shall not
Ceiling in
not solicit solicit non- single
case of life
non – single premium policies
7. insurance Business friendly.
premium whose premium is

35
 Sr. Old

No. Head Regulations New Regulations Impact

(for policies exceeding INR

insurers) whose 1,50,000.

premium is
Single premium
exceeding
policies shall not be
INR 50,000.
solicited for a

Single premium exceeding

premium INR 1,50,000 over

policies shall telemarketing mode.

not be

solicited for a

premium

exceeding

INR 50,000

over

telemarketing

• The objective of the Insurance Web Aggregator Regulations is to supervise and

monitor the web aggregator as an insurance intermediary, which maintains a website

for providing an interface to insurance prospects for price comparison and

information about products of different insurers and other related matters. Similar to

buying insurance products offline through an insurance agent or a broker, buying life

36
insurance online also needs to be an informed decision. It’s better to speak to the web

aggregator executive before initiating the transaction online so as to not end up

buying the wrong product for your specific need. And, approaching them after doing

at least a bit of research on what your requirements are will make the process much

more seamless, informative and free from surprises. According to a study conducted

by the Boston Consulting Group titled ‘The Changing Face of Indian Insurance’, due

to the expanding digital footprint in the country, comparisons of insurance products

and internet searches with the help of online insurance aggregators have moved up

from 10% in January 2012 to 17% in January 2015. This number is expected to

increase further with an increase in internet usage. Insurance aggregators provide

customers with a convenient and transparent means by which, they can compare

insurance products and decide which product suits their needs. Thanks to

technological advancements in the digital space and the growing use of smart phones,

customers now have easy access to a wealth of information via the internet. Online

aggregators provide full-fledged websites, where they compile the information of

insurance policies of varied companies, and give customers the option of comparing

the prices of products. They act as brokers, knowledge providers, solicitors and

telemarketers. The regulator has acknowledged the role of Web Aggregators in

expanding the online platform. However, as the rewards will usually be a part of the

companies’ marketing budgets, allowing them is unlikely to result in higher prices for

the products. Currently, web aggregators account for less than 1% of the total

insurance sale and these guidelines will boost greater participation by the web

aggregators.

37
 ONLINE INSURANCE IN INDIA: THE ROAD AHEAD:

Online policy purchase in India, while currently small (2% of overall offline sales) has grown

at the rate of 200% in the last 2 years. The rate of growth is expected to continue to be in

triple digit figures in the near future. As per market estimates, almost 13 million searches a

month are related to insurance, retirement and pension. Online insurance is expected to

follow the growth route of online travel in the next 2-3 years to come. UK & European

markets have clearly shown the way, where online insurance started with aggregation model

and now 70% of auto insurance in most of European countries is sold online. The industry

expects similar trends here in products life term insurance and car insurance over the next 2-3

years. Some products which are highly complicated will take more time; however, products

like ULIPs which have low distribution margin would eventually move significantly to online

distribution models. By 2015, the online insurance industry is expected to grab 25-30% of the

overall insurance market; out of 50-60 % of volume would be dominated by third party

aggregators. Similarly, as e commerce industry expects 2-3 players would emerge successful

in this space.

38
 LIST OF INSURANCE WEB AGGREGATORS as on 28th Feb. 2019

S. Certificate Code No Name of the Insurance Web Aggregator

No

1 IRDA/WBA11/2012 Commet Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

2 IRDA/WBA17/2014 PolicyX.com Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt LTd

3 IRDA/WBA20/2014 OA Insurance Web Aggregators Pvt Ltd.

4 IRDA/WBA19/2014 Fingoole Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

5 IRDAI/WBA18/2014 Easypolicy Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

6 IRDAI/WBA21/2015 Policybazaar Insurance Web aggregator Pvt Ltd

7 IRDAI/WBA24/2015 MIC Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

8 IRDAI/WBA26/2015 Great India Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

9 IRDAI/WBA25/2015 Boon Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd

10 IRDAI/WBA23/2015 Compare Policy Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd

11 IRDAI/WBA30/2016 Deztination Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

12 IRDAI/WBA31/2016 A&A Dukaan Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

13 IRDA/WB32/2016 Zibika India Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

14 IRDAI/WBA/35/2016 Mangotree Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

15 IRDA/WB37/2016 ETInsure Insurance Web Aggregator Ltd

16 IRDAI/WB34/2016 Covernest Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

17 IRDAI/WB/40/2016 PolicyPlanner Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

18 IRDAI/WB/41/2016 CNB Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

19 IRDAI/INT/WB/36/2016 Onestepolicy Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

20 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 38/2016 InstabimaInsurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

