Bancassurance is a channel of distribution of insurance products through banks. A number of insurers have already tied up with banks and some banks have already flagged off bancassurance through soft launches of select risk products. Bancassurance has been gaining momentum in the Indian market. This study is carried out to understand the position of private players when compared to public, and also to find the most preferred policies with these leading companies. It also aims to analyze the segment wise preference among different age groups. The study has been undertaken in order to identify the customers' attitude towards purchase of insurance products and also their knowledge on the bancassurance formats available through banks. The study concludes that there is a low level of awareness about bancassurance among bank customers and thereby gives suggestions to improve insurance penetration levels.

The business of insurance started with the beginning marine business. Traders, who used to gather in the Lloyd's coffee house in London, agreed to share the losses to their goods while being carried by ships. The losses used to occur because of pirates who robbed on the high seas or because of bad weather spoiling the goods or sinking the ship. The first insurance policy was issued in 1583 in England. In India, insurance began in 1870 with life insurance being transacted by an English company, the European and the Albert. The first Indian insurance company was the Bombay Mutual Assurance Society Ltd., formed in 1870. This was followed by the Oriental Life Assurance Co. in 1874, the Bharat in 1896 and the Empire of India in 1897.

Later, the Hindustan Cooperative was formed in Calcutta, the United India in Madras, the Bombay Life in Bombay, the National in Calcutta, the New India in Bombay, and the Jupiter in Bombay and the Lakshmi in New Delhi. These were all Indian companies, started as a result of the swadeshi movement in the early 1900s. By the year 1956, when the life insurance business was nationalized and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was formed on September 1, 1956, there were 170 companies and 75 provident fund societies transacting life insurance business in India. After the amendments to the relevant laws in 1999, the LIC did not have the exclusive privilege of doing life insurance business in India. By March 31, 2002, 11 new insurers had been registered and had begun to transact life insurance business in India.

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