“RUKMINI DEVI INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES”

A PROJECT REPORT

ON

“A STUDY OF RECRUITMENT PROCESS OF ADVISORS FOR AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE IN NEW DELHI AND

SUGGESTIONS FOR EXPANSION OF THE NETWORK”

OF

“ ”

AT “NETAJI SUBHASH PLACE”

Submitted By:

“MOHD. PARVEZ KHAN”

“13315903909”

“FINANCE & MARKETING”

Under the supervision of

PROJECT GUIDE FACULTY GUIDE Mr. Prof. ARPITA KAUL

Designation RUKMINI DEVI INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to bestow all my gratitude to all those who helped me during the course of my project for their inspiring guidance, invaluably constructive criticism and kind advice throughout the project work. I m sincerely grateful to Mr. Mony Koshi (Branch Manager), Ms. Isha Bansal (Deputy Branch Manager) and Mr.Saurabh Chaudhary (Associate), for their expert guidance and illuminating views through their great experiences on a number of issues related to my project and other activities. They make me understand the entire sales and marketing process in AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE. Without their motivation and guidance, this project would not have been materialized. They always triggered me to work and struggle for ultimate success.

I feel immense pleasure in expressing my sincere and deep sense of gratitude to Prof. Arpita Kaul (Course Coordinator and Project Guide), for his time and valuable efforts. She constantly encouraged me right from the selection of the project to final preparation of my project. He has been a constant source of knowledge, information, help and motivation for me through his depth knowledge and reflections.

Above all, I also express my sincere thanks to Mr. Saurabh Chaudhary for extending her kind cooperation and positive contribution in the completion of the project.

Last but not the least, I am hugely indebted to all the faculty members of my institute, along with my family members, relatives and my friends for their sincere advice and cooperation.

“MOHD.PARVEZ KHAN”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

After completing two semester of Master of Business Administration, I joined Aviva. for my summer internship project for 2 months where I was expected to report Mr. Saurabh Chaudhary who was my mentor in the company. The title of my project is “understanding and expansion of their distribution channel”.

The aim of my project at AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE was to understand and expand the distribution channel. It mainly includes the development of channel through which the policies are selling throughout world by giving advice and solutions to the customers. For bringing this channel to a strong position the main focus was to recruit number of people as an Insurance Advisor who matched the required minimum criteria laid down by the company along with the IRDA rules and regulations. To accomplish this objective, various prospective advisors were approached through different channel like tele-calling, natural market, advertisement in newspaper, market skimming, references, etc. During the course of this activity it was founded that once the concept of Insurance Agent gets cleared in the mind of the people, they themselves become willing to take up the agency. AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE provides a great business opportunity for a person to grow n flourish in their stages of life according to their performance. The only problem that lies with the people was to take out time for training of 7 days (from 9a.m. till 4p.m.) in AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE (IRDA regulation-minimum 50 hours training).

The main hard work was to influence people and to satisfy people with their questions. Large number of unaware people suspects the viability of private companies and they question the difference between L.I.C and private companies.

But in a nut shell, Taking a short term and narrow view of recruitment and selection process may not serve the purpose of recruiting players who are committed for the long term. Hence one should always look forward for quality and productive people who can maintain a good long term relationship with the company.

INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION

2. ABOUT THE COMPANY

3. CONCEPT OF INSURANCE AGENT

4. LITERATURE REVIEW

5. IRDA REGULATIONS

6. METHODS OF RECRUITMENT

7. MATERIALS AND METHODS

8. RESULTS

9. RECOMMENDATIONS

10. CONCLUSION

11. ANNEXURE

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

According to Maslow’s need hierarchy, security needs are second only to basic needs.

Man’s desire to feel safe and protected from future disasters or undesirable events led to

the concept of insurance.

A thriving Insurance sector is of vital importance to every type of economy whether

developed or developing or under developed, as it encourages the savings habit and

provide a safety net to rural/urban enterprises and productive individuals. By saving,

people help the nation. The amount paid as premium is the most important tool for

development and growth of a nation as it generates long term investible funds.

Worldwide, Insurance is used as a risk cover instrument whereas Indian consumer

perceives it as a tax-saving and investment option. The vast potential of the 250 million

strong middle class population of India, can be unleashed by repositioning it as a risk

cover instrument. The factors which could lead to a larger market penetration are-

Greater market awareness

Increase tax base

Education

Changing socio-economic trends.

All this can be achieved by giving business opportunity to quality people as an agent

advisor in insurance sector and thus expanding the distribution channel. Product and

prices in an insurance industry are easily duplicated and thus are more or less same. So

the difference lies in the services provided by the companies which give competitive edge

in the long run. So the channel through which a company can achieve market penetration

by providing efficient services should be that of recruiting more and more advisors in its

distribution channel.

The advisor’s role is very important in an insurance sector as they are able to accomplish

the following important services-:

Assessing and analyzing the client’s risk profile.

Finding the best possible solution for the customer.

Designing product according to the need of the customer

Negotiating the best deal available

Continuity of the service throughout the period of Insurance claims advisory

services.

The reason why this channel distribution system is lagging in India is because of high

cost of recruiting but low revenue due to lower penetration of the market. Channel

decisions are now elevated to a strategic level. The over riding concept is to become

customer-centric and to focus channels on improving the customer experience. But it is

not advisable to use all channels to serve all customers. Some customer segments may

prefer certain channels, but if these segments are not profitable, it may be prohibitively

expensive to serve them using their preferred channels. Consequently, insurance

companies need to tailor their channels to appeal to the largest number of profitable

customers to maximize earnings.

BACKGROUND

By any yardstick, India, with about 200 million middle class households, presents a huge

untapped potential for players in the insurance industry. Saturation of markets in many

developed economies has made the Indian market even more attractive for global

insurance majors. Graphs and statistics reflect the low percentage of per capita

penetration of insurance in India compared to other developed and developing countries.

The Insurance sector in India is one and half centuries old. Pre-liberalization, the

Insurance market was monopolized by LIC, GIC and its four subsidiaries. The opening

up of the Insurance sector has seen a surge not only in the number of foreign players

entering the market but also in the variety of products being offered. The total premium

in India is approximately 2% of our GDP, which is far below the world average of 7.8%

the insurance penetration in India is only 2% (approx).

Per capita income of the India is expected to grow at over 6% for the next 10 years, in a

similar way, with the increasing awareness levels among Indian citizens; the demand for

insurance is expected to grow at an attractive rate of interest. An independent consulting

company, The Monitor Group, has estimated that the lie insurance market will grow from

Rs.218 billion in 1998 to Rs.1003 billion by 2008 (a compounded annual growth of

16.5%).

AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE

AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE. is a joint venture between AVIVA, a Fortune 100 company

and DABUR INDIA., one of India’s leading multi-business corporations. The company

has positioned itself on the quality platform. In line with its vision to be the most admired

life insurance Company in India, it has developed a strong corporate governance model

based on the core values of excellence, honesty, knowledge, caring, integrity and

teamwork. The strategy is to establish itself as a trusted life insurance specialist through a

quality approach to business.

