Job options in insurance

Apart from statutory obligations, insurance is a way of covering the costs arising from disasters of various kinds. The principle of insurance is that the losses of the few are borne by the contributions of many.
There are two broad streams of insurance — general insurance and life insurance. Life Insurers transact life insurance business while general Insurers transact the rest. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (www.irdaindia.org) is the regulatory body for the insurance industry in India.
Some insurance careers are highly specialised and require relevant specialised qualifications while others are open to all graduates. Actuaries help design plans and evaluate the financial risks a company takes when it sells an insurance policy or offers a pension plan.
Underwriters assess proposals and determine terms and costs of an insurance policy before deciding whether to insure a customer. The underwriter may decide to pass on a part of the risk to another insurer. This is known as reinsurance. Reinsurance is an insurance bought by the insurers.
Claims staff work with people to settle claims against their policies. They review the policy details, and obtain evidence before paying a claim.
Loss assessors investigate claims for losses caused by burglaries, thefts, fires and car accidents, etc. They work out the loss covered by an insurance policy and report the details and circumstances to the insurer.
Insurance agents work on behalf of insurance companies. They are sales professionals who collect premiums and meet sales targets on a commission basis. Insurance brokers are independent business people who work for themselves or for brokerage firms to find the best insurance package for their clients’ needs. Risk managers identify and assess their company’s risk, advising on insurance and investment strategies.

SKILLS/ TRAITS
Integrity, quantitative ability, written and spoken communication skills and an interest in people are essential.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Those who sell insurance must first receive training to sell policies to individuals and business firms. The Licentiate, Associateship and Fellowship examinations by the Insurance Institute of India may be pursued alongside formal education for professional training in insurance.
The first point for embarking on training to be an actuary is on attaining 18 years of age and having passed 10+2 with at least 85% in maths or statistics. Generally, first class graduates or postgraduates in mathematics, statistics or econometrics will be in a better position than others to qualify as actuaries.
To qualify as an actuary, a candidate has to pass all examinations in the prescribed subjects spread over four groups called Series — CT, CA, ST and SA — in all, 15 subjects. In addition, he has to comply with other criteria such as experience requirement and attendance at a professionalism course prescribed for the purpose.
Institute of Actuaries of India conducts the training programmes. Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors is the professional body for insurance surveyors in India.
MBA, Chartered Accountancy, a law degree, computer science and engineering and related professional courses can lead to careers in insurance. Of late, some universities like University of Mumbai has started offering a three-year BCom degree programme with Banking and Insurance.
Many business schools have started offering MBA with sectoral specialisation in insurance to train managers specifically for the insurance industry. These are open to all graduates through management entrance tests.

PLACEMENTS/ PROSPECTS
Recruiters of insurance professionals would be reinsurance companies, insurance and reinsurance brokers, actuarial firms, health insurance firms, consulting firms, banks and financial institutions, microfinance companies, information technology companies managing underwriting, claims processing, etc. Entry level placements could be as Management trainees, Executive trainees, Business Analysts, Business Development Manager, Actuarial Analyst, Insurance analyst, etc depending on type of company.
With the detariffing of the general insurance industry as on January 1,2007, insurance companies now have the liberty to charge the premium rates (for the tariffed risks which were earlier governed by the Tariff Advisory Committee) according to their risk taking capabilities and their risk management process for their businesses. The industry would become increasingly more competitive and would require professionals to manage the underwriting and actuarial work so as to create rates which are viable and also stress more on the underwriting process. Marketing would emerge as the key since the companies would be selling differentiated products (policies).
Enthusiastic, trained people are eagerly sought for their skills and knowledge and advance quickly.

INSTITUTE WATCH
• National Insurance Academy, School of Management, Pune (www.niasom.edu.in)
• NMIMS University, Mumbai (www.nmims.edu)
• Birla Institute of Management Technology, Gr. Noida (http://bimtech.ac.in/)
• International Institute for Insurance and Finance, Hyderabad (www.iiifindia.com)
• ITM Institute of Financial Markets ,Navi Mumbai (www.itm.edu)
• Garware Institute of Career Education and Development,
• DS Actuarial Education Services University of Mumbai, Department of Statistics (www. mu.ac.i n/statadd.html)
• School of Insurance & Actuarial Science, Amity University Campus, Noida (NCR of New Delhi) (www.amity.edu)
• National Law University, Jodhpur (www.nlujodhpur.ac.in)
• Institute of Actuaries of India (www.actuariesindia.org)

Source - epaper.timesofindia.com