21 IRDAI/INT/WBA/46/2017 Arvi Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

39
21 IRDAI/INT/WBA/44/2017 Riskovery Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.

23 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 48/2017 Policy Master Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd

24 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 50/2018 Wishfin Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

25 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 45/2017 Brixton Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

26 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 51/2018 Insuremile Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

27 IRDAI/INT/WBA/ 47/2017 KUPolicy Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt. Ltd.

40
 REVIEW OF
LITERATURE

41
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

▪ AnujAgarwal, MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz LifeInsurancesaid that, for their online

channel, they are looking into a model by which the company can increase web traffic

and tie it with a lead management system. "We will also consider tying up with

Sharda, MD & CEO of Future Generali India Life Insurance explained that there is a lot of

action in the online space. "It is a large web aggregators," he added.

▪ Munish growing market. Various estimates say there would be 450 million internet

users by 2020. The key would be having the entire infrastructure in place for right

delivery to client, both product and service. We have high expectations from this web

aggregator market and will participate in it," said Sharda.

▪ Naval Goel,Founder and CEO,PolicyX.com,While performing its duties, an

insurance web aggregator has to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the

customer. It can act as an insurance broker or solicitor, contacting the potential buyer

directly. It may also provide the buyer's contact details to various relevant insurance

companies, provided the buyer is made aware of the fact that their contact details are

going to be shared with any such insurance company.

▪ YashishDahiya,Founder, PolicyBazar: I believe these regulations have been

detailed and thought through. There are various interest groups in Insurance and some

more influential than others, and everyone believes digital is a long term answer for

the problems that plague the industry. Digital is a means used for “Pull” or educated

insurance which is a miniscule part of the industry. Here the problem starts. If you do

a “Pull” purchase, you are less likely to buy a “Poor” product, while in the push

channel you can still push “Poor” products. Everyone in the industry now understands

this problem, but everyone has their interests.

42
There are strong lobbies led by some insurance companies that do not wish aggregation,

remember comparison stops sales of bad products, and allows sales on merit. So its not an

easy one. IRDA has done a great job interacting with all stakeholders and drafting very

detailed guidelines. I honestly believe they could not have done a better job given all the

constraints. However I do believe they would gain through regular interactions with some

digital folk like Sanjeev (Bikhchandani), Deep (Kalra) etc, as they honestly do not understand

digital, and unfortunately need to make rules on that. They rightly would not believe

everything Web aggregators say as we are an interested party, and perhaps biased towards

our interests.There are two killers though. One 26% FDI, who will invest if FVCI’s cannot,

we are already at 38%. Insurers are already barred. The 2nd and one you have missed is,

every three years, even if you apply for renewal in time, if the IRDA cannot approve your

licence in time, you will need to stop business. If these two can change, we will survive and

grow, but yes, its not what IXIGO had to go through for sure, but they may have had other

challenges.

▪ AlokBhatnagar, Founder, EasyPolicy.com: The new guidelines will impact the

business positively as the core of the business – sales commissions (that web

aggregators stand to make out of sale of Insurance policies) have been made at par

with other forms of intermediaries. This was not the case in previous guidelines. The

renewal/trail commissions that other intermediaries get have also been provisioned in

the form of outsourced services charges. Not only this, lead sales have been allowed

on CPA mode and it will definitely be healthier than the Rs 10 limit that was earlier

defined as the lead sales price. This makes for an awesome combination and

encourages the single-company structure that is more investment friendly.Under the

earlier regulations, it was permissible for any website to fetch rates from other

43
 licensed intermediaries and to thereafter deal with them in a manner that was outside

the purview of the regulator. This route has now been effectively plugged as the new

regulations make it mandatory for any website dealing with insurance products to be

licensed in its own right – either as an insurance broker or as a web aggregator. This

change might induce a better regulated and structured insurance environment which

will lead to better practices and will benefit for the public at large in the longer term.

