Executive summary The study has attempted to analyze the need of customers preference while purchasing Insurance for

the Private Cars owned by them. The study is based on primary and secondary data from the respondents and through records, company profile, and internet. Currently, private cars are seen as an Addition to a persons asset class rather than mode of personal/family Transport only. In this scenario, Customer preferences have varied when it comes to choosing Insurance for their car. Preferences change from Amount of Premium, Quality of claim settlement, Brand name of the company, Etc to the Relationship with the person selling the insurance.

A study on customer preference among General insures was completed with the reference of Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Ltd, Cochin.

Before finalizing the sample a little pilot study was conducted during the month of July, 2011. The researcher conducted the pilot study with 100 objects for pre-testing questionnaire based on the suggestions given by customer the questionnaire was framed for the study.

The sample size used for the study is hundred from the population of eight hundred by using simple random sampling for the period of last one month. Percentage analysis is used for the study. Secondary data for the study is collected from, Website, Magazine, Journal, Books

Insurance
Insurance is a risk management technique primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss that may be suffered by those individuals or entities who have an insurable interest in scarce resources, by transferring the possibility of this loss from one interested person, persons, or entity to another. The scarce resources referred to here fall into three divisions: human resources, financial resources, and capital, or tangible resources. In the context of insurance, scarce resources are also known as "exposures," because they are "exposed" to perils, those things, or forces,

which cause destruction or reduction, in the usefulness, or value, of an exposed resource. Human resources are thus exposed to perils such as illness or death; financial resources to legal judements that may result from negligent acts, and capital resources to physical perils such as fire, theft, windstorm, and vandalism, to name but a few. A hazard is the cause of a peril. It is that thing or condition which increases the liklihood of a peril. Thus perils and hazards are identified by the exposure that they threaten. For example a slippery roadway could be viewed as a financial hazard, capital hazard, or human hazard by automobile owners, and rightly so, since this condition increases the likelihood of an automobile accident that might result in an unfavorable legal judgement, automobile damage, and bodily injury. In the context of commercial trade, insurance is further defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for consideration, payment, in the form of a risk premium. The insurance premium develops at an actuarily-determined rate. This rate is a factor used to determine the amount of premium to charge for a certain limit, and type, of insurance on the scarce resource. The premium can further be viewed as a guaranteed, known, relatively small financial loss to the insured, paid to the insurer, in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a loss to the insured resource(s). The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be indemnified.

Insurance in India
In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. Insurance in various forms has been mentioned in the writings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharmashastra) and Kautilya (Arthashastra). The fundamental basis of the historical reference to insurance in these ancient Indian texts is the same i.e. pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. The early references to Insurance in these texts has reference to marine trade loans and carriers' contracts. Insurance in its current form has its history dating back until 1818, when Oriental Life Insurance Company was started by Anita Bhavsar in Kolkata to cater to the needs of European community. The pre-independence era in India saw discrimination between the lives of foreigners (English) and Indians with higher premiums being charged for the latter. In 1870, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society became the first Indian insurer. At the dawn of the twentieth century, many insurance companies were founded. In the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act and the Provident Fund Act were passed to regulate the insurance business. The Life Insurance Companies Act, 1912 made it necessary that the premium-rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary. However, the disparity still existed as discrimination between Indian and foreign companies. The

oldest existing insurance company in India is the National Insurance Company Ltd., which was founded in 1906. It is in business. The Government of India issued an Ordinance on 19th January, 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. In 1972 with the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act was passed by the Indian Parliament, and consequently, 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 Insurance Corporation of India was incorporated as a company in 1971 and it commence business on January 1sst 1973. The LIC had monopoly till the late 90s when the Insurance sector was reopened to the private sector. Before that, the industry consisted of only two state insurers: Life Insurers (Life Insurance Corporation of India, LIC) and General Insurers (General Insurance Corporation of India, GIC). GIC had four subsidiary companies. With effect from December 2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from the parent company and were set up as independent insurance companies: Oriental Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited.

Motor vehicle insurance, or motor insurance, covers you against accidental damage to, or loss of, your motor vehicle. The maximum amount you'll be paid if your car is damaged beyond repair or stolen and never recovered is the market value of the vehicle (ie, what it was worth immediately before the incident or accident). Motor vehicle insurance can also cover you against damage you might cause to someone else's vehicle or property. There are three broad categories of motor vehicle insurance: Comprehensive this policy offers the greatest level of cover for accidental loss of, or damage to, your vehicle and for any damage you cause to someone else's property or vehicle (no matter whose fault it is). This also includes other costs associated with an accident such as salvage and towing fees. Third party, fire and theft - as the name suggests, you are only covered for damage you cause to someone else's vehicle or property, for damage to your own vehicle caused by fire, and for theft of your own vehicle. Third party property damage - you are only covered for damage you cause to someone else's vehicle or property. You are not covered for damage to or loss of your own vehicle. Third party property damage cover tends to be the least expensive form of motor vehicle insura

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PREFERENCE

Customers are informed and remaindered about the products and are requested and persuaded to purchase their products. Such communication may be made their along the product or well in advance of the introduction of product into the market. Such communication becomes necessary when a new product or service is introduced in the market or an old product is improved or it is simply to increase the sales of the products.