Insurance : Job Prospects & Career Options
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.
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