Career in insurance: Jobs for millions

Ranjan K Baruah *

At the time of crisis and when COVID 19 has impacted on employment and many are out of the jobs because of the crisis, there is one service which has been listed as one of the essential services by the government and this sector brings scope for millions in the country.

The irony is that this profession is like an irritating issue for many as people associated with this are not able to showcase the real importance of the profession. But in spite of everything the industry is booming in the country and this will certainly boom in the years to come.

India is a country of a large proportion of persons being in employable age. One of the premium sectors showing upward growth is insurance, which is a US$ 41-billion industry in India. India is the fifth largest life insurance market in the emerging insurance economies globally and is growing at 32-34 per cent annually.

With increasing competitiveness amongst these, the players are bringing out newer products to attract more customers into their kitty. Foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per cent is permitted under the automatic route subject to obtain a licence from the official regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

Insurance, within the financial sector, plays a vibrant role in the economy and there are a variety of risks in day to day life requiring insurance protection. In simple terms, insurance is a mechanism of sharing the losses of a few by many.

Though the pooling mechanism exists in society since ages in various forms, the modern form of insurance can be traced to Europe, starting with marine expeditions in pursuit of business. Subsequently, the concept extended to development of Life Insurance and other forms of property insurance.

This diversity of various classes of insurance business requires human resources of different levels of education, technical know-how and expertise. After the advent of financial sector reforms in the 1990s, the insurance industry was opened for private participation and foreign equity in India in early 2000.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a statutory body formed in April, 2000 under an Act of Parliament by Government of India to protect the interests of the policyholders and to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry in India.

Many terms are associated with the insurance industry and the most common work is insurance agents which may be from any authorised company in India. There is no doubt that Life Insurance Corporation or LIC in short is the oldest in this sector. There are many other private companies in life and in the general insurance sector.

We should know that the banking sector serves as the most important corporate insurance agency for distribution of insurance products. They are in tie up with insurance companies for selling insurance using their own network. Banks provide immense opportunities of employment.

There is Postal Life Insurance, Corporate Agents, Insurance Brokers, Individual Agents or Advisors who have been working in the insurance sector for decades. Micro Insurance Agents, RAP(Rural Authorised Persons) or VLE (Village Level Entrepreneurs) to market insurance products, Referral Companies, Web Aggregators , etc .

Professional terms or designation associated with insurance includes
Actuaries, Chartered Accountants and Finance Professionals, Risk Managers,
Insurance is covering the financial risk of individuals and businesses ,
Legal professionals , Capital market professionals, Back Office Personnel,
Risk Assessment and Underwriting, Policy Preparation and Delivery,
Maintenance of Records and Depository , Customer Tracking , Delivery of Updates,
Investment and Returns Tracking and Monitoring, Risk Monitoring and Retrieval Systems,
Grievance Redressal , Assessment of Losses and Claims Payment ,
Valuation and Matching Risks and Portfolio ,
Information Dissemination for Customers and Prospective Customers ,
Compliance with the Laws and Regulations, Governance Structures ,
H R and Administration , Employee Services and Office Services ,
Evaluation of Personnel, Secretarial Services , Training of Personnel ,
Research, I T Systems Support, Accounting and Audit,
Finance and Investment Accounting, Budgets and other Control Structures,
Third Party Services Monitoring, Monitoring Service Standards,
Support for Marketing Personnel, etc .

Insurance sector in India has been through a lot of changes and this shall bring more opportunities for millions in the country. At the present time of crisis people are also realising the importance of insurance like health or life though we do motor insurance as that is compulsory.

We shall publish more options in this sector in our next edition and till then stay safe and keep fighting the pandemic.