It's difficult to overstate the sheer modern-day relevance of insurance in our lives. Whether it's life or non-life insurance offerings, from health and motor to travel policies, one can't imagine a worry-free existence without them. India’s overall insurance penetration has increased considerably over the last decade. The state of Maharashtra has consistently had a higher insurance penetration, and it remains a noteworthy contributor, particularly to the country's non-life insurance premium income. That said, Mumbai's insurance penetration still ranks below the global average, which is understandably an encouraging sign for any aspiring insurance agent in Mumbai.

Are you willing to get started with your own insurance agency in Mumbai?

Before we proceed, it's wise to explicitly define insurance agents in Mumbai, understand what they do, recognize how they differ from point-of-sale persons, explore the types of benefits or earnings they can extract, and learn how you can become one.

Key takeaways?

• Insurance agents connect the supply of insurance services with their demand.
• In spite of overlapping responsibilities, agents perform distinct roles than POSPs.
• They identify needs, promote and introduce insurance products, develop leads, and finalize policy purchase transactions.
• Agents enjoy the convenience of self-planned schedules, flexible job hours, and manageable workloads.
• They move forward, grow, and earn commissions, incentives or bonuses.

Insurance Advisors/Agents & POSPs

Also described as traditional or IRDAI insurance agents, these licensed and well-trained individuals serve as intermediaries between insurance companies and the public, selling insurance policies.

Insurance POSPs are point-of-sale persons, certified, professionally equipped, appointed, and authorized by insurance providers to directly sell their basic pre-approved retail insurance products.

Differences Between Individual Insurance Agents & POSPs

Insurance agents must go through the IRDAI-mandated 25-hour-long training, appear/pass a physical examination, and may continue to work until the surrender of their license.

• Can target large/mid-tier cities.
• Market/sell all approved insurance products.
• Cover both fundamental and complicated policies.
• Provide customized high-risk and high-sum insured options.
• POSPs can manage a 15-hour-long compulsory training, pass an online assessment, earn their certification, and carry on performing for the certification's validity period of 3 years.
• Can pay attention to metros, urban, suburban, and rural locations.
• Only market/sell IRDAI-assessed insurance products.
• Address only simplistic policies.
• Provide basic retail and comprehensive coverage options with tax benefits.

Primary Responsibilities of Insurance Agents

• Effectively deploy phone, video, email, and other digital modes of communication.
• Identify potential customers.
• Build and nurture contacts plus relationships with prospective clients.
• Probe and spot their latent insurance needs.
• Modify policies as per customers' specific requirements.
• Promote appropriate insurance solutions.
• Include customizable and high-risk ones.
• Generate leads.
• Close health, travel, motor, marine and fire policy sales.
• Ensure post-sales support.
• Provide claim and renewal assistance.

Advantages of Being an Insurance Advisor/Agent

• Zero monetary investment and infrastructure necessities.
• No prominent educational or experience requirements.
• Adequate initial expert-led training, mentorship, and certification.
• Advanced digital upskilling.
• Regular reskilling.
• Unmatched personal freedom and flexible working hours.
• Part-time options.
• Work-from-anywhere arrangements.
• Bare minimum work travel.
• Recurring income.
• Incentive-based earnings and cash flows.
• Opportunities to maximize earnings.
• Financial self-reliance.
• Ample accolades, national and international awards.
• Emotional fulfilment.
• No retirement constraints.
• Recession-proof job stability and security.

Your Earning Potential

The sky is the limit! Considering highly competitive commission structures, incentive-driven earning models and referral or renewal incomes, insurance agents in Mumbai can expect to earn between INR 20,000 and INR 100,000 per month.

How much you precisely earn largely depends on the intensity of your efforts, your product knowledge, your ability to communicate, present policy features/benefits, the number of clients you acquire, policies/plans you sell and the companies' bonus packages. Your experience and the chosen location also play a significant role.

How to Become an Insurance Advisor in Mumbai?

As a prerequisite, one must be at least 18 years old and possess a 10th-grade certificate, Aadhaar, PAN and functional bank account details. The first step involves carefully analyzing the Indian insurance industry's legal framework and its market dynamics, selecting your preferred insurance areas and partnering or registering with well-recognized insurance providers.

The second step is undergoing a 25-hour training program (15 hours for becoming a POSP agent) and passing the IRDAI-conducted exam. The third and last step provides you with an official license to sell insurance policies as an individual agent in Mumbai.

In addition, with the help of leading insurance brokers, like QuickInsure, you can seamlessly apply for the position of POSP agent with 24*7 assistance from its experts. Here are some simple steps through which you could apply for Quickinsure Certification Process:

1. Sign Up: Begin by adding your basic details and completing OTP verification.
2. KYC Upload: Submit required documents such as Aadhaar card, PAN card, and educational certificates (10th/12th/Graduate/Postgraduate).
3. Training & Test: Once verified, you’ll receive a link for the mandatory 15-hour training session followed by an MCQ-based assessment.
4. Additional Uploads: Upload your recent photo, signature, and bank statement for verification.
5. Certification: After successful verification, your POSP code will be generated, marking the start of your business journey with Quickinsure.

Conclusion

You could be a college student, a recent graduate, a job seeker, an employed or self-employed individual, a business owner, a homemaker, or a retired pensioner. Regardless of your status, there has never been a more rewarding time than today to become an insurance agent. Make the most of unlimited untapped opportunities spread across life/non-life categories covering Health, Motor, Travel and other insurance offerings.

Visualize yourself as a certified business partner and POSP insurance agent with QuickInsure, India's one-stop insurance comparison destination for informed decision-making and a globally admired insurance selling platform.

Uncover products from 35+ insurance services providers, benefit from AI-led innovative technologies plus app-driven integrated operations, get seamless support from dedicated relationship managers, secure timely commissions, multiply your earnings and invest in systematic career growth.

Note: The above information is purely indicative in nature and subject to change without any prior notice from the government authorities. One must refer to the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India's portal to learn the most up-to-date developments before taking action.

Last Modified by - 6/10/2015