Despite all the developments taking place in the country, the rate of insurance penetration is lesser than the global value. Indeed, for a country as geographically diverse as that of India, increasing this value has always been a challenge. In 2015, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) passed a landmark judgement to get people hired as a point of sales person (PoSP). These PoSPs are a different type of insurance distributors.
With lower educational qualifications required, more people can take up this role. Consequently, a greater number of people from the lengths and breaths of the country can be employed. The central idea here is, if these PoSPs sell basic insurance products to people around, the insurance penetration will increase. As a result, not only will the insurance companies stand at an advantage, but the overall economic state of the country will also improve. Now that you understand the central idea of PoSP, let us get to the details and discuss all that you need to know here. If you are considering taking this as a profession, this article will tell you how to become PoSP.
Lower academic skill set requirement of PoSP
One does not need extensive qualifications to become a PoSP. A bare class 10th pass person is eligible to become one. As opposed to an insurance agent, the hours of training required here stand at a minimum value of 15 hours. Thus, if you haven’t been able to pursue academic life for long, but you are dedicated and want a career where you can make big money, PoSP is a suitable option for you. Being a PoSP is a flexible career choice and you can take this up as a part-time job as well.
Good interpersonal skills of PoSP
If you are wondering how to become PoSP, the first skill that you must nurture is that of effective communication. Understand that the reason why an insurance company hires a PoSP is that they want a company representative to be locally available to the customers. Not only should you be able to communicate with the customers in the local language, but you must also try to build good interpersonal skills. The idea here is to get the PoSP to become someone the clients can trust as that will get them to have more dealings with the company. For that, it is important to provide relevant and instant service to the clients.
Not all policies can be sold by PoSP
If you are planning to become a PoSP, do not expect to sell all kinds of insurance plans. As of August 2019, only motor insurance, life insurance, travel insurance and personal accident insurance plans can be sold by a PoSP. That is because this type of insurance has minimal underwriting and people with lesser training will be able to do justice to them. IRDAI has a clearly stated list of pure term insurance plans that can be sold by point of sales persons.
Life insurer is responsible for conduct of PoSP
IRDAI guidelines clearly state that any misconduct on the part of the PoSP is the responsibility of the life insurer. If it is an insurance intermediary in question, the same holds good for him as well. As per Section 102 of the PoSP act, the insurer will be penalized for any untoward behaviour of the PoSP. Thus, as a PoSP, it is important that you remain on your toes all the time in order to ensure that someone else does not suffer for no fault of theirs. Doing so will not just make you loyal to your job, but it will also ensure that you shine in your career.
Claim settlement after purchasing from PoSP
A PoSP may not be eligible to sell you complex policies. However, for policies sold by him, there is complete ownership. If you need assistance with claim settlement, you may approach your PoSP and he will have the necessary knowledge to help you out. For most insurance companies, the PoSPs have connections in the firm for hassle-free claim processing for the customer. If you are looking to pursue a career as a PoSP, you must realise that your responsibilities do not come to an end after getting a customer to buy a policy from you.
With the pros and cons discussed above, it will be easier for you to decide whether you want to take your next insurance policy from a PoSP. Also, now that you know all that you need to pursue a career as a PoSP, making a decision will be easier. Indeed, this career brings with it a host of unique challenges. But there is nothing that cannot be tackled with hard work and dedication and in the work-life of a PoSP, the sky is the limit of success.
About The Author
Anchal Sethi
Anchal Sethi is a professional blogger and content marketer. She has 4+ years of experience in the same domain and handled 100+ clients from USA, Canada & Australia. Moreover, she also provides consultancy to small and medium scale businesses to increase their online traffic and sales.
