CAREERS IN INSURANCE INDUSTRY
There are many more opportunities and roles
available in the insurance industry and this article is a humble attempt to
explore the same careers options in Insurance sector. “Zindagi Ke sath bhi,
Zindagi ke bad bhi” you might have come across these lines in the advertisement
of an insurance company.
Benefits of Insurance may be available to a
person in life, and if situation changes the benefits are available to
immediate family. Insurance has a direct correlation with risk, perceived risk
to be precise. Risk which is considered to be an integral part of life and
business, is defined as a probability or unexpected threat that may result in
injury to or death of a person or damage to or loss of a property. Whenever an
untoward incident like loss of a life takes place.
The family may be affected in many ways. There
are emotional upheavals and the family may have lost the comfort of a regular
income, needed to support the family, which was earned by the deceased person.
Similarly, when a person is injured resulting in temporary or permanent
disability, the financial loss, likely to occur, could be on account of medical
expenditure and loss of earning due to disability. When it comes to property,
movable or unmovable ,the financial loss can be assumed in terms of money
required to repair, rebuild the asset or buying a new one.
In all the above cases insurance is a big
support and this supporting role encourages people to take insurance policies.
Insurance is defined as a special contract between the insurance company,
called insurer and the person or entity, known as insured/client , opting for
the insurance. Insurance is a mechanism by which the affected party is able to
get a compensation for the financial loss suffered by her as a result of
unexpected or unforeseen incidents. Under an agreement of insurance, the client
is required to pay insurance fee/charges to the insurance company.
This fee/ charge in the insurance vocabulary is
known as premium which can be one time or periodical payment depending upon the
terms and conditions of insurance undertaken. In lieu of this premium the
insurance company agrees to make certain payment to the client or bear the
costs of a client in case of an unforeseen event, defined in the policy.
Insurance, in fact, is a model of sharing of risks and financial losses. Losses
of few people are divided among large number of people. So all of those who
have bought insurance would share the loss of few who have actually incurred
the loss. Insurance Business in India Compared with global standards, reach of
insurance is considered to be low in our country. However more and more people
are now realising the importance of insurance for self and family.
Many organizations also offer insurance
coverage to their employees. Demographic factors like growing middle class ,
young insurable population, organizational initiatives and government
participation are driving the insurance penetration and as per trends the
overall insurance industry is to reach US $ 280 by 2020.
TYPES OF INSURANCE:
Under general insurance the major categories
are
·
Health Insurance
·
Travel Insurance
·
Motor/Vehicle Insurance
·
Household Insurance
·
Fire Insurance
·
Marine Insurance
·
Crop Insurance
All the above advertise for requirement of
manpower in the following positions:
1.
Assistant Administrative Office (AAO): This is a position
similar to that of probationary officer in public sector banks. While for all
public sector banks the vacancies are pooled and a common selection test is
held, AAOs are recruited by individual insurance companies as per the
employment notice issued by them. Graduates from all disciplines are eligible
to apply for the position of AAO. The selection process is divided into three
stages, first being the preliminary examination. Containing questions of
reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude, English language (grammar,
vocabulary, comprehension). Merit list for interview is prepared based on score
in main examination only.
2.
Assistant: Assistant
is a clerical position and usually vacancies for them are more than that of
AAOs. Here also all graduates are eligible. While AAOs are selected on all
India basis and can be posted anywhere within the country, applicants for
assistants' positions have to indicate the state/union territory for which they
are applying. Upon selection they get their posting accordingly. Assistants who
perform well may get promoted to officers cadre after putting in required
number of years, subject to available vacancies.
2.
Specialist positions: There are many specialists position in
insurance companies though its number is much less when compared with
generalists positions. Since specific qualifications are required there are
lesser applicants and the competition takes place accordingly. The following
are the most common specialists positions in insurance companies:
·
Actuary:
Graduates
who have passed the required papers in the examination conducted by Institute
of Actuaries of India/Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, United Kingdom are
eligible to apply for this position. Law officer: A degree in law and being
registered for practicing law, by Bar Council of India is the common
requirement for the position of Law officer in insurance companies. You should
have pursued Law either after your graduation or 5 years integrated course
after 12th.
