A STUDY ON SATISFACTION OF POLICY - HOLDERS TOWARDS PREMIUM AND LOAN FACILITIES OFFERED BY LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA

India's insurance market, though with a long history, is still a fledgling in many respects. Data is the lifeline of an insurance market. Comprehensive mortality and morbidity data facilitate risk based pricing of life and health insurance products. Similarly claims data on auto insurance and other types of casualty and property insurance are critical to ensuring the financial soundness of insurers. With the exception of mortality data, India's insurance industry does not have any data warehousing or data mining infrastructure to offer varied insurance products needed by a vast segment of the population. Only the availability of reliable data on economic losses arising out of natural disasters together with a well-capitalized industry to absorb risk transferred from households will lead to the development of a functioning natural catastrophe insurance market in the country. Apart from the lack of relevant information and data, restricted availability of qualified and well trained insurance professionals such as underwriters, actuaries and brokers is also a major impediment to the robust growth of the market. The industry does not have any institutional infrastructure for testing, certification and licensing or underwriters and brokers. The absence of functioning trade associations practicing basic self-regulatory principles such as a code-of conduct for their members and a mechanism for identification and elimination of market conduct malpractices that cause serious damage to the industry's reputation is also not helping the industry realize its huge potential