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. From the
time the insured signs the policy he/she has an obligation to pay a certain
amount of money known as premium at regular intervals for a stipulated period
to the insurer. In fact, insurance is a contract to pay a premium in return
for which the insurer will pay compensation in certain eventualities e.g. fire,
theft, motor accident, etc.
The Indian insurance industry has witnessed exceptional growth with private
participation. It has a mix of public and private players both in the field
of life and non-life business. This sector not only provide a protective shield
to the lives and assets of the nation but also generate thousands of jobs
and career opportunities.
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. Depending on their educational
qualification and strengths, the agents have a good chance of becoming an
employee of the company. This industry also provide great opportunities in
marketing, distribution, actuarial, underwriting operations and investing
departments.
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. While LIC deals with insurance of life, GIC
and its subsidiaries are concerned with non life aspects of insurance such
as car, marine, accident, medical and fire insurance.
Many multinational companies have come forward in the insurance field. ICICI
Prudential, Om Kotak Mahindra, Birla Sun-Life, Tata AIF Life, Reliance, HDFC
Standard Life-Insurance Co., Max New York Life, SBI Life Insurance, ING Vysya
Life etc. are the top companies in the private sector. In non-life insurance
segment, major private players are ICICI Lombard, Royal Sundaram, Cholamandalam,
IFFCO Tokyo, Tata AIG 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.
Eligibility : To pursue a career in the insurance industry, one has
to pass the entrance examination conducted by the Actuarial Society of India..Click
here for more information
Job Prospectus and Career Options : Each department of the insurance
industry have their own set of responsibilities and perform various tasks... Click
here for more Information
Remuneration : The pay scale in the government sector is as per government
rules depending on each position.. Click
here for more information
Institutes : Click
here for a comprehensive list of institutes offering courses in insurance
studies
