In 2010, there was a mass exodus of agents from the insurance sector. But now, a number of people are opting for a career in insurance, says Mukesh Dhawan, Deputy CEO of Tata AIA Life Insurance.
A number of women and youngsters have joined the industry as agents. This is a major shift in trend, where men have dominated the industry until recently.
Tata AIA Life Insurance, a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Hong Kong-based insurer AIA Group, recently launched ‘Fenomena’, a programme to enrol more women into the insurance agency business.
“To bring in the right talent we have developed ‘Fenomena’, which is derived from the word phenomenal. We believe women are phenomenal, as they can multitask far more naturally than men,” said Dhawan.
Insurance agency provides women time and work flexibility. They can sell policies anywhere and anytime, he explains.
Tata AIA has come up with special training programmes for women on insurance products, which are apart from the mandatory training that IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) rules stipulate.
The initial results have been encouraging with nearly half the company’s new agent recruits in the last three months being women, says Dhawan.
New apps
Tata AIA has also launched five new mobile apps that help agents calculate insurance premium on the go. The apps also help customers understand how much insurance they need and whether they are under-insured.
‘E-life’
In addition to this, Tata AIA has also rolled out its new sales tool ‘E-life’ which will enable agents sell policies using a Tablet.
All the tools required to complete the sale are now made available through the Tablet.
This will not just save time for agents and improve their productivity, but will make it easy for customers to buy a policy without having to go through the hassle of documentation.
“The traditional briefcase will soon get replaced by the Tablet. Given the high speed of execution, it will make life easier for agents,” says Dhawan. The initial feedback from the active agents who have adopted the technology has been positive.
>nalinakanthi.venkataraman@thehindu.co.in
Published on September 8, 2013
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