In line with its values of financial responsibility, AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE has

adopted prudent financial practices to ensure safety of policyholder’s funds. The

Company’s paid up capital is Rs. 657 crore, which is more than the norm laid down by

IRDA.

AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE has identified individual agents as its primary channel of

distribution. The Company places a lot of emphasis on its selection process, which

comprises of four stages – screening, psychometric test, career seminar and final

interview. The agent advisors are trained in-house to ensure optimal control on quality of

training.

AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE invests significantly in its training programme and each

agent is trained for 102 hours as opposed to the mandatory 50 hours stipulated by the

IRDA before beginning to sell in the marketplace. Training is a continuous process for

agents at AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE and ensures development of skills and knowledge

through a structured programme spread over 500 hours in two years. This focus on

continuous quality training has resulted in the company having amongst the highest agent

pass rate in IRDA examinations and the agents have the highest productivity among

private life insurers.

201 agent advisors have qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)

membership in 2005. MDRT is an exclusive congregation of the world’s top selling

insurance agents and is internationally recognized as the standard of excellence in the life

insurance business.

Having set a best in class agency distribution model in place, the company is

spearheading a major thrust into additional distribution channels to further grow its

business. The company is using a five- pronged strategy to pursue alternative channels of

distribution. These include the franchisee model, rural business direct sales force

involving group insurance and telemarketing opportunities, bancassurance and corporate

alliances.

AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE offers a suite of flexible products. It now has 26 life

insurance products and 8 riders that can be customized to over 400 combinations

enabling customers to choose the policy that best fits their need.

CONCEPT OF INSURANCE AGENT:

Who is an agent?

According to Section 192 of Indian Contract Act, an “AGENT” is a person employed to

do any act for another or to represent another in dealing with a third person. The person

for whom the agent so employed works is called the “Principal”. The principal gives

directions to the agent for conduct of business and he (agent) is required to work within

the authority given to him. If an agent exceeds the authority, the principal has the right

not to honour the act of the agent. If, however, the principal approves the act, the agent

cannot be penalized for exceeding his authority.

Who is an insurance agent?

“INSURANCE AGENT” means an Insurance Agent licensed under section 42 of

Insurance Act, 1938 who receives or agrees to receive payment by way of commission or

other remuneration in consideration of his soliciting or procuring insurance business

including business related to continuation, renewal of policies of insurance. Beside this

agent earns by referring agents to the company. Other financial supports provided by

company are Performance Linked Bonus and Training Programme Reimbursements.

Their for most job is to provide solutions to the people in order to provide financial

protection in case of death, accidents, or any acts of nature through an instrument called

life insurance policy.

There are many different kinds of policies that cover different need of the people

according to the situations. Insurance agent understand the entire need and financial

condition of the customer and thus design a policy which satisfy all the requirements.

Agent advice the customer regarding the amount of coverage they should have according

to their earning and capacity to pay premium. Some agents sell life, health and property

insurance. They may also offer financial planning services. Others specialize in just one

type of insurance.

Insurance agents use computers or laptop to design a product which best suits the

customers. The customer may want short term investment plan, money back plan, whole

life plan, endowment plan, various child plan or mixture of one or two plan.

After taking out illustration or detail information about a specific designed product, an

illustration is courier or produced to the potential customer. After understanding and

going through each point, the customer agrees for the contract n here an agent advisor is

filling out the application form. It depends upon age and health status of the person

insured. Age above 50 requires a medical form to be filling. Once these forms is filled out

and all the required documents have been taken from the customer like any age proof and

photograph the same policy is logged in with the premium. Than this policy goes to

headquarter of the company which is in ABC and undergo an underwriting process. After

successful completion of the process policy document is being issued.

When accidents happen or any uncertainty occurs, insurance agents help customers to

settle their claims. Agents provide the best possible service to its customers in order to

get references. In this way, they expand their network.

DISTRIBUTION STARTEGY:

In a country of more than 1 billion people, there is a vast untapped potential waiting to be

mined. The key to reach them is to develop sound distribution channels. These channels

are responsible for making the differences in terms of quality of advice for choice of

product, servicing of policy post sales and settlement of claims. From the company’s

point of view, the channels are the first underwriters.

The traditional distribution model comprises:

CAPTIVE/TIED AGENTS: These are agents who sell policies of only one

Insurance Company which employs them.

INDEPENDENT AGENTS: These individual agents who represent several

companies and place Insurance policies for their clients with the company that

offers the best rates and coverage.

CORPORATE AGENTS: Firms selling polices of several Insurance Companies

are called Corporate Agents. An amendment in October 2002, to the Act of

Corporate Agents, recognized banks, brokers and other entities like cooperatives,

NGOs and panchayats as intermediaries who can sell Insurance for the

commission. While under the old laws the only Corporate Agent that was

recognized was a firm where all directors were Insurance Agents, the new law

allows virtually any entity to sell Insurance. The measure will give a big boost to

the private insurers in the country, who have been facing a distribution

conundrum.

The various channels that can be used under the purview of the amendments are:

BANKS: Bancassurance in its simplest form is the distribution of Insurance

products through a bank’s distribution channel. Banks can straightway leverage

their existing capabilities in terms of database and face-to-face contacts.

Rural areas and small towns offer a huge potential for the Insurance companies.

This potential is largely untapped due to inadequate distribution channel. The key

to market access in these areas can be:

Co-operative societies

Village Panchayats

Post Offices

The Co-operative societies and village panchayats can act, as ‘Corporate Agents’

to sell Insurance product most specific to the communities needs.

NGO: This channel could be used to increase a awareness about the insurance

products. As many NGOs have strong presence and a positive reputation in rural

areas they can prove to be an effective channel.

GROUP CHANNELS:

1) WORKSITE GROUPS : Worksite marketing is the selling of voluntary

(employee-paid) Insurance and financial products at the worksite. The products

may be on either an individual or a group platform and are usually pays through

periodic payroll deductions.

2) AFFINITY GROUPS: Affinity groups are homogenous groups. The major

advantage of selling Insurance to affinity groups is that there is a greater

likelihood of lasting.

3) PERSONAL ADVISORS such as accountants, lawyers, doctors and tax planners.

4) MUTUAL FUNDS : Mutual Funds could capitalize on their existing customer

bases to sell policies.

5) HOSPITALS: A tie up with hospital chains for selling health insurance can be an

effective channel to reach a wide base of customers.

POWERS OF AN AGENT

An agent can act only to the extent of authority granted to him by the principal. This

authority may be expressed or implied. An authority is said to be expressed when it is

given by words spoken or written. It is implied when it is to be inferred from the

circumstances of the case.

