The insurance industry is often termed as a sunrise industry in India. Since liberalization and opening up the insurance sector for private players back in 2000, this sector has seen significant growth and still offers a huge future opportunity in a fast growing economy like ours. In absolute terms all premium income, number of brokers, number of insurers, insurance penetration has gone up which is a good news. But as of 2015 insurance penetration which is ratio of premium underwritten to the GDP in India was 3.9% which is the far lower than world average of 6.3 percent in 2013. Insurance industry though growing but this sector has shortage of workers with required skills required in all departments of Insurance companies like risk management, underwriting, distribution, accounts & finance, product development, reinsurance, strategy etc. A survey estimated that there will be a requirement of around 20 Lakh insurance professionals in India by 2025.
Insurance industry regulator and statutory bodies have always stressed the need for formal training and a methodological approach to impart insurance education to every level of employees and workers joining the industry. The field of insurance as a formal academic discipline has gained momentum in recent years in India. There are numerous private, autonomous and government institutions mushrooming now a days offering formal degrees in insurance as a specialization.
It is observed that there is less awareness in the students’ pursuing Insurance career regarding examinations-certifications that are recognized at national and at global level. In this article we will discuss about the Licentiate examination conducted by Insurance institute of India and will provide study tips and details about the examination.
Insurance institute of India more commonly known as III was established in the year 1955 and since then has contributed by promoting insurance education and training in the country. Insurance institute of India offers executive diploma programs in Insurance marketing, health insurance and in Insurance management. It also conducts IRDAI examinations for agents, surveyors, marketing firms and web aggregators. Apart from that it organizes online training for brokers, offers a few good certificate programs. Licentiate Associateship and Fellowship are three stages for which the candidate has to acquire credit points to earn the respective designations.
Scheme of the examination: –
Licentiate: – This is a basic level – First level examination for Students from both Life and General Insurance background. 60 credit points need to be acquired by candidates with two compulsory papers required to be cleared. Licentiate Examination is conducted on online mode. Centres are designated by III in major cities of India.
| Compulsory Subject | Credit Points
|
| IC 01 Principals of Insurance
|
20
|
| IC 02 Practise of life Insurance
OR IC 11 Practise of General Insurance
|
20
|
| Any one optional paper
|
At least 20
|
Licentiate designation is granted by III and certificate is provide to the candidate for completing the same.
Associateship: – This is the second level of examination and requires practical aspect knowledge to a wide range of insurance subjects. Candidate can choose subjects of his choice from fields of life insurance, general insurance or both combined. In addition to 60 credits gained for licentiate examination candidate has to acquire 190 Credit points and pass two compulsory papers. That in total of 240 credit points is needed to earn the Associateship designation of III.
| Compulsory Subject | Credit Points
|
| IC 22 Life Insurance Underwriting
OR IC 45 General Insurance Underwriting
|
30 |
| IC 26 Life Assurance Finance
OR IC 46 General Insurance Accounts and Regulation of Investment
|
30
|
| Combination of optional subjects
|
At least 130
|
Fellowship: – This exam requires specialized knowledge in all fields of Insurance as this is the third and final level of examination. In addition to 250 credits gained for licentiate and associate examination the candidate has to acquire 240 Credit points and pass one compulsory paper. That in total of 490 credit points is needed to earn the Fellowship designation of III. Fellowship designation is granted by III and certificate is provided conferring the designation on the candidate.
Although examination most of the subjects are conducted online in multiple choice questions format some subject exams are conducted in paper pen based format also and is in subjective nature. Duration of examination is 2 hours and pass marks is 60% or above to earn a distinction the student need to score 75% or above.
The fellowship designation and credits earned from Insurance Institute of India has gained reputation in the industry and can be used to get exemption for a few selected credits from some international bodies providing similar certifications (CII – London offers some exemptions for credit points and fellowship designation earned from III.
Study Material: – III publishes study materials for all compulsory and optional subjects which is directly dispatched to the address of the candidate after ordering them online.
Application for the examination: – Online fees is to be paid for registration of all the three levels at the Insurance institute of India website and slot booking of centre, date and time of examination is to be performed online as well in stipulated dates as disclosed on the III website. Examination is co
Tips for success in the Licentiate examination: – First of all let’s get introduced to the subjects and think considering some optional papers.
Principles of Insurance IC 01: – The objective of this paper is to familiarize the student with basic principles of Insurance which are the pillars on which the insurance industry operates. Principle of utmost good faith, Insurable interest, indemnity, proximate cause are most important and needs to be understood very well at this level to grasp the concepts.
Practise of Life Insurance IC 02: – This paper is an introduction to basic life insurance principals, terminology used and the operative mechanism behind it. This subject lays the foundation on which the other life insurance subjects of Associateship and fellowship are based on.
Practise of General Insurance IC 03: – This paper is an introduction to basic general insurance principals, terminology used and the operative mechanism
behind it. This subject also introduces us to various other branches of General Insurance namely Property and Casualty. This subject lays the foundation on which the other General insurance subjects of Associateship and fellowship are based on.
Optional Paper: – Although the candidate can select its optional subject of 20 Credits from a broad range of subjects. At this stage it is recommended to go ahead with a basic foundational subject which can lay a good base for higher levels as per interest of the candidate and his/her scope of work. One of the recommended papers that a student can opt is IC 14 Regulation of Insurance business.
5 Simple Tips to clear: –
- Studying the study material published by III and going through the MCQ provided therein is more than sufficient to pass Licentiate level.
- Complete all the chapters of the study material at least in one glance and stress on the concepts as the questions can be sometimes application based.
- If the student has selected IC 14 Regulation of Insurance business as the optional paper remembering the dates of the regulations passed is important.
- Getting well acquainted with the computer based test is very important. While appearing first time the student should spend some time to build up the familiarity.
- Although the multiple choice questions are basic the candidate should spend the full time available (2 hours) in reviewing the answers and cross checking as the options can be sometimes close. Once submitted the test the candidate can’t go back and make corrections.