INSURANCE INDUSTRY OF INDIA

Indian economy is the 12th largest in the world, with a GDP of $1.25 trillion and 3 rd largest in

terms of purchasing power parity. With factors like a stable 8-9% annual growth, rising foreign

exchange reserves, a booming capital market and rapidly expanding FDI inflows, it is on the

fulcrum of an ever-increasing growth curve. Insurance is one major sector that has been on

ascent since the revival of Indian economy. Taking into account the huge population and

growing per capita income besides several other driving factors, a huge opportunity is in store for

the insurance companies in India. Nearly 80% of Indian population is without life insurance

covering while health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international

standards. And this part of the population is also subjected to weak social security and pension

systems with hardly any old age income security. Insurance in India is primarily used as a means

to improve personal finances and for income tax planning. There is a tendency to invest in

properties and gold followed by bank deposits with a slight investment in Stocks and Shares.

This in itself is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is immense. It’s a

business growing at the rate of 15-20% per annum and presently is of the order of $47.9 billion.

INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

(IRDA)
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is a national agency of the

Government of India, based in Hyderabad. It was formed by an act of Indian Parliament

known as IRDA Act 1999, which was amended in 2002 to incorporate some emerging

requirements. Mission of IRDA as stated in the act is "to protect the interests of the

policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry

and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."

Expectations: -

The law of India has following expectations from IRDA

1. To protect the interest of and secure fair treatment to policyholders.

2. To bring about speedy and orderly growth of the insurance industry (including annuity

and superannuation payments), for the benefit of the common man, and to provide long term

funds for accelerating growth of the economy.

3. To set, promote, monitor and enforce high standards of integrity, financial soundness, fair

dealing and competence of those it regulates.

4. To ensure that insurance customers receive precise, clear and correct information about

products and services and make them aware of their responsibilities and duties in this regard.

5. To ensure speedy settlement of genuine claims, to prevent insurance frauds and other

malpractices and put in place effective grievance redressal machinery.

6. To promote fairness, transparency and orderly conduct in financial markets dealing

with insurance and build a reliable management information system to enforce high

standards of financial soundness amongst market players.

7. To take action where such standards are inadequate or ineffectively enforced.

8. To bring about optimum amount of self-regulation in day-to-day working of the

industry consistent with the requirements of prudential regulation.

DUTIES, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF IRDA

Section 14 of IRDA Act, 1999 lays down the duties, powers and functions of IRDA

 Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other law for the time being in force, the

Authority shall have the duty to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance

business and re-insurance business.

 Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the powers

and functions of the Authority shall include,

• Issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, renew, modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel

such registration;

• Protection of the interests of the policy holders in matters concerning assigning of policy,

nomination by policy holders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claim, surrender value

of policy and other terms and conditions of contracts of insurance;

• Specifying requisite qualifications, code of conduct and practical training for

intermediary or insurance intermediaries and agents;

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors;

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business;

• Promoting and regulating professional organizations connected with the insurance

and re-insurance business;

• Levying fees and other charges for carrying out the purposes of this Act;

• Calling for information from, undertaking inspection of, conducting enquiries and
investigations including audit of the insurers, intermediaries, insurance intermediaries and other

organizations connected with the insurance business;

• Control and regulation of the rates, advantages, terms and conditions that may be offered by

insurers in respect of general insurance business not so controlled and regulated by the Tariff

Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938);

• Specifying the form and manner in which books of account shall be maintained

and insurers and other insurance intermediaries shall render statement of accounts;

• Regulating investment of funds by insurance companies;

• Regulating maintenance of margin of solvency;

• Adjudication of disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries;

• Supervising the functioning of the Tariff Advisory Committee;

• Specifying the percentage of premium income of the insurer to finance schemes for promoting

and regulating professional organizations referred to in clause (f).

INSURANCE COMPANIES IN INDIA

 Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited

 Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd

 HDFC Standard life Insurance Co. Ltd

 ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

 ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd.