The agent of the life insurer is authorized only to forward the proposal form along with

the documents to the insurance company. Other than this he has no authority or power to

conclude the contract with the buyer of the Insurance. The Insurance Company is solely

competent with the life assured. However it is the jurisdiction of the agent whether to

insure an individual or not, in case agent finds that details provided by the individual

lacks authenticity and hence not viable for insurance.

TYPES OF AGENT

As per the regulation of Insurance Act, 1938 Insurance Agents are of the following types:

1) An individual, who procures business from individuals purely on commission

basis.

2) A firm, which is also known as corporate agent. Every director or person is

holding the charge of office shall possess a valid license to act as an Insurance

agent. The corporate agent can solicit or procure Insurance business through its

employees who hold valid license and the insurance companies will pay

commission to the agents of the corporate agents.

3) A company formed under the Companies Act, 1956, which also includes a

banking company.

4) Composite Insurance Agent is an individual who solicits and procures insurance

business both for the life and the general insurer. For this he has to undergo

training and should possess such qualifications to undergo such training both in

the life insurance business and the general insurance business.

FUNCTIONS OF THE AGENTS:

The two main functions of agent are to:

1) Procure new life assurance business: In procuring new life insurance

business, an agent must,

a) Take into consideration the needs of the proposer for the life insurance

and their capacity to pay premiums.

b) To make all reasonable inquiries in regard to the lives to be insured

before recommending proposals for acceptance, and bring to the

notice of the insurer any circumstances which may adversely affect

the risk to be underwritten.

c) Take all reasonable steps to ensure that the age of the life assured is

admitted at the commencement of the policy; and

d) Not interfere with any proposal introduced by the other agent.

2) Conserve the business already secured: every agent shall, with a

view to conserving the business already secured, maintain contact

with all policyholders through him and shall:

a) Advice every policyholder to effect nomination or assignment or

change of address in respect of his policy and other necessary

assistance in his behalf.

b) Endeavor to insure that every installment of premium is remitted by

the policyholder to the insurer within the permissible period of grace.

c) Endeavor to prevent the lapsing of policy or its conversion into a paid-

up policy or withdrawal of surrender value; and

d) Render necessary assistance to the claimants in filling claim forms.

INSURANCE AGENCY AS A CAREER:

We all have seen a bullock, wearing blinkers on eyes, driving a Persian wheel by moving

on the same circular path. He must have traveled a lot by way of kilometers but his

location advancement is zero. Blinkers give an illusion of progress to the bullock that

otherwise would have lost interest in the job of just circling the same place. If this is the

psyche of an animal, than we are the human beings. Human beings, naturally try to adopt

the profession, which has a potential of a life long career.

Therefore, one would like to adopt a profession which:

Is useful and purposeful

Gives a good social status

Gives a reasonably good remuneration in financial terms

Affords recognition and honor at work place

Provides facilities for personal growth

Gives job satisfaction

And above all this, it provides an opportunity to give social service to the people around.

Insurance Agency as a career presents all the above essentials in abundance, which is

further explained below:

(a) Financial Advisor : Agent assesses the financial needs of the client and thus

designs a best suitable customized product for its client. These solutions are based

on the financial viability and the purpose of saving money of the client. He is

expected to be professional in his approach. By serving his client nicely and on

regular basis agents cultivates long time relationship with client and family.

(b) Social Status : The fact that profession of insurance agency is regulated by

legislature (Insurance Act and IRDA Regulation) gives an agent respectability

and recognition. Whatever agent does is seen with a sense of legitimacy. There is

no other agency profession, which is regulated by norms fixed by the government.

(c) Job Satisfaction : There can be no greater satisfaction when an agent sees a family

deriving benefit out of policy at the time of adverse situation, sold by the agent

“Life Insurance at work”. Like a family doctor an insurance agent is treated as a

family’s advisor.

(d) Personal Growth : Training is the hallmark of various development programmes of

all the insurers in a fray. In reality an agent has to be computer savy and

professionally trained. Periodically educational seminars are conducted by the

insurers to keep the agent well abreast of latest development in the insurance

industry.

(e) Professional Recognition : In order to facilitate the flow of personal experiences of

agents from various countries, different Agents Club hold annual meets of their

members. Highest among all recognition is the MIILION DOLLAR ROUND

TABLE (MDRT) based in America and having global membership. It is a very

prestigious position for an agent to become MDRT.

f) Financial Rewards: Commission structure applicable to agents in India

authorizes agent to receive

(1) First Year Commission (FYC)

(2) Renewal Commissions (RC)

(3) Agent Referral Commissions (ARC)

(4) Heirs of agent continue commission till the business continues to be on

the books of the insurance company.

(5) Financial rewards by way of sales promotional competition to high

achievers.

(6) Vehicles/ housing advances against their commissions, after having

worked for at least five years.

It is now cleared that agents who are devoted and committed to this career enjoy all the

facilities and trap of good career.

REMUNERATION OF AN AGENT:

Agents of insurance companies are not salaried employees and they are remunerated by

payment of commissions as specified under section 40A of the Insurance Act, 1938.

The various types of commission that are usually paid to agents are following:

1) First Year Commission : Generally on the sale of policy under standard plan

(Whole Life or Endowment type) commission @25% on First Year Premium is

paid. If mode of payment is quarterly, then commission at this rate is payable for

the first 4 premiums.

2) Renewal Commission : As a name suggests, it is sort of service commission for

such period as the renewal premium is paid by the life assured. In India, the upper

limit of renewal commission is 7.5% for the 2nd and 3rd year. Thereafter it is 5%

till the policy remain enforced. However First Year Commission plus Renewal

Commission do not exceed 35% as laid down by the Insurance Act.

3) Additional Business Support: This is a quarterly based payment given on target

basis. It varies from 18oo till 20000. the name may vary from company to

company.

4) Performance Linked Bonus : If an agent fulfils certain performance level with

regard to number of lives and first year premium, an additional commission of

first year commission is paid. It may vary from company to company.

5) Continued Commission : if the agent leaves agency work or is terminated, the

renewal commission continues to be paid. The eligibility conditions for the same

are:

If agency has run for 5 years and business of atleast Rs. 50,000 is in force

as on one year before termination, renewal commission shall not exceed

4% every year.

If agency has run for 10 years, the renewal commission is payable as the

prescribed rates.

6) Hereditary commission : In the event of death of the agent renewal commission is

continued to be paid to the nominee or heirs of the agent.

7) Agent Referral Commissions : When an agent refers another agent advisor to the

company, he gets a commission out of the business bought by the agent referred

by him.

8) Other Benefits Linked With Commission : Agents who have strong sales and

leadership skills may become a sales manager for an office. Some moves up to

Agency Associate. However, most agents who have built a strong pool of clients

prefer to stay in sales and at low level of agency. They don’t want to come on pay

roll as their income is much more than what they can earn through fixed salary.

Some agents may establish their own agencies.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Distribution Channel – It is the most important marketing tool. Individual firms’

success depends not only on how well it performs but also on how well its entire

distribution channel competes with competitor’s channel.

