Insurance sector lures with lucre
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The attitude towards selling insurance to the Indian customer is changing given the hefty pay packages offered by insurance companies to fresh management graduates
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GOOD DEAL: Given the heavy opening packages offered by private life insurance companies, nobody can afford to ignore the sector. — Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan
Insurance is a relatively new arena for students to explore for career and growth opportunities, considering the late entry of private companies. The sudden opening up of countless opportunities has forced management schools to push insurance jobs among their students. The negative attitude towards the life insurance sector is slowly on the wane with good pay becoming uppermost in the minds of students.
Given the opening packages offered by private life insurance companies, nobody would like to turn a deaf ear to these prospects. Managers say that Metlife is offering Rs. 2.8 lakhs per annum for an entry-level management trainee. This is being offered for students from average business schools, standing next only to Indian Institutes of Management in quality of teaching and infrastructure.
Yes Bank, a subsidiary of World Bank, is also entering life insurance with a big bang. With its branch office located in Hyderabad, Yes Bank is looking for young graduates with a passion for marketing life insurance products. Though a field job requires direct contact with customers, business management graduates are not averse to taking it up, given the lucrative packages involved.
At the time of campus interviews, salary deals are struck with the students. ICICI is said to be offering Rs. 2 lakhs per year and Dabur Aviva Rs. 1.2 lakhs per year. HDFC StanLife, Max New York, Bajaj Allianz and other companies are appearing on the life insurance scene, creating a world of new job opportunities.
As for career growth, a clear picture is yet to emerge. Management schools say that those absorbed into the insurance companies in the last one or two years are doing well enough. They have dispelled the notion that field activity associated with the selling of life insurance products is not a favourable destination for someone who has just acquired a degree in business management. Provided the performance is outstanding, a management trainee can scale positions of sales manager, branch head, regional head and even country head.
A few years' experience in the life insurance field will give an edge to students, who look for challenges outside this field provided that has to do with direct contact with customers.
Realising the increasing potential, ICFAI National College, Vijayawada, has been making its students go for on-the-job training to several companies. Principal Y. Sai Krishna says that students are asked to take up fieldwork and gain good experience. If there are any field-level expenses, the students are negotiating with the respective company managements and getting compensation. This exposure enhances their negotiation skills, so necessary to sustain good performance in a company.
The fears of students have been reinforced with some companies withdrawing from the insurance business and selling the stakes to other companies recently. Though there is a feeling the insurance is not in safe hands, the lucrative packages are attracting the students in good numbers.
G. Ravikiran
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Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