 Life Insurance Corporation of India

 Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd

 Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd.

 Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited

 SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd

 Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited

 Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited.

 Aviva Life Insurance Co. India Pvt. Ltd.

 Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd.

 Sahara India Life Insurance

 Bharti AXA Life Insurance

 Future Generali Life Insurance

 IDBI Federal Life Insurance

 Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance

 Religare Life Insurance

 DLF Pramerica Life Insurance

 Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance

 Agriculture Insurance Company of India

 Apollo DKV Insurance

 Cholamandalam MS General Insurance

 HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company

 ICICI Lombard General Insurance

 IFFCO Tokio General Insurance

 National Insurance Company Ltd

 New India Assurance

 Oriental Insurance Company

 Reliance General Insurance

 Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance

 Shriram General Insurance Company Limited

 Tata AIG General Insurance

 United India Insurance

 Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Allianz SE, one of the world's

largest insurance companies, and Bajaj Finserv. Allianz SE is a leading insurance corporation

globally and one of the largest asset managers in the world, that manage assets worth over a

Trillion. With over 115 years of financial experience, Allianz SE is present in over 70 countries

around the world. Bajaj Allianz is into both life insurance and general insurance. Today, Bajaj

Allianz is one of India's leading and fastest growing insurance companies. Currently, it has

presence in more than 550 locations with over 60,000 Insurance Consultants. 

Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group, an Indian

multinational corporation, and Sun Life Financial Inc, a leading global insurance company. Birla

Sun Life Insurance is distinguished as the first company in the sector of financial solutions to

begin Business Continuity Plan. This insurance company has pioneered the unique Unit Linked

Life Insurance Solutions in India. Within 4 years of its launch, BSLI became one of the leading

players in the industry of Private Life Insurance Scheme. 

Established on 14th August 2000, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture

between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited) - India's leading

housing finance institution, and a Group Company of the Standard Life Plc, UK. The Company

is one of leading private insurance companies, offering a range of individual and group insurance

solutions, in India. Being a joint venture of top financial services groups, HDFC Standard Life

has adequate financial expertise to manage long-term investments safely and resourcefully. 
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, which is one of

India's foremost financial services companies, and Prudential plc, which is a leading international

financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. ICICI Prudential began the

operations in December 2000. Today, this company has over 2100 branches, which include

1,116 micro-offices, over 290,000 advisors and 18 banc assurance partners. 

ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited

Established in India in September 2001, ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint

venture between Vysya Bank, which is one of the largest private sector banks in India, and ING

Insurance Co., which is the world's second largest life insurance company. This private life

insurance company has around 140 branches all over India, with head office in Bangalore. ING

Vysya Life Insurance Co. has around 3000 employees with over 21,000 sales insurance agents

and brokers. ING Vysya Life presently has around 4.5 lakh customers, and is making a total

income of Rs. 400 crore. 

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is a Government of India enterprise, and is said to be

the largest life insurance company and also the largest investor of the country. LIC had been

established on the 1st of September, 1956, after the Life Insurance Corporation Act had been

passed by the Parliament of India in the same year. The corporation is aimed at providing life

insurance services primarily to the rural masses and the socially & economically backward
sections of the Indian society. It also aims at promoting the people for saving their money, and

offers attractive savings features along with various insurance policies. 

 Duties of Sales Officer at different Levels of management

In organizations, there are generally three different levels of Sales Officer : first-level Sales

Officer , middle-level Sales Officer , and top-level Sales Officer . These levels of Sales Officer

are classified in a hierarchy of importance and authority, and are also arranged by the different

types of management tasks that each role does. In many organizations, the number of Sales

Officer in every level resembles a pyramid, in which the first-level has many more Sales Officer

than middle-level and top-level Sales Officer , respectively. Each management level is explained

below in specifications of their different responsibilities and likely job titles.

Top-Level Sales Officer

Typically consist of Board of Directors, President, Vice President, Chief Executive Officers, etc.