For the purpose of completing the project effectively and in the most efficient manner,

and to get the complete knowledge about distribution channels, the researcher has

undergone through a lot of material on distribution channel and has used following

literature survey:

Chapter “Delivering Services through Intermediaries & Electronic Channels” of “Service

Marketing” written by Valarie A.zeithaml and Mary Jo Bitner. The text was intended to

assist about identifying & analyzing primary channels through which services are

delivered to the end consumers.

The knowledge about the marketing principles is gained from the book “Principles of

Marketing” written by Philip Kotler.

Chapter on Distribution Channels in the book “marketing Channels” written by Louis

W.Stern & Add I.El. Ansary. Purpose of this book is to provide the detailed knowledge

about what I sdistribution channel, its importance & role in marketing.

Article published in IRDA journal, October 2006, on “A Model For Health Insurance For

The Poor In India”.

Article published in IRDA journal, August 2006, by Joydeep Roy & Abhishek Aggarwal

on “New Product Development & Launch”.

Article published in IRDA journal, December 2006, by Arman Oza on “The Importance

Of Delivery Mechanism”.

Another article published in IRDA journal, December 2006, by S.Vishwanathan on “Role

of Distribution Channels in Insurance Industry”.

IRDA REGULATIONS:

All the regulations of Insurance Regulations Development Act are explained below-:

1) Definitions -

(I) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires –

(a) “Act” means the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938)

(b) “Approved Institution” means an Institution engaged in education and

or training particularly in the area of insurance sales, service and marketing, approved by

the Authority

(c) “Authority” means the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

established under the provision of Section 3 of the Insurance Regulatory and

Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999)

(d) “Certification” means the process by which a Specified Person of the Corporate

Agent, who has successfully undergone practical training and passed the required

examination, is issued a Certificate entitling him to solicit and procure insurance business

on behalf of the Corporate Agent

(e) “Composite Corporate Agent” means a Corporate Agent who holds a license to act

as an insurance agent for life insurer and a general insurer

(f) “Corporate Agent” means any person specified in clause (k) and licensed to act as

such

(g) “Corporate Insurance Executive” in the case of a company or firm means, a

director or a partner or one or more of its officers or employees so designated by it, and

in the case of any other person, the chief executive, by whatever name called, or one or

more of his employees designated by him, who possesses the requisite qualifications and

practical training and who have passed such an examination as required under clauses (e)

and (f) of Section 42 of the Act

(h) “Designated person” means an officer normally in charge of marketing operations,

as specified by an insurer, and authorized by the Authority to issue or renew licenses

under these regulations

(i) “Examination Body” means an Institution, which conducts pre-recruitment tests for

insurance agents and which is duly recognized by the Authority

(j) “License” means a certificate to act as an Insurance Agent issued under these

regulations

(k) “Person” means

A firm or

A company formed under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or

A banking company as defined in clause (4A) of section 2 of the Act or

A corresponding new bank as defined under clause (d(a)) of sub-section

(1) of section 5 of the Banking Companies Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) or

A regional rural bank established under section 3 of the Regional Rural

Banks Act, 1976 (21 of 1976) or

A co-operative society including a co-operative bank, registered under the

Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 or under any law for the registration of

co-operative societies or

A panchayat or a local authority or

A Non-Governmental organization or a micro lending finance organisation

covered under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 or a Non Banking

Financial Company registered with the Reserve Bank of India or

Any other institution or organisation, which on an application to the

authority is specifically approved by the authority

(l) “Practical Training” includes orientation, particularly in the area of insurance

sales, service and marketing, through training modules as approved by the Authority

(m) “Recognized Board or Institution” means such board or institution as may be

recognized by any State Government or the Central Government

(n) “Specified Person” means a director or partner or one or more of its officers or

other employees so designated by the corporate agent and, in the case of any other

person, chief executive, by whatever name called, one or more of the employees

designated by him, who has undergone the practical training, examination, certification

and who is responsible for soliciting and procuring insurance business on behalf of the

Corporate Agent

(II) All words and expression used herein and not defined but defined in the Act, or in the

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 0f 1999), or in any of

the regulations made by the Authority shall have the meanings respectively assigned to

them in those Acts or regulations.

2) Issue or Renewal of license –

(a) A person desiring to obtain or renew a license (hereinafter referred to as “the

applicant”) to act as a corporate agent or composite corporate agent shall proceed as

follows-:

(i) The applicant shall make an application to a designated person in Form IRDA-

Corporate Agents-A-1.

Provided that the applicant, who desires to be a composite corporate agent, shall make

two such separate applications.

(ii) The fees payable by the applicant to the Authority shall be as specified in Regulation

7.

(iii) The designated person may, on receipt of the application along with the evidence of

payment of fees to the Authority, and on being satisfied that the corporate insurance

executive of the applicant-:

Possesses the Qualifications as specified under Regulation 4

Possesses the practical training as specified under Regulation 5

Has passed the examination as specified in Regulation 6

Has the requisite knowledge to solicit and procure insurance business and

Is capable of providing the necessary service to the policyholders

Grant or renew, as the case may be, a license in Form IRDA-Corporate Agents-L-1.

Provided that the identity card shall be in the Form IRDA-Corporate Agents-ID-1.

Provided that a license issued in accordance with this regulation shall entitle the applicant

to act as corporate insurance agent for one life insurer or one general insurer or both, as

the case may be.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the above, the Authority may refuse or reject, for

reasons being recorded, an application if it feels that the grant of license may be against

public interest or when the application is from such a person or group of persons who is

or are already engaged as insurance agents, brokers, etc.

(iv) The designated person shall grant or renew the license within a period of 3 months

from the date of application

(v) The designated person shall, if the consideration of the application is likely to get

delayed, within 60 days of the receipt of the application inform the applicant the reasons

for such a delay, and the likely time it would take to do so.

(vi) If the designated person refuses to grant or renew a license under this regulation, he

shall give the reasons thereof to the applicant.

(vii) An individual desiring to become a Specified Person of a Corporate Agent /

Composite Corporate Agent shall apply through the Corporate Agent / Composite

Corporate Agent in Form IRDA-Corporate Agent-A-2 to the insurer.

(viii) The designated person of the insurer may, on receipt of such an application along

with the evidence of payment of fees to the Authority, grant or renew, as the case may be,

a certificate in Form IRDA-Corporate Agents-L-2.

(ix) The fees payable by the applicant to the Authority shall be as specified in Regulation

3) Qualifications –

The applicant must possess the minimum qualification of pre-university or equivalent

examination conducted by any recognized board or institute, where the applicant resides

in a place with a population of 5,000 or more as per the last census, and passed tenth

standard or equivalent examination from any recognized board or institution if the

applicant resides in any other place.

An applicant applying for a license to act as an insurance agent will have to complete

training from an IRDA approved institution with at least 100 hours of practical training in

life or general insurance business, as the case may be, which may be spread over three to

five weeks. For renewal of his license, the agent will have to undergo training for just 25

hours.

