Career @ Insurance - Part 1

Ranjan K Baruah *

Insurance is a common word for us but in spite of that we have less knowledge about insurance and why it is important for us. It is important for us to know about insurance which is not only linked with life but also others like general insurance or health insurance.

All vehicle owners have insurance of the vehicle but most of them may not have their own health policy.

After economic liberation in India, many private corporate and career option have flourished and one such career option is in insurance filed. Insurance has been an integral part in one’s life as it helps in many ways.

We are always familiar with term like Life Insurance and companies whether under government or purely private have capitalize on life insurance and they are doing business and at the same time also helping people in many ways. Insurance means being covered or protected against any hazards of life.

It is a financial agreement that binds two people to certain obligations which is known as Policy. One who buys insurance/ gets insurance coverage is the policy holder or insured and the one who sells the policy is the insurer.

There are many multinationals engaged with insurance apart from others. Some of the leading brands are AEGON Life Insurance, Aviva Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, Future Generali India Life Insurance, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance , Kotak Life Insurance, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Max Newyork Life Insurance, PNB MetLife Insurance, Reliance Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Tata AIA Life Insurance, etc.

All Insurance companies come under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) which is established to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of Life and General insurance industry in India.

Posts and designation related to the fields are Development Officer, Insurance Agents, Composite Agent, Insurance Surveyor, Actuaries, etc.

Some of the courses related to insurance are

o BBA Insurance,
o Diploma in Capital Marketing and Insurance Management (DCMIM),
o Diploma in Insurance,
o Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management (DIRM),
o International Post Graduate Diploma in General Insurance,
o International Post Graduate Diploma in Life Insurance,
o MBA Insurance,
o MBA Risk and Insurance,
o M.Com specialization in Banking and Insurance,
o Master of Insurance Business,
o Post Graduate Diploma in Banking, Insurance and Financial Services Management,
o Post Graduate Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management ,
o Post Graduate Diploma in Insurance Business Management,
o Post Graduate Diploma in Insurance Law,
o Post Graduate Diploma in Insurance Management , etc.

The foremost choice to open a career in this field is to start as an insurance agent. They are the people who advice the individuals and enterprises about insurance protection to their health, life and properties and sell the policies to provide protection against financial loss.

There are about 30 insurance companies in India. The major government companies are Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and Postal Life Insurance.

Minimum qualification required for joining these companies as insurance is senior secondary where a student must be 12th pass. Higher qualification is always seen as additional advantage.

One has to pass the entrance examination conducted by the Actuarial Society of India, Mumbai. Students who have passed 10 + 2 or equivalent exam are eligible. License is needed to work in this field which can be achieved through a training programme.

As the demand has increased so insurance has been introduced as a vocational subject. . The same has been introduced by many universities at the graduation level.

After the completion of graduation or post graduation in management one can work in the insurance marketing and sales of private insurance companies. We shall write more in our next edition.

Scholarships:

Students may apply for scholarships from Tata Trusts, who are studying at the undergraduate and post graduate levels in Colleges/Institutions. The application process will be exclusively online and last date of sending application is 27th December. The Scholarship is for the current academic year.