Students attend a class on insurance. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Dec. 1: With increasing insurance firms making their foray into the city, there has been a proportional rise in the number of institutes offering courses in this sector.

Over the past two years, four institutes have come up in the city, with each producing 25 to 30 batches annually.

Usually each batch comprises 25 to 40 students, which includes a sizeable number of women, sponsored by different insurance companies.

Reliance, Birla Sunlife, ICICI Prudential, Max New York, Bajaj Allianze, SBI Life, INS Vyasya, Aviva and ICICI Lombard besides the LIC, Oriental, New India and National Insurance — name it and they probably have established offices in Ranchi.

G.C. Chatterjee of Ritu Nanda Insurance Services — an insurance agent, or adviser as they are called, training institute — says they train about 1,000-odd agents every year. “There is tremendous scope in this line. In India, less than 20 per cent of the people are insured. And many of those who are insured, are under-insured. India has a over a billion people and over 80 crore of them are uninsured. This makes it almost a virgin territory for advisers to make a handsome packet at the end of the day,” he said.

And it seems that the scope is widening, especially because Indians seem to have realised the importance of insurance cover in this era of uncertainties, he added.

Mona, who was a schoolteacher till four months ago was content with a pay packet of Rs 5,500 , but after she made a switch as an insurance adviser she earns more than Rs 10,000 a month. Now she is trying to pull in more of her colleagues to this field.

In fact, one of her colleagues is planning to quit school altogether and follow in Mona’s footsteps.

“I am a relative newcomer in this field. There are people, who are earning nearly Rs 50,000 to a lakh every month. Even now with my present income, I am satisfied. I don’t have to wake up at 4 in the morning to be in school by 7 or 8 am. I start my work at eleven and reach home by six. The return is directly proportionate to the connections I make and the time I devote,” Mona says.

Like Mona Kumari Arti is undergoing training at Asean institute of insurance and risk management at Lalpur Chowk. A graduate from Ranchi Women’s College (1998), Arti was attracted to the field because of its flexible hours and the opportunity of income with minimum investment.

And like the two women there seems to be many more queuing up for the institute. Supriya Chattoraj, the assistant director of Asean, says that recently she had to hire two additional rooms to accommodate more students.

Her institute has already opened branches in Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Hazaribagh and all seem to be doing brisk business.

“To become an adviser one doesn’t require much formal education. Being an Intermediate is enough,” she said.