IRDA did consult existing web aggregators and insurers before coming with an exhaustive

set of guidelines. The methodology has been correct but we do think that some interaction

with core internet professionals on a regular basis would help the regulator understand

Internet dynamics better.

Easypolicy would be applying for a web aggregator license very soon. It will also have to

invest time and resources in making an exhaustive lead management system and other

technical changes. But we are fine with that effort.

▪ Deepak Yohannan, Founder, MyInsuranceClub: These guidelines are a lot more

forward looking than the existing rules which were crippling. So in a sense, it is a

huge positive. Now we are more less allowed to do the activities which are actually

required to compare policies and sell them online. That is something we wanted

clarity on, and we have that now. Online Sales, Direct Marketing and Outsourcing

activities are allowed and it covers most of the areas where an aggregator could add

value to the customer and to the insurer.

Negative impact – the clause on FDI is a serious threat. The ability to raise money will be

seriously curtailed. It can be called show-stopper. But then IRDA has formed a committee to

44
re-look the FDI cap for intermediaries and hopefully the cap would be done away with.

Secondly, the freedom to rate a policy would have been a very handy tool for the customer.

Very often people do not understand the policy completely and purchase a plan based on trust

or recommendation of others.

Equity, MFs etc have this freedom and hence people can make some intelligent calls based on

the recommendation of various ratings on sites. Thirdly, there is a mention of not doing any

lead generation activities with other websites. This needs to be clarified, else huge spends on

branding would be required. And you need to generate leads through other websites.

Fourthly, nothing can be charged for leads – this is also an unfair clause. There are business

lines (like some life insurance plans) which cannot be sold online. Aggregators cannot charge

for the lead which they pass and will have to depend on the insurer to close the sale and

inform the aggregator so that payouts can be shared. This will never happen as channels

conflicts will creep in.

I view these guidelines as a very positive move overall. It’s a nascent industry and even the

participants are not unanimous on the path ahead. Some want to view this as a marketing

channel while some see it as a lot more close to sales and servicing. Perhaps it lies

somewhere in between.

Our entire operations would need to be overhauled as you can now do a lot more activities.

Direct Marketing, Outsourcing, Sales etc would now be supported by this channel. I think it

will take some time before participants can start focusing on all areas. Even requirements like

Principal Officer etc are not something which was outlined in the old rules. Lots to do.

45
 ▪ IJMRR/ August 2013/ Volume 3/Issue 8/Article No-14/3300-3308 ISSN: 2249-

7196

customers more control over the service process but also reduces the workload of service

vendors (Ding et.al 2007). In developing countries, consumers and the company face a

number of barriers to successful e-commerce adoption due to less reliabletelecommunications

infrastructures and power supplies, less access to online payment

mechanisms, and relatively high costs of personal computers and Internet access (Van Slyke

et al 2005). The insurance industry in India in particular is very slow in adopting e-commerce

due to lack of appropriate software infrastructure, non-awareness among customers and

security concerns (Dasgupta and Sengupta 2002). Although the insurance industry is slow in

e-commerce adoption, gains can accrue with increase in the pace of adoption, in terms of

reduction in transaction cost, introduction of competitive products due to flexibility and

speed, and the expansion of market due to generation of leads through the Internet (Grossman

et al 2004). The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India

established to oversee the insurance sector also envisages promoting healthy competition and

protection of rights of policy holders by bringing more transparency to the provider client

relationships.

46
OBJETIVE

OF

STUDY

47
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To study the emergence and growth of online insurance in India.

• To examine the Indian Insurance market and make a comparative study of the

operations.

