Career as Insurance Agent

Some of the common roles offered to Insurance Agents are Development Officer, Underwriter, Asset Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, Composite Agent and Insurance Officer. The job profile of an Insurance Agent involves selling insurance policies, helping individuals and businesses in managing risk from financial losses. The most demanding jobs are as Insurance Advisor and Insurance Agents, as they can earn their salaries according to their target assumes. 

Insurance Agents are not paid fixed salaries. They are paid on a commission basis. An Insurance Agent can grow up to the level of Insurance Advisor at Senior level with the right package and assurance. Below is the list of companies that hire individuals with the desired roles. Big metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, etc. hire individuals in large numbers due to their highest density of population. An aspirant has a scope of earning more in these areas. Some of the various roles are as follows:

Salaries differ in the private and government sector depending on the qualification and experience of an aspirant.

Pros

• It offers job security for making a living in insurance for many years.

• It can help you gain more commissions, as it is not a salary based job.

• No specific qualification is required for this career.
  
  

Cons

• It is a freelancer job with no restrictions.

• Income is not steady and predictable. 

• It takes stress to sell products and build a base with clients.

• Difficult to keep up with rules and regulations.

• Hiring is done for various grade of Insurance agents such as Asset Manager, Internal auditor, Stock analyst, Credit and Risk Manager and Insurance claim Advisor etc. for various government and Private banking sector like SBI, HDFC, TATA AIA, HDFC, Birla, MAX Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Exide Life Insurance, PNB Met Life, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

There is a growing demand for such insurance agents in the coming days. Various governments and non-government require Insurance agents to sell customized policies according to the customer’s requirements. The current demand includes agents with specializations in Risk Management and Claim Advisors. MBA aspirants can also join government organizations such as LIC, Jeevan Bima and AVIVA to study and analyze various policies. International opportunities do offer lucrative packages with additional benefits.

• An aspirant needs to take up Commerce and Arts stream in class 12th to pursue a career in the insurance sector. 

• To pursue a career in insurance, one needs to take up courses in Banking & Insurance, Risk Management and Financial and Risk management at UG level. He/she needs to clear an entrance exam conducted by respective universities such as CAT/XAT etc.

• To pursue a career at PG level, one needs to be a graduate in any one of the Insurance courses and apply for the same subject at PG level to gain in-depth knowledge of the subject.

• One can also opt for a diploma or certificate course in Insurance conducted by various universities.

There are several undergraduate and postgraduate courses in India. Various colleges and institutions offer bachelor, master courses in Insurance. Some of them are:

People who wish to become Insurance Agents are required to undergo 100 hours of training by respective Insurance companies. After the completion of training, they need to undergo an online examination conducted by the “Insurance Regulatory Development Authority” (IRDA) with at least 50% marks in aggregate. Various entrance tests such as SNAP, CAT, MCAT, CAT, IIIF etc. IRDA & Insurance Institute of India conducts online professional examination for recruitment as Insurance Agent in various sectors.

The other areas of insurance are:

• Sickness, Accident and Unemployment Insurance

• Liability Insurance

• Aviation Insurance

• Workers compensation and 

• Title Insurance

Fees Details:

There are quite a few colleges in India that offer excellent facilities and quality infrastructure for the students. As this is a relatively new branch, the chances of securing a seat in any of the top colleges are much more than that of other conventional Insurance streams.

• Principles and practice of Insurance

• Types of Insurance

• Legal and regulatory aspects of Insurance

• Risk Management and 

• General Insurance

• General Insurance by Mohinder Singh Kambhoj

• Going Tradigital by Nadeem Damani

• Insurance Economics by Roland Eisen

If this profile doesn’t match your criteria, one can work as Relationship Manager, Fund Manager and private equity partner with any investment bank to raise their capital. He/she can also work as a financial expert in an MNC or volunteer to work as a Maths Faculty. One can pursue Masters in Financial and Risk Management for a better option. If you possess a flair of talking with people and have good communication skills, one can work as a counsellor in various sectors.

An Insurance Agent stepwise approach towards customers and reliable clients to buy a customized plan according to their requirements.