What insurance sector offers as a career

The one role that people commonly associate with an insurance company is that of an agent, however, the sector has quite a few distinctive careers to offer…

When we think of an insurance company, the first picture that comes to our mind is that of an insurance agent standing at our doorstep to sell a policy. It’s because that’s the first and probably the only interaction, we have with the insurance company. This perception has given birth to a pre- conceived notion that an insurance company offers only two careers – agents and salesmen.

However this is a complete misnomer as insurance has lot to offer as a career to the job seekers.

Post the liberalisation of the Indian economy, the insurance sector was opened up for the private players to play. Since then, it has seen a massive expansion in terms of width and depth and the sector which was once the exclusive domain of the government, today has 52 players – 28 non-life and 24 life insurance companies. The sector’s contribution to the GDP is around 4 per cent.

The other misnomer that prevails among jobseekers is that only students with a financial background can be contenders of this sector.

As Shilpa Vaid, senior vice-president and Head – HR, Bhart AXA General Insurance, opines, “With the advent of technology, internet penetration and the digitisation drive in the country, making insurance products available through the digital channel is a key focus for most insurance organisations – and in that light, there is an enormous requirement of technical and IT talent in the industry as well.”

However, that’s just one aspect of the story; the insurance sector offers a variety of career options to job-seekers, be it an undergraduate, a graduate or a B-school passout.

Here are some of the lucrative career options that insurance companies are offering -:

Actuary
The role of the ‘Actuary’ is the most pivotal one in an insurance company, as the person sets guidelines for each risk class and category. He/she helps in designing and pricing the products – the insurance policies of the company. The core focus of this job is to keep the products competitive in the market and also sustain the profitability of the company.

Risk Manager
The primary responsibility of the ‘Risk Manager’ is to identify and assess any potential threat to the profitability of the organisation and also derive a strategy to manage the threat in an appropriate manner.

Underwriter
An ‘Underwriter’ evaluates the risks of insuring a particular person or asset and determines coverage amounts and premiums. Insurance companies take their help to determine coverage amounts and premiums.

Compliance Officer
A ‘Compliance Officer’ is primarily responsible for overseeing and managing compliance issues within an organization, and ensuring that the company and its employees are complying with regulatory requirements, internal policies and procedures.

Claims Manager
A ‘Claims Manager’ leads a team of claim handlers and ensures that the insurance claims are efficiently addressed by them. The individual is responsible for ensuring that the claims are dealt in accordance with the industry regulations and guidelines, taking care of consumer complaints, liaising with agents and brokers, keeping a track on fraudulent cases, etc.

Sales Team Manager/Leader
Identifying insurance agents and recruiting them, reviewing the performance of the team, providing training and setting targets, improving the productivity are some of the responsibilities of the ‘Sales Team Manager/Leader’.

Surveyor
A ‘Surveyor’ assesses the claim made by the claimant and ensures that the claim is proper and all documents shared are correct and legal.