4) Practical training –

Every person aspiring to take up agency as a career will have to undergo on-the-job

practical training with the designated company where/she will work under the

supervision of a sales functionary. Applicant resides in any other place.

An applicant applying for a license to act as an insurance agent will have to complete

training from an IRDA approved institution with atleast 100 hours of practical training in

life or general insurance business, as the case may be, which may be spread over three to

five weeks. For renewal of his license, the agent will have to undergo training for just 25

hours.

(a) Composite agents training

Applicants seeking license to act as a composite agent shall have to undergo training in

an approved institution, with at least 150 hours practical training in life and general

insurance business, which my be spread over seven to eight weeks.

(b) Training of professionals

Professionals like associate or fellows of Insurance Institute of India (III) or Institute of

Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) or Institute of Costs and Works Accountants

(ICWA) or Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), MBA from a recognized

university or the candidates possessing professional qualification in marketing from a

government-recognized university or institute shall have to complete just 50 hours of

training.

The practical training imparted to an individual is aimed at the following points-:

1. Complete Knowledge of products

2. Importance of Pre-sale Service

3. Importance of Post-sale Services

4. Develop into Efficient Sales Person

5. Instill Ethical Code

6. Inculcate Confidence

(4) Examination –

(a) The corporate insurance executive of the applicant or a specified person shall have

passes the pre- recruitment examination in life or general insurance business, or both, as

the case may be, conducted by the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai, or any other

examination body duly recognized by the Authority.

(b) The examining body shall issue a certificate to every successful specified person,

which shall enable him to procure insurance business on behalf of the corporate agent he

is working with.

5) Fees payable –

(a) The fees payable to the Authority for issue or renewal of license to act

a corporate agent shall be rupees seven hundred and fifty only.

(b) Every specified person of the corporate agent shall, apply through the corporate agent

to the designated person of the insurer to obtain the certificate, accompanied by the fees

of rupees five hundred remitted to the Authority.

6) Remuneration –

(a) Every Corporate Agent shall be paid a commission as per provisions of Section 40 A

of the Act.

(b) Every specified person shall be an employee of the corporate agent.

7) Code of Conduct –

Selling of life insurance involves selling of an idea. It is an intangible goods that an agent

sells. Therefore, an agent is required to observe a set of norm in his professional conduct,

which makes him worthy of trust and faith.

The IRDA have formulated a Code of Conduct for agents, which broadly can be, grouped

under two heads “Do’s and Don’ts”.

(I) Do’s-:

(a) Identification of agent and his insurance agency – certificate of license to be

shown to the prospect on demand.

(b) Disclosure of the commission being offered to the agent by the insurance

company to the prospect, if asked for.

(c) Match the needs of his client with various products available with his insurer.

(d) Work out the premium to be charged so that his prospect is able to weigh the

economic or financial implication of the proposals on his resources.

(e) Bring to the notice of his client the implications of various questions in the

proposal forms and other documents and advise him to disclose all the information.

(f) Disclose all relevant information, regarding proponents, that is in his knowledge,

to the insurer.

(g) Inform the prospects about acceptance or rejection of the proposal by the

insurer.

(h) Obtain all documents from the prospects for completion of the case

(i) Assist the policyholder in the matters of-:

Claim settlement

Effecting nomination/assignment

Revival, change of address

Exercise of various options

(II) Don’ts-: No agent shall –

(a) Solicit or procure insurance business without holding a certificate of valid

license.

(b) Induce the prospect to omit or to disclose the material information in the

proposal form.

(c) Induce the prospect to submit wrong information in the proposal form or in the

documents submitted to the insurer for acceptance of the proposal.

(d) Behave in discourteous manner with the prospect.

(e) Interfere with any proposal introduced by any other insurance agent.

(f) Offer different terms and conditions that offered by his insurer.

(g) Part with or share his agency commission with any prospect or with any other

person.

(h) Receive a share of the policy proceeds from the beneficiary.

(i) Compel any policyholder for termination of the insurance contract with any

insurer in order to effect a new proposal within three years from the date of

termination.

(j) Remain or become a director of an insurer carrying on insurance business in

India.

8) Renewal of License –

(a) Every license granted by the Authority to a corporate agent or any renewal thereof, in

terms of these regulations, shall remain in force for three years.

(b) A license granted to corporate agent may be renewed for a further period of three

years on submission of the application form along with a renewal fee of rupees two

hundred and fifty, at least thirty days prior to the date of expiry of the license.

(c) The additional fees payable to the Authority, under the circumstances mentioned in

sub-section (3) of section 42 of the Act, shall be rupees one hundred.

(d) The authority may, if it is satisfied that undue hardship would be caused otherwise,

accept any application after the license ceased to remain in force, on the payment by the

applicant of a payment of rupees seven hundred and fifty as additional fee.

(e) Every certificate granted to the specified person shall remain in force for a period of

three years, which can be renewed for a further period of three years on submission of an

application form, accompanied by fees of rupees one hundred, provided that the license

of the corporate agent continues to be valid. The application form along with the fees

shall be submitted at least thirty days prior to the date of expiry.

(f) The specified person on his ceasing to be an employee of the corporate agent shall

surrender his certificate to the designated person. If he desires to become an individual

insurance agent then he shall follow the procedure laid down in Insurance Regulatory and

Development Authority’s (Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulation, 2000. Such a

person need not go through a further process of training and pass at the examination

within the period of license granted to them.

(g) A specified person will also be governed by the provisions of sub-regulation (c) and

(d) stated above.

(h) Every corporate insurance executive or the specified person of the corporate agent,

shall have complete at least twenty-five hours’ practical training in life or general

insurance business, as the case may be, from an approved institution, for the purposes of

renewal of license to the corporate agent and/or renewal certificate to the specified

person. Provided that such applicant before seeking renewal of license or certificate to act

as a composite insurance agent shall have completed from an approved institution, at

least, fifty hours practical training in life and general insurance business.

9) Cancellation of license / certificate –

The designated person may cancel a license or a certificate of a corporate agent or a

specified person, if such a corporate agent or the corporate insurance executive or the

specified person suffers, any time during the currency of the license, form any of the

disqualifications mentioned in sub-section (4) of section 42D of the Act and recover from

him the license or certificate granted to him.

10) Issue of duplicate license –

The Authority may on payment of a fee of rupees fifty issues a duplicate license to

replace a license, which is lost, destroyed or mutilated.

11) Non-application to existing insurance agents –

(a) A corporate agent who has been issued a corporate agent license prior to the

commencement of these regulations shall exercise the option of either continuing with the

existing license and apply for a new license in terms of regulation 3.

(b) A person holding an individual insurance agent’s license who wishes to become a

corporate agent shall surrender the individual license and apply afresh as per regulation 3.

12) Miscellaneous –

Every corporate agent shall maintain a register, which shall contain the name, address,

telephone no., photograph, date of commencement of employment, date of leaving the

service, if any, salary paid to the specified person.

