Insurance Sector

The insurance sector is one of the most demanding and promising financial sector. There are lots of career opportunities available in this field. It is a common belief among the people that the jobs available in the insurance field are confined to agent or salesmanship. The reason behind this belief is that prior to the application of IRDA Act (1999), the insurance agents were the only medium of insurance selling. But now days the various distribution channels like insurance brokers, corporate agents, banks, retail malls, voluntary institutes, savings groups have entered in the insurance business. These channels are working so aggressively and innovatively that it is predicted by some scholars that there will e no insurance agents in the coming 5-10 years. Along with this, the insurance companies are doing their business through internet and direct correspondence.

Insurance is an intangible product. It cannot be seen or touches as other commodities like mobiles, television etc. So the basic knowledge of insurance is essential for working in this sector. The difference between demand and supply are increasing day by day. Due to this the trained insurance persons are in great demand.  For the last 10 years, the insurance sector has emphasized in the field of sales and marketing. But now it is focusing on policy servicing and in the practical business of insurance. Today’s insurance field is open for those having technical knowledge of insurance and mastery in the subtypes of insurance.

 Prior to privatization, only Life Insurance Corporation and four companies of General Insurance Corporation were having their monopoly in the insurance sector. But today in India there are 48 insurance companies. Out of this 23companies are working as life insurance companies. Each and every company has its branches throughout India. These companies are more interested in opening their branches in the rural areas. Life Insurance Corporation of India has more than 2000 branches in India while other companies like Reliance, Bajaj Alliance, and ICICI Prudential etc. are working aggressively and very soon they too will have more than 2000 branches. The offices of insurance companies are seen in association with banks and post office.

Insurance Companies 

Initially the insurance sector was restricted to tax benefit and investment. But now due to product demand, competition and a new dimension of marketing, the insurance sector is taking a major turn. Earlier people used to buy insurance policies for the sake of tax benefit or due to the agent’s insistence. The moot point in this was that the agent used to sell only those policies having a higher premium rate and which could earn him a handsome commission. Due to this the policy holders were unaware of the low cost policies coming under term insurance.  This has created a misunderstanding that insurance products are very costly. Again the agents have started paying the first two premiums of the policy from their pockets. This has limited the importance of insurance to reach to the common people. But now the various distribution channels are progressing rapidly due to which the life insurance is reaching to more and more people. This together has resulted in tremendous growth in life insurance business.

There are 278 insurance brokers and more than 1200 banks working in insurance sector. More than 200 hospitals are providing med claim services. According to a survey made by Insurance Skill Development Corporation, India requires 21 lakh trained insurance persons till 2020. The Central Government has agreed to increase the foreign investment of insurance sector from 26% to 49%. This will result in the overall growth and development of insurance sector. The 49% of foreign investment will allow minimum 200companies to work in India. One thing should be noticed is that America is having the total population of 30 crores and there are 6000 companies working there. Whereas in India has a population of 120 crores and only 48 insurance companies working here. With this we can predict that how much vast scope is there in the insurance sector. The Association of Chambers of Commerce has stated that till 2020 the annual turnover of the insurance sector will reach up to 100 billion dollars. To provide service and administration in this vast growing business, the insurance sector requires a large man power in he back office.

Following are the types of insurance available in India:

1) Life Insurance

2) General Insurance

3) Health Insurance

4) Banc insurance

5) Reinsurance

Types Of Insurance

Every type of insurance has various subtypes, branches and sub-branches and specialists are required in each of this section. Every insurance office has following administrative departments:

a) New business:

In this department new business is logged in and registration of new proposals is made.

b) Underwriting:

In this department every new proposal is underwrite by checking all the aspects thoroughly. This department decides whether to accept a new proposal or not.

c) Accounts:

The accounts department accepts the premiums of new and in-force policies, transfers amounts on various accounts and works out the investment of the company.

d) Data Management:

This department manages the data of accepted insurance proposal and all the related documents. The department is responsible for making the data available whenever required. The section also has to conserve all the financial and medical data.

e) Claims:

This is the most important department of any insurance company. The working includes accepting claim notices and sorting them, completion of claim documentations, claim investigation, claims payments etc.

f) Customer services:

This department deals directly with the customers. The main job of this department is to help the customers by answering their queries and solving their problems. Along with this other functions of this department includes change of address, change of nomination, loan, policy assignment and reassignment, transfer of policy etc.

All these above departments have to maintain a co-ordination with each other and also with the head office and regional office. The other regular jobs of insurance offices include training of employees, agents and sales department.

The insurance sector requires trained insurance professionals to provide services to the customers through these departments. Any graduate degree and training in insurance field are the required skills for employment in this sector. One can start his career as assistant, operational executive, executive underwriting, executive claims or executive data management and then can progress further step by step. Regular training and experience is a must to achieve higher level in this field. Along with the graduates other professionals also have a golden opportunity in this field. The doctors are required for medical underwriting of the customers before buying the insurance policies, chartered accountants are required for financial assessment, and lawyers are required for claim investigation.

career In Insurance Field

The websites of various insurance companies have career as option on them. One can enter into the field of insurance by uploading one’s resume on the websites. Besides the government undertaking companies like L.I.C and G.I.C conduct special recruitment for their offices. The written exam followed by interview is the normal criteria for selection of employees. The insurance brokers are also becoming active in the field of insurance. There are 268 brokers working in India and they have their offices throughout the country. So there is also a scope for career in the insurance broker’s offices. Also one can opt for career as corporate agent. The list of insurance brokers and corporate agents is available on IRDA website. Along with this many banks have also entered in the field of insurance and they also require educated employees.