• To evaluate the various Customer Relationship Management programmes and

Marketing strategies adopted by online insurance web aggregator.

• To study the different mechanisms of risk calculations, underwriting procedures,

premium and bonuses offered and claim settlement procedures through online

insurance web aggregator

• To supervise and monitor Web Aggregator as an insurance intermediary who

maintains a website for providing interface to theinsurance prospects for price

comparison and information of products of different insurers and other related

matters.

48
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

49
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is the process of systematic investigation of any management

problem it deals with research design, data collection method, sampling plan, sampling

method.Research methodology is a systematic way to solve the research problem. It may

be to understand how research is done scientifically. Research is an art of scientific

investigation.

Methodology is explained as “the study of methods by which we gain knowledge, it

deals with cognitive processes imposed on research to the problem arising from the nature of

its subject matter”.

Methodology is a way to solve the research problem in a systematic way. It is understood as a

science of studying how research is done scientifically.

Research must be based on fact observable data support to research finding for analysing

facts a scientific methodology of analysis must be developed and interpreted logically.

50
 ➢ RESEARCH DESIGN:

The study is to measure effectiveness of the training program through performance

appraisal system provided by the employees.

Descriptive Researchis also called statistical research analysis. It does not answer

questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. Rather it addresses the "what"

question (what are the characteristics of Minnesota state population or situation being

studied?) Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind

situation.

Descriptive research is mainly done when a research is mainly done when a research wants to

gain a better understanding of a topic.

Descriptive research answer the questions who, what, where, when and how.

51
 ➢ DATA COLLECTION METHOD:

1. PRIMARY DATA:

Primary data is known as data collected for the first time through field survey. Such

data are collected with specific set objectives. Primary data always reveals the cross section

picture of anything studied. This is needed in research to study the effect or impact any

policy.

2. SECONDARY DATA:

Secondary sources are those which are published or processed materials. I have

collected secondary data from the following sources- books, websites, and magazines,

official documents. The secondary data were collected from:

Magazine

Books

Journals

Records maintained by HR department

Websites

52
 ➢ SAMPLING DESIGN:

STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING:

A random sample of specified size is drawn from each stratum of a population. It is a

method of sampling from a population, it is advantageous to sample each sub population

(stratum) independently. Stratification is the process of grouping members of the populations

into relatively homogenous subgroups before sampling.

➢ SAMPLE SIZE:

Due to time and resource constraint the sample size is taken as 100 individuals.

➢ RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

QUESTIONNAIRE:

A Questionnaire is a valuable tool for collecting information directly given by a person such

and information real consists of likes and dislikes, attitudes and beliefs, experience about the

services of the con parries. I will collect information through questionnaire from hundred

consumers.

Research Instrument - Questionnaire

Sample size - 100 individuals

Data source - Primary & Secondary Data

Research Approach - Survey Method

Geographical Coverage - Lucknow Region

53
DATA ANALYSIS

54
 DATA ANALYSIS

1. Are you aware with the online insurance web aggregator?

AWARENESS
0% 0%

25%

YES
NO

75%

➢ INTERPRETATIONS:
• 25% Respondents says that they don’t know about insurance web
aggregator

• 75% Respondents says that they are using insurance portal .

55
2.Do you ever use online insurance web aggregator

USES
0% 0%

NO
40%

YES
60%

➢ INTERPRETATIONS:

• 40% respondents says that they are not using web aggregator for

purchasing the insurance

• 60% says that they are using insurance web aggregator

56
3. Is insurance web aggregator helpful for purchasing insurance

PURCHASING
0%
0%

NO
35%

YES
65%

INTERPRETATIONS:

• 65% respondent said that ,web aggregator is useful for purchasing the insurance

• While 35% said that no role of web aggregator during the purchase of insurance

57
 4. At the time of purchasing insurance, are you compared it with insurance web

aggregator

Comparison of insurance
0% 0%

NO
23%

YES
77%

INTERPRETATIONS:

• 77% said that web aggregator is helpful for comparison of insurance.