METHODOLOGY

Any organization, which gives a fair share of attention to the recruitment and selection of

its people, is bound to get good returns. Recruitment and selection should be viewed in

the wider context of the organization’s future. What are the strategic objects and hence

what capabilities will the enterprise need in the future? – must be the question the

organization should always address to itself. Taking a short term and narrow view of

recruitment and selection may serve the purpose of filling the vacancy, but it may not

help the organization to develop and proper. Therefore, an important strategic issue to

consider is how the recruitment and selection activity can contribute to long term

business goals. The different stages that were followed during the recruitment process are

as follows.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS MAP

NAME GATHERING GATHERINGGATHERING GGGGGAGAGAGGGAGATHERING

SCREENING INTERVIEW

TESTS & REFERENCE CHECKS, SELECTION INTERVIEW (ARIF)

CAREER SEMINAR / ADMINISTER P200

DAY 1

DAY 3

DAY6626 3

DAY10

DAY11

DAY12

EVALUATE P100 & SURVEYS

CAREER INTERVIEW

ADDITIONAL INTERVIEW

NAME GATHERING

SCREENING INTERVIEW

1) Initial Screening, Magic Question

2) Administer Numerical Ability Test

3) Conduct Detailed Screening Interview to Assess Prospective Agent

Competencies

TESTS RESULT AND REFRENCES CHECKS

CAREER SEMINAR

P – 100

EVALUATE P-200/MARKET SURVEY

CAREER INTERVIEW

The above systematic steps were followed to recruit a potential and productive agent for

the company. These steps are explained below in details as follows-:

1) NAME GATHERING – This is the initial step in the recruitment process.

Names were gathered and approached through both primary and secondary

sources.

Primary Sources – Initially, primary sources were used to meet the

objective. There were two groups of people in it, that is, Centre of

Influence and Nominators.

(a) Centre of influence (COI) - Centre of Influence include le, relatives

and siblings were approached and than after the home tutors, gym

instructor, neighbors, cable operator, etc were approached. They are

those people who know the recruiter very well and believe in their well

being. In the case of difficulty in collecting references “magic

questions” were used through which the COI automatically used to

give atleast 5-6 good references.

(b) Nominators – Nominators are those people who are new to the

recruiter. Both the party doesn’t know each other in this case. It

generally includes, the references given by the COI. Since they are

unknown people work becomes more challenging. While dealing them

the particular set pattern of script is used to answer their queries and

objections. Sometimes cold call was done to them in order to provide

them this business opportunity.

Secondary Sources – After exhaustion of primary data, secondary

source was used to recruit a prospect. Firstly a help of newspaper (Ad-

Mag) was taken. Than the data was collected taken from various

sources. Data included survey of school going children’s parent,

prospect of four wheeler buyer, user of sify broadband, etc.

2) SCREENING INTERVIEW – The first interview with a candidate, which is

almost always conduct in the office, is called the “screening interview”. The

screening was done in order to judge the caliber of a person as a prospect agent.

The first literally objective was to “screen” the candidate in order to determine

whether or not to continue the interview process. If candidate passes this initial,

subjective evaluation, then second objective was to build relationship with the

candidate and to inspire and motivate and the candidate to take the numerical

ability continue through the next steps in the interview process.

Here the challenge is to maintain the candidate’s interest with a presentation that

is general in nature. An additional challenge was to keep presentation enthusiastic

and fresh. During this meeting the candidate also makes an evaluation regarding

the career opportunity. Quality candidates also notice the level of professionalism,

the appearance of office and reception area, and the conduct of the agents they

meet. In this critical time of first impressions, the recruiter must be well-prepared

for each interview, following a well-rehearsed and structured process. In this step

the gauge is done on candidate’s skills in communication, social presence and

interest in an insurance career were done.

Assessment of competencies

Assessment of qualifications for the job

Filling the screening interview file

Check for initial(5) – mobile, conveyance, phone

Filling the screening interview form

Asking of magic question (ask for references)

This initial screening or interview has three phases which was followed-:

a) The introduction and initial “screening” process was generally for not more

than 15 minutes. In this phase, questions were asked and the candidate’s

responses were listened and observed.

b) Description of the career opportunity – it approximately takes 10 minutes,

in this the key points were highlighted about the industry, Company, training,

compensation and selection process.

c) Than the candidate completed profile was taken.

In screening interview certain specific attitude of a person is judged. The

prioritized competencies are as follows-:

ENTERPRENEURSHIP

Proactive attitude

Self starter and self motivated/ Self reliance

Be your own boss

Drive to make money for self and

SELLING AND INFLUNCING

Asks intelligent, meaningful questions

Listens actively, responds and summarizes for understanding

Active prospecting to attract and acquire customers

Close the deal

PRESEVERANCE

Handling rejections

Bouncing back after rejections

Consistently working towards the goal/ Result Orientation

Positive attitude

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING/ CUSTOMER SERVICE

Interest in meeting people and keeping in touch

Puts the relationship with the customer before the “sale” in order to

build goodwill and credibility

Warm and outgoing personality

Sense of integrity (honoring commitments, openness, and honesty)

PLANNING AND ORGANIZING

Planning and activities of the day, keeping in mind the priorities

Following discipline of adhering to the laid down processes

Performing well under pressure-multiple tasks, deadlines etc.

COMMUNICATION

Create understanding and rapport through body language, warmth and

empathy

Listening and observing carefully

Inspiring trust and confidence

Engaging the client in a meaningful conservation

To check all these potentials a framed questions have been designed by the company.

This is a tool designed to identify quality agents who will stick with the business in long

run.

4) TEST RESULT AND REFRENCE CHECKS – Test result of numerical

aptitude test (NAT) is being announced after 3 days from screening interview day.

This test carries 20 mathematics questions which carries one mark each for right

answer along with .25 negative marks for each wrong question. 10 is the

minimum marks which is required to be achieved in order to clear the NAT.

Along with this process, reference check is also done in order to check the

viability of a person concerned. Several questions were asked to check the

prospects perseverance, ability to build relationship with the people,

communication skills and ability to influence people and how the concerned

person is organized and planned. The reference person’s comments are also asked

regarding the prospect agent.

5) SEMINAR – Every Friday Career Seminar is being conducted in the company’s

office training room. It is either conducted by the Trainer or Assistant Partner

through visual clippings and audio effects. The main purpose of this seminar was

to introduce prospect with the insurance industry and especially with AVIVA

LIFE INSURANCE. Business opportunity, company’s expectation, role of the

agent is also explained in details. The art of making money by garbing this

business opportunity is well described in this session of seminar. There are

various reward and recognition platforms for the agent. It is also explained that

how agents get support from the company to accomplish their goals. All the

queries of the people were taken in this session so they won’t have any doubt

regarding the company as well as job before stepping in this business.

