The last ten years have thrown a series of challenges at the Indian insurance agent who feared that competition would kill his livelihood. Nothing like that happened. Yet, change is very fast paced even today, and K Nitya Kalyani brings you the first part of a new series on Business Strategy to thrive in a new era of competition and challenges.

He was in the armed forces, took up insurance agency without a clue about insurance and is riding high. Wing Commander Dinesh Kumar Bhardwaj based at Gurgaon represents the two Tata AIG insurance companies, flying the world as a high achiever in the new career he discovered in his late fifties and trying to din the importance of insurance protection into the heads of his erstwhile defence forces colleagues!

Mr Praful Shah is an quintessential old world father and son insurance agents of the type you find in Mumbai, serving fathers and sons and son’s sons with the confidence that they know what the client needs so well that the relationship grows from generation to generation. Because Mr Praful Shah’s father started in this profession, and his son is now successfully helping him.