• While 23% said that it is not useful for the comparison of insurance.

58
5. What is the purpose of buying insurance from online web aggregator?

Buying behaviour

All of these
27%

Tax saving
45%

Risk cover
13%

Better Return
15%

INTERPRETATIONS:

45% respondent said that web aggregator can help intax saving ,15% said for better

saving,13% said for risk coverage while remaining 27% said that all the three factor is

responsible for purchasing the insurance through online web aggregator.

59
6. How much do you trust the information on given online web aggregator website?

Trust on Information
A great deal A lot A little Not at all

22%

45%

18%

15%

INTERPRETATIONS:

45%saidthat the information given on insurance we b aggregator is a great deal,15%said a

lot,18% said a little and remaining 22 % said not at all.

60
7. In which company you would like to purchase investment plan through web

aggregator?

investment plan
government owned company public limited company
private company foreign based company

13%

48%

27%

12%

INTERPRETATION:

48% was in the favour of government owned company,12% said public limited company

,27% was in the favour of private company and rest of the 13% said for foreign company

61
 8.Provide the reason behind choosing online insurance web aggregator investor
company?

Reason for choosing online insurance

safty Brand Name Good Track Record Good Return

20%

45%

20%

15%

INTERPRETATION:

45% respondent said that they selected online insurance web aggregator for the safety reason,

15% said for the brand name,20% said for good track record and remaining 20% said for

good return

62
9.If the product were available today, how likely would you be to buy the product

through online insurance web aggregator

interest
Extremely Likely Not so likely Very slowly
Not at ll likely Somewhat likely

13%
27%
10%

14%

36%

INTERPRETATION:

If the product is available on insurance web agrregator,36% respondent not so like,27%

extremely like 13% was in the favour somewhat like 10% not at all like and 14% said very

slowly

63
10. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the online insurance web

aggregator?

satisfaction level
Very satisfied somewhat satisfied
somewhat dissatisfied very dissatisfied
Neithe satisfied nor dissatisfied

0%
7%
15%

54%

24%

INTERPRETATION:

54% said they are very satisfied with the usage of web aggregator,24% said neither satisfied

nor dissatisfied ,15% said somewhat satisfied and remaining 7% said very dissatisfied

64
 FINDING

AND

RECOMMENDATION

65
 FINDING

▪ 25% Respondents says that they don’t know about insurance web aggregator.

▪ 75% Respondents says that they are using insurance portal.

▪ 40% respondents says that they are not using web aggregator for purchasing the

insurance

▪ 60% says that they are using insurance web aggregator

▪ 45 % said that the information given on insurance we b aggregator is a great

deal,15%said a lot,18% said a little and remaining 22 % said not at all.

▪ 77% said that web aggregator is helpful for comparison of insurance while 23% said

that it is not useful for the comparison of insurance.

▪ 45% respondent said that web aggregator can help in tax saving ,15% said for better

saving,13% said for risk coverage while remaining 27% said that all the three factor is

responsible for purchasing the insurance through online web aggregator.

▪ 45 % said that the information given on insurance we b aggregator is a great

deal,15%said a lot,18% said a little and remaining 22 % said not at all.

▪ 48% was in the favour of government owned company,12% said public limited

company ,27% was in the favour of private company and rest of the 13% said for

foreign company.

▪ 45% respondent said that they selected online insurance web aggregator for the safety

reason, 15% said for the brand name,20% said for good track record and remaining

20% said for good return .

▪ If the product is available on insurance web agrregator,36% respondent not so

like,27% extremely like 13% was in the favour somewhat like 10% not at all like and

14% said very slowly.

66
▪ 54% said they are very satisfied with the usage of web aggregator, 24% said neither

satisfied nor dissatisfied15% said somewhat satisfied and remaining 7% said very

dissatisfied.

67
RECOMMENDATION

68
 RECOMMENDATION

▪ The number of online insurance web aggregator is increasing, but even then fraud and

deception may reduce consumer confidence. Therefore, it should be ensured that

products and services are described truthfully by the online insurance portals..

