TYPES OF INSURANCE AGENTS

TYPES OF INSURANCE AGENTS :

The following are the different types of Insurance Agents recognised under the Regulations:

(a) Individual Agent

(b) Corporate Agent

Individual Agents

IRDA (Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000 as amended from time to time, contains provisions relating to licensing of individual Insurance Agents. The following are the different types of licences issued within the Regulations:

(a) Direct Life

(b) Direct Non Life

The following are the pre-requisites for a candidate intending to get a licence issued (common for all types of agents):

(a) Minimum qualifications: The minimum qualifications prescribed are a pass in 12th standard or equivalent examination conducted by a recognised Board/Institution. This condition is relaxed to a pass in 10th standard for applicants residing in a place where the population is not less than 5,000 (‘Rural agents’)

(b) The applicant must not suffer from the following disqualifications:

a. That the applicant is not minor

b. That he is not found to be of unsound mind by a Court of competent jurisdiction

c. That he has not been found guilty of criminal misappropriation or criminal breach of trust or cheating or forgery or an abetment of or an attempt to commit any offence by a Court of competent jurisdiction and five years have not elapsed from the date of conviction

d. That he has been found guilty of or has knowingly participated in or connived at any fraud, dishonesty or misrepresentation against an insurer or an insured during the course of:

(i) Any judicial proceeding relating to any policy of insurance (or)

(ii) Winding up of an insurance company (or)

(iii) In the course of investigation of affairs of an insurer

(e) That he does not violate the code of conduct prescribed under the Regulations

(c) Practical Training: The applicant shall undergo a minimum of 50 hours practical training on insurance related matters in life or general insurance business, as the case may be, spreading to 1 to 2 weeks. Where the application is for a composite licence, the training shall be 75 hours spread over 3 to 4 weeks covering both life and general insurance subjects. Where the applicant holds special qualifications such as membership of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Insurance Institute of India or the Institute of Actuaries of India or a Masters degree in Business Administration of any institution recognised by Central Government or State Government, it is sufficient if the training is undergone for 25 hours (35 hours if the licence is composite). The training can be undergone in any of the IRDA accredited training institutions

(d) Examination: Every applicant shall undergo a pre-recruitment examination in life or general insurance business or both, as the case may be, conducted by the Insurance Institute of India or any other body authorised by IRDA.

(e) AML & ULIP training: In addition to the above, the insurer with whom the agent is attached provides a special training on Anti money laundering (under the IRDA’s Anti money laundering Guidelines dated 31 March 2006) for all Insurance Agents. Training in Unit Linked Insurance Products (ULIP) is compulsory for life insurance agents before they are allowed to sell ULIPs on behalf of a life insurer (under the IRDA (Linked Insurance Products) Regulations, 2013)

(f) Payment of fees of Rs.250 alongwith the application for grant of licence enclosing proof of age, qualifications, training and examination.

Renewal of licence

A licence is issued for a period of three years at a time. At the end of the third year, the licence is required to be renewed. The following are the conditions for renewal of licence:

(a) Completion of practical training for 25 hours for Life or General insurance, as the case may be or 50 hours for renewal of composite agency licence

(b) Payment of fees of Rs.250 towards renewal of licence. If the application for renewal does not reach atleast 30 days before the due date for renewal, an additional fee of Rs.100 by way of penalty is payable. If the application for renewal reaches after the expiry of licence, IRDA may consider the application for renewal upon imposition of a penalty of Rs.750.

(c) Maintenance of a minimum persistency of 50% during the licence period (as per IRDA’s persistency guidelines dated 11 February 2011

(d) The Agent does not suffer from any of the disqualifications mentioned in the previous section

(e) Renewal training on Anti-money laundering as may be prescribed by the insurer from time to time

Authorisation to sell for one insurer at a time

A licence issued under the provision of the above Regulations entitles an Insurance Agent to sell on behalf of one life insurer or one General insurer at a time. An identity card is issued by the concerned Insurer for this purpose. An Agent is entitled to change insurer but has to follow the process laid down in IRDA’s circular on issue of a ‘No objection Certificate” by the insurers, dated 2 September 2009.

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