Each department of the insurance industry have their own set of responsibilities
and perform various tasks. The main work areas are :
Administrative Officer (AO) and Assistant Administrative Officer
(AAO) : These 1st class officer group in LIC and GIC begin their
job with probation-cum-training period for 6 months where the candidate is
placed anywhere in the country. AAOs can choose any
of the areas from Administration, Development and Accounts. Administration
AAOs handle policy making, policy claims up to certain limit, checking clauses
and details, filing official returns and statements to higher regional offices
etc. The Development AAOs deal with marketing and procurement of business,
meeting prospective clients, promoting the policies and getting contracts.
The Accounts AAOs manage the funds including incomes and expenses of the corporation.
AAO's can be promoted to AO's after 3 years of working experience.
Development Officer : They are the II class officer group
who are in charge of the development of the insurance policies. The work profile
of the development officer includes recruitment of agents, training them for
procurement of new business and servicing of the existing policies.
Insurance/ Composite Agents : Insurance agents help individuals,
families and businesses select insurance policies that provide the best protection
for their lives, health, and property. They are the people who have taken
up an agency from the insurance company to sell their policy on a commission
basis. They work with the development officer in the insurance Company and
the credit for the policy of the insurance agents goes to the development
officers within the organization. Insurance agents can also serve as financial
consultants, who will offer a complete range of insurance solutions. Smart
and efficient insurance agents working hard can become a development officer
over a period of time.
Insurance Surveyors : Surveyors are independent professionals
who are hired by the insurance companies to work as consultants. Their main
task is to assess the actual loss and avoid false claims filed by the insured.
Their work involves a lot of fieldwork, communications, traveling, PR etc.
A surveyor with a background in mechanical engineering assesses industrial
accidents. Here the surveyor would investigate, evaluate, assess, adjust and
determine the liability, negotiate and then finally submit a report to the
insurance company.
Actuaries: This is the most important position in the insurance
business which deals with a wide range of financial problems related with
insurance investments, financial planning and management. They apply mathematical
and statistical methods to evaluate the risk for their companies to be used
for strategic management decisions and determines premium rates, studies mortality
trends, constructs mortality tables etc and areas related to benefits and
investment.
Insurance Underwriter : Underwriters assess the risk in
the business and takes care of risk management. It is the underwriter who
reviews the insurance applications and decides whether they should be accepted
or rejected. They explain policies and quotes rates to medical personnel,
other insurance companies or field representatives. Candidates with medical
or life science background are preferred for this job.
Investment Professionals : The funds collected from the
investors have to be deployed in various investment options for maximizing
the returns. For this investment professionals are required and this is a
promising field for those with a degree in finance .