▪ The study also found that digital marketing is effective in reach and creation of

awareness and recommends that the companies should invest more in online

marketing to increase their market share and provide product information.

▪ Finally, the study determined that there is a positive relationship between Digital

Marketing [through online car portal] and consumer purchase decision to ensure that

the internet advertising initiatives being implemented suits the targeted markets to

improve product purchases.

▪ The study outlines the need online insurance portal for consumer products to integrate

their online and offline strategies, engage consumers and build their loyalty, and

importantly mind the gaps in which online activity is low, and optimize the mobile

experience.

69
CONCLUSION

70
 CONCLUSION

• After a complete indent of hard work I conclude that the Insurers that better

understand the buying behaviour of online customers, develop innovative, attractive

and simple products catering to specific customer needs and, most importantly, have a

robust communication and customer engagement model backing their online

marketing strategy will emerge as future market leaders in online insurance

distribution in India The growing internet segment and consumer behaviour in the e-

commerce space clearly corroborated that there is an ever growing market for online

financial products and online research for insurance is converting into sales.

• Project was absolutely challenging for implementing features such as searching

according to there free and paid user. The project is come out of successful in some

way.

• Quickly summarizing all the effort put in to the assignment, I would like to conclude

that this assignment has definitely helped me in future in insurance buying behaviour.

• The quantitative data method was adopted through designing the questionnaire in

order to gather the numerical and standardized data from the website and the people

around ourselves. Thereby the collected data might not be exhaustive and objective

enough. The study only considered about impact of online insurance portal on

consumer buying behaviour therefore it could not represent any issues which are

relevant to practical behaviour. And due to time Limitation, it cannot make a deep and

systemic survey on impact of online insurance portal, our research and discussion just

focus on the customers’ buying behaviour aspect.

• Customer loyalty is a self-reinforcing system in which the firm delivers superior value

consistently to find and keep high-quality to customers. The loyal customers are not

only doing repurchase enterprise products and services to save expenses of

71
advertising and publicity, but also recommend the products or services to their

relatives and friends. Customer loyalty is one of most important elements to guarantee

agents can keep stable profits and obtain stronger market competitiveness. Especially

online insurance portal business, the customers are able to compare the advantages

and disadvantages of online insurance portal sites more easily than traditional method,

therefore setting up customer loyalty more difficult than traditional business. On the

paper, we analysed the data from the questionnaire and the scale of Online Company,

through researching how to improve customer loyalty to help Digital Marketing

achieve better marketing implementation.

72
LIMITATIONS

73
 LIMITATIONS

The limitation contained in the primary data was that of limited sample size used for

study,thus sample cannot be correct representation of the target. Moreover consumer buying

is a complex process in which number of factors like economic factors, social status and

psychographic factors influence the buying of the consumer, those are not considered for the

study. Understanding psychographics of the consumer is an important tool to understand the

inner feelings, and attitude of the consumer. The changing demographic profile of the

population in terms of education, income, size of family and so on, are important by what

will be more substantive in days to come will be the Psychographics of customers that is how

they feel, think or behave. Marketers will have to constantly monitor and understand the

underlying Psychographics to map their respective industries are moving and decide what

needs to be done, by way of adding value that motivates customers to buy the company’s

products and influence the future company structure. One more problem in this study was

questionnaire. Most of the questions are closed ended it limits the respondents answer.

Following are some limitations which affect -:

1. The study has been conducted based on the data acquired from the online buyers ofIndia

only and the findings may not be applicable to other countries of the world because of socio-

cultural differences.

2. Sample size is very small.

3. Lack of availability of resourcessuch as actual data.

4. Some respondents were not willing to fill up the Questionnaire

5. Some respondents filled up the questionnaire unwillingly.

74
6. Some answers in open ended question were not legible and at some places they were left

untouched so it was difficult to interpret them and at some.

