The More Things Change… the more they remain the same, goes the old saying. That is certainly true of insurance in India, especially the intermediaries. 4 years ago, in the October 2006 issue of Premium we observed that the profession of advice would grow in strength if only its member grew in knowledge and professionalism.

Insurance is complex and the customer depends on the intermediary for knowledgeable advice for protection against perils.
In this new column, Perils & Protection, Mr B Mathews Prabakaran, a licenced insurance broker and a seasoned General insurance professional discusses issues in the insurance industry, especially those touching the professional lives of marketing and sales professionals as well as intermediaries like brokers and agents.

Stricter norms for Unit-Linked insurance policies (ULIPs) started this September 1, 2010. In the last few months, ULIPs have been in the news constantly due to the SEBI-IRDA fight over who should regulate it and also due to accusations of widespread mis-selling. Four years ago around this time too it was very much in the [...]

Premium invited its first 100 subscribers to an interesting seminar by Mr R Gopinath, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Go Past Centre for Learning, at Chennai in July 2006, a few days after the launch of the magazine. The 100 subscribers paid up to receive the magazine several months before it was even launched! Such [...]

Time is More Than Money Brushing Teeth Jobs Prospecting and Developing R Gopinath Prospecting: a process of identifying and qualifying likely buyers Developing: a process of identifying new markets Prospecting Need, affordability and accessibility Prospecting is the activity of identifying people who have the need for our product or services and then qualifying them in [...]

As time renews itself and a new calendar year is born, Premium looks back at the past. It reiterates some of the highlights made during the course of the year and sums up the lessons learnt. Finally, Premium stresses the need to be prepared for all eventualities.

The comfort level of the Indian insurance agent with technology is marked by a heterogenous nature. In the last decade since 1999, Mr Ajay Arora, Founder and Managing Director, Datacomp Web Technologies Private Limited, sees a change in the industry – a pull force is at work – the younger generation are calling up to buy insurance policies.

Mr Mahendra K Dhruva, President, Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (IIILSA), shares his views about assessors operating out of home with family support. IILSA wants to spread the message that private insurance companies should not adopt the practice of using employees as surveyors.