An Empirical Study of the Level of Awareness towards Various Rights and Duties among the Insured Households in Rajasthan, India

ABSTRACTThough the insurance industry is in existence since long, the level of awareness towards the rights and duties regarding insurance is negligible . The study tries to understand the awareness of the people towards the rights and duties towards life insurance products after the privatization of the insurance sector. To actually understand this , a primary research was conducted to find out the level of awareness towards the rights and duties of the policy holders across demographic profiles and about the level of awareness towards life insurance policies prevailing in the market. Chi square test was used to test the significance of the relationship. The analysis is based on a sample of 117 individuals from randomly selected general public. A significant association between the demographic determinants and the awareness towards the rights and duties regarding life insurance was found showing low level of awareness towards rights and duties among the policy holders of life insurance.. The study was undertaken in Rajasthan and the methodology van be comfortably to the country as a whole.Keywords: Awareness, insurance, investments, policy holder, rights.(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)INTRODUCTION:Insurance means a collective bearing of risk. Insurance whether life or non-life, provides people with a reasonable degree of security and assurance that they will be compensated in the event of a calamity or a peril. It also helps the businessmen or individuals to protect themselves from catastrophic losses and to anticipate potential risk problems.The Indian insurance system has its roots in the nineteenth century. Before 1973 prior to nationalization of life insurance companies, insurance was concentrated mainly among private hands. It was clear that a better insurance system was needed to promote the economic goals of the new Indian state. According to experts in insurance there has been a substantial growth in the distribution of insurance branches and size. After nationalization, there was also a change in recruitment policy. However due to the advancement in technology there was introduction of computer in every field but insurance in India did not, however, introduce computers on a large scale because of the fear that these would result in retrenchment and unemployment. For a long time Indian insurance companies faced very little competition and operated in a protected economy. But after 1999 market for insurance products and services has become more competitive than ever before because of the entry of big private insurance companies. Now due to the increase in competition the private and public sector insurance companies had to broaden the horizon of their products and services to meet their demand and fulfill their need through better facilities. To fulfill the need of their customer the insurance companies has to be accelerate in the country. To be successful in insurance sector, insurance companies will need to revamp their business model to build a large volumes , highly scalable operation , package and deliver products rapidly in the dynamic market, leverage effectively on multiple delivery channels (branches , internet, etc.) with a view to contain the cost of operations and build relationships with providers of related insurance products and services and move towards converting the network of insurance companies' branches into 'insurance supermarkets'. So there are different insurance products and services that are offered by the insurance companies in order to fulfill the need and the demand of the customer.An insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money (the "benefits") upon the happening or non-happening of a particular event . The policy holder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as a lump sum. Other expenses (such as funeral expenses) are also sometimes included in the premium. …