How To Become An Insurance Advisor?

Is Becoming An Insurance Agent Worth It?

The insurance industry is a rather lucrative one.
Amidst the pool of professions available for a professional to choose from in the current status quo, being an insurance advisor or agent is deemed profitable.
The basic job profile of an insurance advisor/ agent is to prepare reports, maintain records, get new clients, sell them a suitable policy, and provide analysis wherever necessary.
An insurance advisor primarily deals with insurance products like-

Life Insurance
Auto Insurance
Income Protection Insurance
Property Insurance
Burial Insurance
Surplus Line Insurance
Business Interruption Insurance
Travel Insurance

Life insurance is probably the most commonly known insurance product in India.
The insurance industry is one that people do not know a lot about.
Common men usually feel that an insurance advisor is directly synonymous with an insurance agent, and it is quite true.
They are directly associated with the concerned corporation.
The agent/ advisor is essentially an intermediary between the insurance company and the individuals (that availing of the insurance products).
They have to help these clients with insurance products after thoroughly seeing which products will suit their requirements the best, selling them the product
And then completing the needful by collecting the required documentation.
An insurance advisor finds potential clients and tries to sell policies to them with an analysis of their lifestyle and financial positions.
The advisor runs a proper procedure before advising them with a policy.
This procedure revolves around making a financial plan or providing clients with advice related to investments before retirement.
The process involves a thorough insight into the client’s assets, liabilities, financial history, expenditures, and lifestyle.
The advisors then work with the right time and accordingly come up with suitable policies that the client can avail to obtain financial security.
Insurance advisors act as an intermediary between the insurance companies and clients.
As misunderstood as the concept of insurance advisory is, people tend to go for it.
One reason why people go for the profession of insurance advisory is the liberty that it provides them with.
They can work as per their own will and the income levels have a high chance of shooting up.

Additionally, you now have a passive source of income for a lifetime.
Since the commission amount is unpredictable, there’s always scope to earn more.
It is believed that the qualities which make an insurance advisor successful and respected include willingness to interact with people, being ambitious in achieving the set goals, being able to communicate properly, being dedicated and open to rejections.
The industry is built on the foundation of good communication, trust, consistency, and patience and that is what is important for any insurance advisor to inculcate in themselves.
Understand that you need to be excellent with the services that you provide.
This holds while you’re formulating an insurance plan and even after the client has implemented that plan.
Your post-sales services matter as well.
It is believed that the qualities which make an insurance advisor successful and respected include willingness to interact with people, being ambitious in achieving the set goals.
For instance, selling a set number of insurances on a particular day), being able to communicate properly, being dedicated, and open to rejections.
We now focus on what are the procedures involved in becoming an insurance advisor.
As per the guidelines provided by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA), once you have registered yourself with a certain insurance company, you are supposed to undergo training, just as you would have to in any other professional sphere.
Post the training, you are to give an examination.
It is only once the result of the examination is out and has been cleared by you that you finally become an insurance advisor.

Steps Involved In Becoming An Insurance Advisor

Register yourself with an insurance company.
Once your registration is approved, you are signed up for a training program depending on the kind of agency you are looking for.
Post the completion of the said training, you sit for an examination as suggested by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Upon the exam’s clearance, you are officially fit to become an insurance advisor.
Now that you have cleared your examination, get on with the advisory by associating with an agency!

However, know that the minimum qualification needed for you to be able to sit for the training and examination to be recruited by an insurance agency includes you being at least 18 years old with a matriculation certificate.
The additional documentation required includes the applicant’s identity proof, address proof, PAN CARD copy, some copies of one’s photograph as well as the proof of the highest education certificate.

Essentially, to be an efficient insurance agent, one needs to have the traits to fulfil the following tasks:

Assistance in advertising and marketing the insurance products to make the potential customers believe that they are useful
Provide insight into the financial markets and insurance regulations
Expertise in at least one product to provide legitimate advice to the client
Experience or sufficient knowledge in business development to help in product creation and promotion
Come up with marketing strategies

Some basic guidelines that every insurance advisor/ agent must follow include not selling an insurance product without sufficient knowledge, not providing illegitimate insurance advice, and not misleading any potential client.
Additionally, an insurance agent who is yet to complete his trading must also not go ahead and indulge in the promotion of an insurance product.
It is necessary for the agents to keep their license handy and not put forward an ugly/ controversial image of the corporation that they are associated with.

Lastly, we see how this is an advantageous profession.
You not only start bringing home additional income, but you enjoy certain flexibility with the job.
While you can become a full-time insurance advisor, or you can take it up part-time.
You usually have good compensation for the services that you offer.
Moreover, you continue to receive a commission even post-retirement.
Do you know what’s the best part? You get paid holidays!

In Conclusion

To conclude, insurance advisory is a business that requires zero investment and gives you the freedom to work at your convenience while also providing you with a source of passive income at any age.
If this article engaged you enough to know about this profession, go check it out for yourself!
Various banks, corporations, and agencies allow you to become an insurance advisor quite easily.
The process is quite similar to the one aforementioned.