·
Information technology officer: Insurance companies are
adopting Information Technology in a big way and to strengthen their related
infrastructure need Information technology officers. To apply the candidate
should at least be a graduate in Engineering in Information Technology/
Computer Science or Electronics. Those qualified as Master of Computer
Applications (MCA) or Master of Computer Science (M.Sc. Computer Science) are
also considered eligible.
·
Human Resources officer: A postgraduate Degree
or Diploma in Management with specialization in Human Resources or a similar
qualification is required for this position. In some cases candidates with
Master of Social Work are also considered eligible.
·
Official Language officer: All central government
departments and public sector undertakings need to have Official Language
officers as prescribed in relevant acts/rules. This is applicable for the above
insurance companies also. Postgraduates in English/Hindi with Hindi/English at graduation
level are considered. Sometimes postgraduates in Sanskrit with English and
Hindi at graduation level are also allowed to apply. Some
experience/certificate in translation may be required/an advantage. Specialist
vacancies also exist in finance function for which qualifications like MBA
(Finance), Chartered accountancy are considered. For specialists positions
candidate has to appear in an additional test of professional/ subject
knowledge. For example the one who has applied for the position of HR officer
will have to appear in the test of Human Resource Management.
Jobs in private sector Insurance companies: There are more than 50
private companies in life and non-life insurance business. These companies
generally don't follow a single or standardized model for recruitment as
government insurance companies. Sometimes these private companies go for campus
placement for students of insurance related courses and for specialised
positions in actuarial science, marketing, law, finance etc. Opportunities can
be checked with their websites.
Working as an Insurance Agent: Insurance is a matter
of solicitation and most of the insurance policies are mobilized through agents
identified/ accredited by insurance companies. Those who are at least
matriculate (10th pass) and over 18 years of age may opt to become an insurance
agent after obtaining the required certification. In many cases the insurance
company arrange classroom training for agency aspirants after which the
candidate has to appear in the certification test prescribed by the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The other option is to
attend the online course, pass the certification examination and then apply for
agency .The certification has to be renewed after prescribed intervals for
which one is required to attend refresher training and then pass the required
test.
Courses related to Insurance: At few institutes you
may find an undergraduate course like B.Com. (Insurance) or BBA (Insurance). At
postgraduate level you have the opportunity to pursue a management course
(MBA/Postgraduate Diploma in Management) with insurance. National Law
University has MBA in Insurance & Risk Management. Banaras Hindu University
has a similar course. BIMTECH, Noida offers PGDM in Insurance Business
Management. Aligarh Muslim University has a PG Diploma in Banking, Risk &
Insurance Management. These are just few (indicative) examples. Institute of
Insurance & Risk Management is joint initiative of IRDAI and Government of
Telangana. It conducts courses like PG Diploma in Management, PG Diploma in
Investment & Risk Management,PG Diploma in Actuarial Science, PG Diploma in
Analytics & Actuarial Science.
Insurance Institute of India: Insurance Institute of
India(III) at Mumbai is the pioneer in continuing insurance education in the
country. It conducts courses like PG Diploma in Health Insurance, PG Diploma in
Insurance Marketing, International Certification in Life & General
Insurance, Executive Diploma in Insurance Management, Certificate in
Compliance, Governance & Risk Management in Insurance, Certified Insurance
Anti-Fraud Professional (jointly with North American Training Group, USA). III
also offers online training for licensing of insurance agents/brokers. National
Insurance Academy at Pune offers Postgraduate Diploma in Management with
emphasis on Insurance. Brokers online learning course is also available with
the academy.
Role of IRDAI: Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (IRDAI),headquartered at Hyderabad, is the
regulator of insurance business in the country. It plays the same role as RBI
for banks and SEBI for stock markets.IRDAI also has opening for insurance
professionals, usually at senior level and for experienced candidates. Working
here is considered to be highly prestigious. One may also get associated with
insurance industry as a loss surveyor or loss assessor by obtaining required
certification from a body recognised by IRDAI. Job opportunities also exist in
specialised agencies like Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India and
Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.
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