These individuals are mainly responsible for controlling and overseeing all the departments in

the organization. They develop goals, strategic plans, and policies for the company, as well as

make many decisions on the direction of the business. In addition, top-level Sales Officer play a

significant role in the mobilization of outside resources and are for the most part responsible for

the shareholders and general public.

Middle-Level Sales Officer

Middle level Sales Officer typically consist of General Sales Officer , Branch Sales Officer ,

Department Sales Officer , etc. These individuals are mainly responsible to the top management

for the functioning of their department. They devote more time to organizational and directional

functions. Their roles can be emphasized as executing plans of the organization in conformance

with the company's policies and the objectives of the top management, they define and discuss
information and policies from top management to lower management, and most importantly they

inspire and provide guidance to lower level Sales Officer towards better performance.

 Designing and implementing effective group and inter-group work and information

systems.

 Defining and monitoring group-level performance indicators.

 Diagnosing and resolving problems within and among work groups.

 Designing and implementing reward systems that support cooperative behavior.

First-Level Sales Officer

Typically consist of Supervisors, Section Officers, Foreman, etc. These individuals focus more

on the controlling and direction of management functions. For instance, they assign tasks and

jobs to employees, guide and supervise employees on day-to-day activities, look after the

quantity and quality of the production of the company, make recommendations, suggestions, and

communicate employee problems to the higher level above, etc. In this level, Sales Officer are

the "image builders" of the company considering they are the only ones who have direct contact

with employees.

 Basic supervision.

 Motivation.

 Career planning.

 Performance feedback.

Management Skills:
In order to be effective, a Sales Officer must possess and continuously develop several essential

skills. A successful practice of management depends upon such skills. Different writers suggest

different types of skills required of Sales Officer . Regardless of organizational level, all Sales

Officer must have five critical skills: technical skill, interpersonal skill, conceptual skill,

diagnostic skill, and political skill.

Technical Skill

Technical skill involves understanding and demonstrating proficiency in a particular workplace

activity. Technical skills are things such as using a computer word processing program, creating

a budget, operating a piece of machinery, or preparing a presentation. The technical skills used

will differ in each level of management. First-level Sales Officer may engage in the actual

operations of the organization; they need to have an understanding of how production and

service occur in the organization in order to direct and evaluate line employees. Additionally,

first-line Sales Officer need skill in scheduling workers and preparing budgets. Middle Sales

Officer use more technical skills related to planning and organizing, and top Sales Officer need

to have skill to understand the complex financial workings of the organization.

Interpersonal Skill:

Interpersonal skill involves human relations, or the Sales Officer 's ability to interact effectively

with organizational members. Communication is a critical part of interpersonal skill, and an

inability to communicate effectively can prevent career progression for Sales Officer . Sales

Officer who have excellent technical skill, but poor interpersonal skill are unlikely to succeed in

their jobs. This skill is critical at all levels of management.

Conceptual Skill

Conceptual skill is a Sales Officer 's ability to see the organization as a whole, as a complete

entity. It involves understanding how organizational units work together and how the

organization fits into its competitive environment. Conceptual skill is crucial for top Sales

Officer , whose ability to see "the big picture" can have major repercussions on the success of the

business. However, conceptual skill is still necessary for middle and supervisory Sales Officer ,

who must use this skill to envision, for example, how work units and teams are best organized.

Diagnostic Skill

Diagnostic skill is used to investigate problems, decide on a remedy, and implement a solution.

