Many of those who matter, including Mr D Swarup himself, have expressed their opinion about the recommendation phasing out agents’ commission to which the media has given wide coverage

Office bearers of Life Insurance Agents Federation of India (LIAFI) met a host of dignitaries including Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Union Finance Minister, Mr S Jaipal Reddy, Union Urban Development Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition, Mr Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha MP to protest the Swarup committee recommendation phasing out agents’ commission.

While the National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India (NFIFWI) is willing to support the cause of financial literacy in the country, they are opposed to the withdrawal of agents’ commission. They have met Mr D Swarup, Chairman, and handed over a memorandum outlining the reasons for their protest.

Though the Swarup Committee in its recommendation No. 10 proposes a change in the commission structure, among the arguments put forth against it are it is not final in nature, the spectacular growth of new business premium in recent years are because of ULIPs and insurance penetration is still low in India.

Premium’s readers rushed in their responses to the recommendations which were sent to the committee’s email id. From the downright shocked to the more measured responses from across the country we carry them all including from bodies like the Life Insurance Agents Federation of India, LIC Round Table and Association of LIC Agents, Mumbai.

In these excerpts from the previous issues of Premium, CEOs share their faith in agents and their contribution to the industry, and add they will support them to the hilt. Not to be left behind, the mutual funds industry CEOs say that insurance agents are to be envied for their market reach. Also read what makes the agents tick.

In reply to accusations that agents are ‘leeches’, Mr Suri Seeta Ram, Agent, LIC, rebuts them, and adds that in the first year agents are given only 2 to 35 per cent commissions which is drastically reduced to 7.5 per cent to 0 per cent in the subsequent years and further brought down to five to 0 per cent from the fourth year – and only on installment premium paid.