The Indian insurance business is likely to see a 200 per cent growth by 2009-10, predicts an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India report. Want to cash in on this trend? Head for the Insurance Institute of India (III), Mumbai.

“With the swift expansion of the BPO sector, the market for insurance has opened up like never before,” says S.J. Gidwani, secretary-general of III.

Formerly the Federation of Insurance Institutes (J.C. Setalvad Memorial), III was established in 1955 to promote insurance education and enhance insurance services in India. It is the only professional institute in the country devoted to insurance-related education and has been accredited by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority as the sole body to conduct pre-recruitment qualifying examinations for insurance agents and surveyors. It is also a charter member of the recently started Institute of Global Insurance Education.

The College of Insurance (established in 1966) is the training wing, catering to the needs of insurance personnel at different levels. It holds regular classes to prepare those appearing for the different III exams. The faculty consists of qualified and experienced officials of the insurance industry. Experts from outside the industry are also invited as guest faculty. The Indian government sponsors students from several Afro-Asian countries under the Colombo and Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plans (SCAAP).

III conducts examinations, oral and written, in insurance theory and practice and related subjects. It awards certificates, diplomas and degrees in both life and non-life (general) insurance. Now some of the tests can be taken in regional languages too.

Candidates can take the licentiate exam after passing Class X. The cost of registering is around Rs 1,950. Those who clear it can apply for a certificate of associateship. However, insurance graduates of S.N.D.T. University, Mumbai, and Gandhigram Rural University, Tamil Nadu, with a minimum of 50 per cent in each subject as well as those who have passed the vocational course-life / non-life (Plus Two) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education can appear directly for associateship. This course teaches one the technical aspects of insurance — like underwriting and claims. Each subject you take for associateship will cost you Rs 300. Students who want a diploma will have to shell out an extra Rs 1,000. Only associates can enrol for fellowship. At this stage, candidates must decide whether they want to specialise in life or general insurance. Each subject will again cost the student Rs 300 while the diploma will cost an extra Rs 600. The exams are held twice a year, in May and November.

III provides oral and postal tuition (in English only) in all subjects from licentiate to the fellowship course. Postal coaching for the licentiate course costs Rs 300 per paper, for the certificate of associateship Rs 400 per paper and for the fellowship Rs 500 per paper. Some of the 91 associated institutes, spread across the country, also organise oral tuition. The quality of tuition is monitored through a system of feedback from students.

The Charter Insurance Institute, London, the American Institute for Charter Property Casualty Underwriters, US, and the Life Office Management Association, US, grant various exemptions in their programmes to candidates with diplomas from III. The institute also offers scholarships, grants and prizes for research or any other educational work bearing on insurance. “There are many insurance companies in India today, and many doors at the junior level will open for a fellow of III,” says Prodip Dutta, a fellow, who is on the advisory board and has been the general secretary of the associated institute in Calcutta.

III is gearing up to revamp its curriculum according to the new market scenario as well as the preferences of Gen Y. And this is not its first move to keep up with the changing times; the exams, too, have been made available online sometime ago. “With constant revision and upgradation of our programmes, my students will be in demand in the US, the UK, the Gulf, Australia and everywhere else in the world,” Gidwani adds.

“A student fresh out of III will start off with Rs 2.5-3 lakh per annum, whereas a person working up the ladder to reach that position will take at least 10 years,” reveals Indranil Roy Chaudhuri, associate member and development officer with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. “And the end of the ladder is chairmanship.”

Vital Statistics

WHAT IS IT? An institute that specialises in insurance education

WHO’S THE BOSS? S.J. Gidwani is the secretary-general

what is the course fee? Rs 1,945 for the licentiate course

Where is it? Universal Insurance Building, sixth floor, Sir P.M. Road, Fort, Mumbai
Website: www.insuranceinstituteof india.com

Swachchhasila Basu