By opening the economy for foreign players to enter and compete in the market, numerous challenges and opportunities beckoned the domestic players in India. The banking and insurance sectors also got affected by this and started to reenergize their work and revamped the whole system to face the situation. They also initiated business into some new areas and as a result, both these sectors came together to leverage the opportunities available to them so as to reap the prospects of individual specializations. Thus, the concept of bancassurance emerged. It is the detailed agreement and arrangement between the banks and insurance company in which the insurance products are distributed properly by effectively utilizing the banks distribution channels. It is regarded as a one-stop shop where a complete range of banking and insurance products are made available. It originated in France and is a new concept in India and Asia, but it has its success story in Europe, the USA and Canada. This research paper is an attempt to assess the vital aspects of bancassurance and evaluate how this synergy is leveraging benefits for banking and insurance.

As the financial institution business is undergoing a sea change in their day to day operations due to regulations and integration of global financial markets, several new concepts and ways of doing business is now a norm. Bancassurance is a term coined by considering a changed scenario in the financial markets, especially for banking and the insurance industry and it connotes distribution of insurance products through effective utilization of banking channels. Its practical implementation has thrown-up numerous opportunities and challenges for partners of viable synergy. It is suited in a country like India, taking into consideration the topography and demographic variables. If implemented effectively it is a win-win situation for banks, insurance companies and customers. Thus, a feasible model must be developed and endorsed by the partners to reap profitability for themselves and the value delivery for customers.

The study is based on secondary data available with various publications of different banking and insurance organizations and published reports of RBI and IRDA with reference to the same. Descriptive research design has been used to minutely evaluate and analyze the problem of the study covering small and vital aspects of such synergy to come out with some valuable conclusions and implications which may be considered for future policy framework within these two sectors.

Bancassurance is a detailed arrangement between the two partners for effective provision of banking and insurance products and services either from the same source or from the same customer base. Both these sectors have undergone a sea change keeping in mind the rapidly changing and challenging economic environment around the world and therefore, they want to do better than their competitors in the era of open and competitive scenario (Romain, 2003). Insurance companies are also trying to be competitive by cutting costs and serving customers in a better way. It is time for them to select and adopt the best available distribution channels for delivering efficiency to their customers.

Risk And Insurance Journal, Banking Industry, Insurance Industry, Insurance Products, Global Financial Markets, Financial Service Packages, Financial Services Sectors, Credit Protection Products, Universal Protection Plans, Bancassurance Products, Customer Relationship Management.