Diagnostic skill involves other skills—technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and politic. For

instance, to determine the root of a problem, a Sales Officer may need to speak with many

organizational members or understand a variety of informational documents. The difference in

the use of diagnostic skill across the three levels of management is primarily due to the types of

problems that must be addressed at each level. For example, first-level Sales Officer may deal

primarily with issues of motivation and discipline, such as determining why a particular

employee's performance is flagging and how to improve it. Middle Sales Officer are likely to

deal with issues related to larger work units, such as a plant or sales office. For instance, a

middle-level Sales Officer may have to diagnose why sales in a retail location have dipped. Top

Sales Officer diagnose organization-wide problems, and may address issues such as strategic

position, the possibility of outsourcing tasks, or opportunities for overseas expansion of a

business.
Political Skill

Political skill involves obtaining power and preventing other employees from taking away one's

power. Sales Officer use power to achieve organizational objectives, and this skill can often

reach goals with less effort than others who lack political skill. Much like the other skills

described, political skill cannot stand alone as a Sales Officer 's skill; in particular, though, using

political skill without appropriate levels of other skills can lead to promoting a Sales Officer 's

own career rather than reaching organizational goals. Sales Officer at all levels require political

skill; Sales Officer must avoid others taking control that they should have in their work

positions. Top Sales Officer may find that they need higher levels of political skill in order to

successfully operate in their environments. Interacting with competitors, suppliers, customers,

shareholders, government, and the public may require political skill.

These Sales Officer ial skills are used by different Sales Officer . Top Sales Officer needs to

have more conceptual skill than technical skill. They have to think about the future of the

company (goal and objectives). Any small activities that support to achieve the goal and

objectives are done by their employee. Top Sales Officer always think about the life of the

business. Middle Sales Officer is doing more in the interpersonal skill. They have to meet many

people, so they need interpersonal skill to communicate with people. Example: negotiators. The

last one is Lower Sales Officer which need technical skill in their job. The lower Sales Officer

are dealing with small activities that may lead to achieve the goal and objectives. These three

Sales Officer must have a good relationship each other, so that the objective and goals can be

achieved.
Management Roles

In addition to the broad categories of management functions, Sales Officer in different levels of

the hierarchy fill different Sales Officer ial roles. These roles were categorized by researcher

Henry Mintzberg, and they can be grouped into three major types: decisional, interpersonal, and

informational.

Decisional Roles:

Decisional roles require Sales Officer to plan strategy and utilize resources. There are four

specific roles that are decisional.

The Entrepreneur Role requires the Sales Officer to assign resources to develop innovative

goods and services, or to expand a business. Most of these roles will be held by top-level Sales

Officer , although middle Sales Officer may be given some ability to make such decisions.

The Disturbance Handler corrects unanticipated problems facing the organization from the

internal or external environment. Sales Officer at all levels may take this role. For example,

first-line Sales Officer may correct a problem halting the assembly line or a middle level Sales

Officer may attempt to address the aftermath of a store robbery. Top Sales Officer are more

likely to deal with major crises, such as requiring a recall of defective products.

The third decisional role that of Resource Allocator, involves determining which work units

will get which resources. Top Sales Officer are likely to make large, overall budget decisions,

while middle mangers may make more specific allocations. In some organizations, supervisory

Sales Officer are responsible for determine allocation of salary raises to employees.
Finally, the Negotiator works with others, such as suppliers, distributors, or labor unions, to

reach agreements regarding products and services. First-level Sales Officer may negotiate with

employees on issues of salary increases or overtime hours, or they may work with other

supervisory Sales Officer when needed resources must be shared. Middle Sales Officer also

negotiate with other Sales Officer and are likely to work to secure preferred prices from

suppliers and distributors. Top Sales Officer negotiate on larger issues, such as labor contracts,

or even on mergers and acquisitions of other companies.

Interpersonal Roles:

Interpersonal roles require Sales Officer to direct and supervise employees and the organization.

The Figurehead is typically a top of middle Sales Officer . This Sales Officer may

communicate future organizational goals or ethical guidelines to employees at company

meetings.

A Leader acts as an example for other employees to follow. The leader gives commands and

directions to subordinates, makes decisions, and mobilizes employee support. Sales Officer must

be leaders at all levels of the organization; often lower-level Sales Officer look to top

management for this leadership example.

In the role of Liaison, a manger must coordinate the work of others in different work units,
establish alliances between others, and work to share resources. This role is particularly