There were also some limitations of the project:

i. Human behaviour is very complex so it is difficult to gauge it just on the basis of

questionnaire.

ii. There is also likelihood of responsive error: when respondents unwillingly fillup the

questionnaire.

iv. Time and Money were also constraints up to some extent.

75
BIBLIOGRAPHY

76
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

JOURNALS AND BOOKS:

• Assael Henry (2006). Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Action. (New York :

Thomson Learning) Baroota

• K.D. (2008). Experimental Design in Behavioural Research. (New Delhi : New Age

International (P) Limited)

• Statistical Methods. (New Delhi : S. Chand and Sons) Hawkins De., Best Roger J. and

Caney Kenneth A. (1996). Consumer Behaviour. (New Delhi : Tata McGraw Hill

Publishing Co. (P) Ltd.)

• KaurParminder (1996). Human Resource Development for Rural Development. (New

Delhi : Anmol Publication, Ph.D. Thesis Published)

• Kotler Philip (2000). Marketing Management. (New Delhi : Prentice Hall of India (P.)

Ltd.) Mc Neal James U. (1992).

WEBSITES:

• https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/insurers-rush-to-tie-up-with-web-

aggregators-114031400112_1.html

• https://www.shriramgi.com/news-events/do-you-know-who-web-aggregators-are/

• http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/699588/Insurance/INSURANCE+WEB+AGGREG

ATION+CHANNEL+Significance+Of+Recent+Regulatory+Changes

• https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d249cf30-2eb3-4047-bf3d-

1f771cfadd88

77
 • http://www.bimabazaar.com/web-aggregators-in-india-past-imperfect-present-tense-

future-uncertain

• https://www.irdai.gov.in/ADMINCMS/cms/NormalData_Layout.aspx?page=PageNo

2337&mid=9.6.1

OTHERS:

• Various Media Reports, Press Releases, IRDA Journal.

78
ANNEXURE

79
 ANNEXURE

I, SHRIPRAKASH MAURYA (MBA IV semester) student is conducting a study on

“IMPACT OF ONLINE INSURANCE WEB AGGREGATOR LIKE POLICY BAZAR
ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR”. Please spare few minutes to fill up the
Questionnaire. Your cooperation is sincerely appreciated.

PERSONAL Details:

NAME:……………………………………..
Email Id/ Contact no :………………………

Kindly answer the following Questions:

1. What is your age?

• 0 – 10 Years
• 11 – 20 Years
• 21 – 35 Years
• 26 – 30 Years

2. What is your gender?

• Male
• Female

3. What is your educational Qualification?

• Matriculation
• HSSC
• Bachelors
• Masters
4. What is your occupation?
• Student
• Businessman
• Profession
• Housewife
5. What is your monthly income?
• Below 10,000
• 10,000 – 15,000
• 15,000 – 20,000
• Above 20,000

6. Are you aware with the online insurance web aggregator?

(a) Yes (b) No

7. Do you ever use online insurance web aggregator?

80
 (a) Yes (b) No

8. Is insurance web aggregator helpful for purchasing insurance ?

(a) Yes (b) No

9. At the time of purchasing insurance, are you compared it with insurance web

aggregator?

(a) Yes (b) No

10. What is the purpose of buying insurance from online web aggregator?

(a) Tax saving (b) Better return

(c) Risk cover (d) All of these

11. How much do you trust the information on given online web aggregator website ?

(a) A great deal (b) A little

(c) A lot (d) Not at all

(e) A moderate amount

12. In which company you would like to purchase investment plan through web

aggregator?

(a) Government owned company (b) Public limited company

(c) Private company (d) Foreign based

13. Provide the reason behind choosing online insurance web aggregator investor

company?

(a) Safety (b) Brand name

81
 (c) Good track record (d) good return

14. If the product were available today, how likely would you be to buy the product through

online insurance web aggregator

(a) Extremely likely (b) Not so likely

(c) very slowly (d) Not at all likely

(e) somewhat likely

15. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the online insurance web aggregator?

(a) very satisfied (b) somewhat dissatisfied

(c) somewhat satisfied (d) very satisfied

(e) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

82