Onboarding point of sales persons to get simpler
To increase the distribution footprint, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), in 2015 allowed for a new type of distributor, called the point of sales person for the non-life insurance industry and subsequently for the life insurance industry in 2016.
They are different from insurance distribution channels such as agents and brokers as they can be enrolled much faster. Enrolling these point of sales persons is set to get easier as the regulator has allowed the industry to train and certify these individuals in-house. A lowdown.
PRODUCTS SOLD
A point of sales person can be engaged either directly by insurers or by intermediaries such as corporate agents and insurance brokers. The minimum educational qualification of such persons is Class
10. “These can be retailers like the kirana store owner or any vendor. The idea is to be able to sell basic insurance products through more people,” said RM Vishakha, MD and CEO, Indiafirst Life Insurance Co.
In the non-life space, products such as motor insurance, travel insurance, personal accident insurance can be sold by the point of sales persons as these products require very little underwriting; based on the information provided by the prospect, the insurance policy is automatically generated by the system.
In the life insurance space, Irdai identified pure term insurance plans with or without return of premium, nonlinked (non-participating) endowment plans that state the investment benefits upfront and immediate annu ity as products that could be sold by the point of sales persons. According to the regulator, these products are simple to understand, and the benefits are stated upfront clearly and are pre-defined.
TRAINING PROGRAMME
To ensure quick certification of point of sales persons in the life insurance industry, Irdai has relaxed the certification programme by allowing the insurers or intermediaries hiring them to train and examine these individuals in-house.
Earlier as per the rules, Irdai had appointed the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) to conduct an examination to certify the point of sales persons for both life as well as non-life industry.
In a notification dated February 7, Irdai dispensed with the condition of training from and passing the NIELIT examination.
Irdai has allowed in-house training by the insurer or intermediary engaging the point of sales persons. They will have to conduct in-house training of 15 hours and an examination thereafter. The insurer or the intermediary will then issue a certificate and maintain the records for at least 5 years. Irdai has also prescribed a model syllabus for training purposes.
For point of sales persons in the non-life sector, the training module remains the same. “The exemption from certification by the NIELIT is only given to life insurance industry right now. In the case of general insurance, the products are vast and so a more advanced training is required,” said Sanjay Datta, chief, underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd