Selling Insurance Right

IRDA putting in place new norms for agents who sell insurance products and on training institutes that impart various skills to train agents.To ensure that only serious professional players come into the insurance business, the regulator has mandated that only entities registered as companies under the Companies Act and societies and trusts registered under Societies Registration Act shall be eligible to apply for accreditation as agents training institutes (ATIs).

 

The accreditation will be given on a need-based criterion and existing private ATIs will be granted a one-time permission as assessed by the standing committee constituted by the regulator. The existing ATIs will also be eligible for reallocation of the centres within the state based on the assessments made by the standing committee.

 

The training institutes will teach from the books prescribed by Irda. The regulator has mandated that for the part-time batches, the training can be imparted four hours daily for a duration of 14 days. In the case of composite training, the duration will be for 11 and 22 days, respectively, for full-time and part-time training. For a candidate to qualify for the exam, he will have to complete 50 hours. For renewal of licence, a candidate must attend 25 hours of training in life and non-life products separately. The regulator has also directed ATIs to maintain attendance record of trainees for inspection. Read more here---->