This paper is a comparative analysis of the effects of demographic variables (gender, age, educational qualification, occupation, family monthly income and marital status) on the customer satisfaction of the health insurance policyholders of public and private sector general insurance companies. The data is collected from 800 health insurance policyholders in Greater Mumbai region, Maharashtra, India using simple random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was used for collecting primary data. The top eight general insurance companies, both in the public and private sectors, operating in India were selected. Nonparametric chi-square test of independence/association is used for testing the association between demographic variables and the level of customer satisfaction of health insurance policyholders. The findings of the study revealed that in case of public sector general insurance companies, there is a significant association between all demographic variables except occupation of the respondent and overall level of customer satisfaction with the service quality. In case of private sector general insurance companies, there is significant association between three out of six demographic variables (Age, Family Monthly Income and Marital Status) of the respondents and overall level of customer satisfaction with the service quality whereas in case of other demographic variables (Gender, Educational Qualification and Occupation), there is an insignificant association. It is suggested that the general insurance companies should consider these demographic variables to increase the overall level of customer satisfaction with the service quality as every customer is distinct with respect to his or her needs and wants.

India is one of the important countries in world trade as far as the service sector is concerned. The last 10 years in India has witnessed expansion of financial services sector viz., Banking, Capital Markets, Life Insurance and Mutual Funds. Apart from this, Indian Non-Life Insurance and Health insurance segments have shown consistent growth (GIC Yearbook, 2014-15). Uncertainties of health, accidents and other emergencies in life cannot be predicated or stopped, but they can certainly be handled and managed by every individual with the right protection tools like health and personal accident insurance covers (The Financial Express, July 19, 2016). Consumers of complex services lack the technical knowledge to properly evaluate the quality of service provided. A common example of a complex service is insurance (e.g., life, auto, health) (Hoffman
et al., 1991, p. 2). Understanding the customer properly is, therefore, vital and it is almost fundamental to the success of any marketing plan or strategy (Nag, 2001).

The health insurance sector continues to be one of the most dynamic and fast evolving constituents of the Indian Insurance industry (Nagpal and Nagpal, 2009). Health Insurance is the fastest growing industry in India (Bardhan, 2009). Over the last few years, the health insurance business in India has been growing at a phenomenal rate (Chattoraj, 2009).

Marketing Management,Customer Satisfaction of Health Insurance Policyholders, Effect of Demographic Variables, Study of General Insurance Companies in India.