Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

Re: Guidelines on Qualifications of Corporate Insurance Executives and Faculty of Agents’ Training Institutes.

The largescale recruitment of agents by insurers in last few years and phenomenal growth in sales through corporate agencies has necessitated large number of professionals in the fields of training and marketing. Firstly, the insurers have expanded their training facilities to accommodate new agent recruits and are making efforts to recruit the faculty required. Secondly, the corporate agents of insurers required large number of persons who are qualified to be specified persons or corporate insurance executives. In the above context several insurers represented to IRDA to suitably modify the training requirements for the faculty of Agents’ Training Institutions, Corporate Insurance Executives, Specified Persons etc.

As per IRDA Guidelines on Licensing of Corporate Agents, the minimum qualification of Chief Insurance Executive (CIE) is FIII / AIII or such other qualification or experience that IRDA, may at its sole discretion, consider adequate. As of now only these two qualifications are being considered.

To identify the qualifications which are suitable for the above positions in insurance company and evaluate their equivalence to presently specified qualifications, Chairman, IRDA constituted the standing panel with the following members:

1. Executive Director (Administration), IRDA, Hyderabad (Chairman & Convenor)
2. Managing Director, IIRM, Hyderabad
3. Secretary General, Life Insurance Council, Mumbai
4. Secretary General, General Insurance Council, Mumbai
5. Secretary General, Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai

The Standing Panel considered various issues connected with the qualifications and made recommendations which are submitted to the Authority.

After considering the recommendations of the Standing Panel, Authority accepted the following recommendations and ordered that this be incorporated in Circulars concerned:

1. The qualifications required for Corporate Insurance Executive (CIE) , Specified Person, Faculty of ATI shall include the following qualifications:

       a. An Associate/Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai.
       b. an Associate/Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi; with diploma in Insurance
           and Risk Management.
       c. an Associate/Fellow of the Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India, Calcutta;
       d. an Associate/Fellow of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi;
       e. an Associate/Fellow of the Actuarial Society of India, Mumbai;
       f. possessing Certified Associate ship of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB)
       g. MBA (Two year) Course / PG Diploma (One year) course in Insurance from Amity School of Insurance &
          Actuarial Science, Noida
       h. PG Diploma (One year) course in Insurance from Institute of Insurance and Risk Management, Hyderabad
       i. MBA (Two year) course in Insurance from National Insurance Academy, Pune
       j. PGMBA (Two Year) course in Insurance from National Law University, Jodhpur
       k. PGMBA (Two year) course in Insurance from MET, Mumbai
       l. MBA (Two year) course in Insurance from Birla Institute of Management Technology, Noida

2. The persons with above qualifications (except at (a)) shall undergo a “Workshop for Insurance executives” at National Insurance Academy, Pune or Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai or Institute of Insurance and Risk Management, Hyderabad as prescribed by the Authority.

3. Faculty of Agents Training Institute:

With regard to the qualification of faculty of Agents’ Training Institutes, point no. 6 of STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES issued on October 4, 2004 is modified as below:

“Every Institute should have at least one qualified permanent faculty who is an Associate or Fellow from the Insurance Institute of India for each stream i.e. for Life and Non-Life. However, the training institutes can employ faculty with more than 15 years of service in the insurance company with last three years in managerial capacity i.e. Scale III Officer and above in the public sector insurance companies”.

The above guidelines come into force with immediate effect.

( A Giridhar)
Executive Director