5) PROJECT - 100 – This is also known as Project-200. After career seminar this

P-200 book is given to the concerned person. This project entirely focuses on

prospecting. In this book the name of the prospects from different sector is

written down in the rows provided. Different pages are available for different

category of people like prospect from workplace, relatives, friends,

neighborhoods and other referrals obtained. The information filled in the rows are

name of the prospect along with their age, martial status, their sex, number of

dependants, occupation and type of company they work with, average annual

income, locality in which they stay, home or business phone number, recent

changes in their life if any, how well they are known to us and vehicle owned by

them. Nearly 200 references are required to be filled in this given space. This

book was asked to filled and bring after 3 days.

6) EVALUATE P – 100/ MARKET SURVEY – After filling P-100 and market

survey form the candidate brings these two on the date said. These two things are

then evaluated in order to check its viability and truthness. In survey normally 10

people are asked to be surveyed, 5 from P- 200 and 5 from P-100 references. In

survey questions were asked which are related to insurance awareness among

people. After evaluating it is given back to the candidate for his future use in the

work as an agent. This help to approach prospects filled in the P-100 and market

survey from.

7) CAREER INTERVIEW – It is taken by Managing Partner of the concerned

office. It is also known as final interview. In this interview final decision is taken

whether to let that candidate sit in the FCS (First Career School) or not. After this

all the necessary documents along with photographs are asked to bring by the

candidate in order fill the form for an agent examination.

Above steps were strictly followed in order to remain quality oriented. AVIVA LIFE

INSURANCE has a quality model rather than mass model. So to recruit quality and

productive people all the above steps are dispensable to miss. A person who goes through

all the process and get selected, give very good business to the company and remain

attach to company for the long run.

In first step of name gathering, names were gathered and approached. Apart from those

names, some cold calls were done from AD-Mag. Some sorts of database were also used

to approach to people to offer this business opportunity. Another way taken was by

giving advertisement in newspaper in classified. Out of database and advertisement many

people approach and gone through the first step of recruitment, out of that some of them

qualified for the further steps and rest were left. Around 15 people gone through initial

screening process and out of them around 10 sat for career seminar and at last only two of

them sat for FCS classes.

So overall it is a lengthy process where all the filtration is done before selecting a single

potential person to act as an agent advisor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MATERIALS

The database and other material used in this project had helped in successful completion

of this project. Without those materials and training which is imparted by the trainer it

would have been impossible to achieve the objective. Lots of material us being provided

by the company and others are arranged.

The first material was a book called “Management Orientation School Recruitment and

Development Guide” provided during initial days of training process. This book contains

the entire process of recruitment of an agent along with the standard script to be used

while communicating those prospects.

After this P-20 followed by P-100 was provided. This was given in order to gather the

names of those people who are known and who can be contacted for achieving the goal.

After completion of this, the folder called “Art of Making Money” was provided which

contain a brief glimpse of the company, opportunity, role of an agent, training process in

the company, earning opportunity for the agents, recognition and award and the support

the agent get form the company to become successful in this business. This folder is

basically to make person familiarize with the company and business opportunity which

they will be provided after going through entire process and training.

Another important book was “Agent Recruitment Interview File (ARIF)” which is a

confidential book. This book contains all the forms and tests which is used while

recruiting an agent. It contains initial screening form, bio-data along with numerical

aptitude test, Agent Selection and Eligibility Standard Form, Project 100 assessment

form, Application for Insurance Agent, Form IRDA-Agents-VA. It also contains standard

questions which can be asked from the prospects while conducting interview to check

qualities and his worth for becoming an agent advisor. It has many other important and

confidential thing which can be used to take references and for other purposes.

The most important book “Plan and Work Book Month Of ________was provided by the

mentor. It keeps everything organized and well planned. It has records of everything

which is required to be done in following days. It also have records of appointment taken

and the phone calls to be done after coming to the office. So this keeps everything in a

systematic way.

The telephone was provided by the company to approach people by tele-calling. All the

appointments were taken on phone and the use of name gathered was done through tele-

calling.

METHOD

After getting all the materials and training process the real work started. The first

approach to met the goal of expanding the distribution channel of the company was to

approach people who are known to us. After this another sector of people are approached

who are known as nominators. They are not known to us and the stated scrip is used to

talk to them. They are than appointed to the office and further the process is followed.

After exhausting of all these data, calling form Ad-Mag was followed. This newspaper

contains the advertisement for those people who requires job in different sector. And

lastly the advertisement was given in the newspaper for those who are interested in this

business opportunity.

Sometimes, the field work was required in this process. People were approached and

influenced by meeting them at their places. This was further more challenging and gave a

great experience in the field of marketing.

RESULTS

During the pursuance of my project I founded some material facts relating to my work.

The work of expanding the distribution channel for an insurance sector is a very

challenging work. Some of the interesting findings are as follows-:

1) Any people can take this job provided he meets the requirement but there is a target

area of people who are most suited to take this business opportunity in insurance sector.

Those people are following-:

Service class like chartered accountant, financial consultant, banker,

teacher or principal of school, gym or yoga instructor, pharmaceuticals

sales, defence personnel, event manager

Businessman who are in business of automobile, real estate,

advertisement, computer, mid-size business, telecom, catering

Enterprising and socially active housewife

Active member of women’s club

Early retirement seekers

Any other

2) People in this career need immense knowledge and skills to be successful. They should

be expert in following area -:

Sales and marketing- Knowledge of advertising and selling services.

Clerical- Knowledge of general office work such as filling and recording

information.

Mathematics- Knowledge of the rules and uses of numbers. Areas of

knowledge include arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics.

English- Knowledge of the meaning of common words, spelling and use

of the English language is must.

Administration and Management- Knowledge of managing the operations

of a business, company or group.

3) Only those people in this career can show interest who tend to-:

Consider achievement important

Consider independence important

Consider good working conditions important

Consider support form their employer important

Consider relationship important

Have enterprising interests

Have social interests

Have conventional interests

4) To influence people to become the part of world’s class team is quite hard. In India

people are ignorant and illiterate and other important fact is LIC’s monopoly from 1953

till 1999 till insurance industry get liberated. So people are afraid of the private insurance

companies. Before taking this job the first thing which come to their mind is how we as

an agent advisor will able to influence the common people in large to have faith in the

private company. How to assure them that the money they are investing is secure. Why

they will believe us?

5) Some people are willing to take this job as a partime job that is along with their current

business or job but the problem lies in its long recruitment process. They either won’t

have time or not willing to give time. Some do invest time in visiting office of the

company but than they wont have time to give 100 hours for practical training which is

mandatory from IRDA. Basically AVIVA LIFE INSURANCEis basis on quality module

so it won’t compromise in it’s recruitment process.

6) Still in Indian community the work with an insurance company is looked down. It is

not considered to be a respectful job, but the fact is that, the insurance company provides

a good path for success and growth. Long term relationship with insurance company

provides a rewarding career.

After the training and by putting all the efforts some of the agents are recruited form

different age group of people with a different background.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In spite of all the good factors and rating, still the discrepancies remain either in the part

of entire company or on the part of a particular office operating in the state of the

country. Similarly AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE, Delhi, Netaji subhash place some

problem in which top management should take corrective measures in order to become

more effective and efficient in its operation..

a) The biggest loophole in this office lies in the recruitment process of an agent advisor.

The responsibility to recruit a potential agent advisor lies on Associate Partner and other

people in hierarchy. But these people won’t concentrate and won’t give priority to this

work. They won’t give time to the activity of recruitment as their main target remains to

sell a policy. The main reason behind this is the competitions among employees in the

company and secondary is the monetary reward.

b) So their must be another department or group under same head who can look after the

entire recruitment process of the agent advisor in the company. They should be organize

in a sense that they should remain in the company as on appointed time and appointed

date rather than in the field work. If company will able to overcome this basic problem

than the workforce will increase which will ultimately let to increase in more business

and growth of the company.

c) The company should also concentrate in its expenditure. They spend a huge amount of

money on converting a person into an agent advisor. But the percentage of people who

finally get converted as an agent is very less. So the expenditure involves in the

recruitment process goes in waste.

Therefore company should give effective concentration on both the activity that is selling

of policies and recruitment of an agent advisor.

CONCLUSION

A sales person should have an assortment of selling skills and should Beverly

knowledgeable even an expert, in the field which is based on the situation faced by the

salesperson. An appropriate action is required to be taken for a particular prospects or

customer. No matter what situation is faced however the basic fundamental of selling can

be applied in all situations whether it is product selling or service selling or career selling.

Donning the role of the Generation Next insurance advisor cum financial consultant,

today’s agent has a professional outlook, is more techno savvy, is in a position to satiate

the hunger for custom made policies that were never heard of and believes prompt

customer service is the key to success.

Educating the people regarding insurance as a profession is the first step.

And before giving this rewarding career, exact segment of people who is in requirement

of this career is to be discovered. In other words, this work of expanding distribution

channel requires constant evolution as these agents are the foundation of an insurance

company.

Agents are no more the undergraduate part-timer of yesteryears that only aimed at

pocketing an attractive first year commission and gave scant regard to customer service

but a thoroughbred professional, an MBA perhaps. So recruitment of these educated

people is altogether a challenging job. Initially this is a commission based job which

further complicates the things for post graduate people. Along with monetary gain,

rewards and recognition is another incentive which motivates all group of people to opt

for a particular career.

The insurance sector is witness to cut throat competition in the market, and insurance

companies have realized the importance of prompt customer service. Insurance agents

will no more be able to afford a laid back attitude. They will have to be on their toes

catering to the growing customer needs and serving them always, for his future business

and growth. This will help him to tap the untouched market of India.

And to top it all there are other intermediaries waiting in the wings to take the leap into

insurance once they get the nod. So the insurance sector is expanding and will surely

reach the far-flung areas of our developing country through agents, brokers,

bancassurance, NGOs, etc.

But according to the Mc Kinsey report, a global business and economic publication,

agents will continue to account for bulk of the insurance business and will be preferred

over and above other channels. Other intermediaries such as brokers, the report states,

etc. will only be able to carve a niche market for themselves and the acceptability of such

alternative channels will take time.

ANNEXURE 1

AGENT SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS

As per the new Five Point System, points will have to be assigned to the Agent

depending upon his/her Age, Marital Status, Educational qualification, Gender and

number of years lied in the city.

Maximum Score possible for an Agent is 12 Points

Minimum Score possible for an Agent is 6 points

Zonal Head Approval is required if the Score is less than 9

1. THE FIVE POINT SYSTEM

Age Applicable Points Actual Score

Below 25 1

25-35 2

Above 35 3

Marital Status

Unmarried 1

Married 2

Qualification

Undergraduate 1

Graduate/Post Graduate 2

Gender

Male 2

Female 3

Lived in the city for 5 yrs

No 1

Yes 2

Total Score

II. Numerical Ability Test Score____________________________________________

Signature Designation Name

III. Approved by Recruiter ____________ __________ ___________

IV. Approved by AP/ Partner____________ ___________ ___________

V. Approved by Office Head ____________ ___________ ___________

VI. Zonal Head Approval, ____________ _____________ ____________

If Score is below 9 on the

Five Point System

What do you like the most about your current job? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What do you dislike the most about this job? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What, to your mind, are the characteristics of a successful sales person?

1.___________________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________________

Can you name the first three people that come to your mind when you think of these

characteristics? These should be the ones that you have personally interacted with.

Name Address Phone

1. _________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

2. _________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

3. _________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

_________________ ______________________ _____________________

Agent Eligibility on Five Point System Points scored

Age _________________________ ___________

Marital Status__________________ ___________

Qualification __________________ ___________

Gender _______________________ ___________

Living in the City for 5 years______ ___________

Total Points Scored

ANNEXURE-3

BIODATA

Name __________________________________________________

Sex, Age & Date of Birth __________________________________________________

Qualifications ___________________________________________________

Specialization areas (if any)_________________________________________________

Main interests (in terms of hobbies): 1st choice____________2nd choice______________

Experience in previous jobs: Organization (1)___________Yrs______/Organization

(2)___________Yrs_______

Experience in present job: Organization _________________________________No. of

Yrs.________________

SELF INTROSPECTION

1) Strengths: (for example: pleasing manners; positive attitudes; etc.)

______________________________________________________________

2) Weakness: Please give three:-

_____________________________________________________________

3) What skills do you have which you consider will be your main assets in AVIVA LIFE

INSURANCE?

_____________________________________________________________

4) All of the following motivate men to enter the field of selling.

Please rank order them in order of your preference (i.e. 1,2,3,4)

Opportunity to earn more money __________

Desire to be one’s own boss __________

Desire to meet people __________

Dislike of desk job __________

5) Do you personally own insurance? ___________ If yes, did you take Insurance

through:-

(i) a sales representative__________ (ii) someone’s recommendations____________ (iii)

own interest_______________

6) Do you have a personal sales representative? _____________

7) Do you have any relative or close friends in insurance industry? _____________

8) How do you learn about this job opening? _____________

9) How well do you know about AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE? High______

Medium_____

10) How many jobs have you changed in last 5 years___________; in last 10 years_____

11) Are you self-employed ______________/ Salaried ______________

12) Do you consider your financial position comfortable? Very much_____ In between

_________ Low__________.

13) Are you associated with any Corporate Agent of any Life Insurance Company- Like

GTMS- Yes/No___________________(answer to this question is mandatory)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1) “Insurance Distribution – An Introduction”, Insurance Series, ICFAI University

2) File of ART OF MAKING MONEY from XYZ

3) Aviva’s Agent Recruitment Interview File “Confidential”

4) Management Orientation School Recruitment & Development Guide (Aviva life

insurance)

5) IC 24: Legal Aspect of Life Insurance

6) Mr. Bobin rai : Life Insurance Agents

WEBSITES

7) www.blonnet.com

8) www.uncerg.org

9) www.irdaindia.org