The insurance agent is the interface and an ambassador between a company and the individual.

An insurance agent's ultimate mission is to provide consistent quality and satisfaction to customers and a profitable return to the company

The insurance industry today is undergoing dramatic changes due to the development of new innovations that are strengthening existing customer relationships as well as seeking new relationships.

Privatisation has opened the barriers that once segmented the industry and prevented new companies from entering the market - offering new products or opening new lines of business. Such movements have increasingly demanded better technology tools to acquire new customers, retain existing customers, improve customer services, reduce operating expenses and manage information' particularly at the point of sale.

With the liberalisation of the Indian insurance sector that threw open doors to many insurance companies to set up their bases in India, the imminent challenge is the management of a huge number of insurance agents and policyholders.

Stringent processes such as interviews, selection criteria, recruitment of insurance agents, training and certification processes are posing new challenges, especially considering the complexity of Indian topography and population density.

Under the regulation of Insurance Agents Regulatory Act 2000, any person desirous of obtaining an agent's license shall have to pass the pre-recruitment examination in life or general insurance business conducted by an examination body duly recognised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

The applicant must possess the minimum qualification of pre-university or equivalent examination conducted by any recognised board or institute, where the applicant resides in a place with a population of 5,000 or more as per the last census, and pass in tenth standard or equivalent examination from any recognised board or institution if the applicant resides in any other place.

An applicant applying for a license to act as an insurance agent will have to complete training from an IRDA-approved institution with at least 100 hours of practical training in life or general insurance business, as the case may be, which may be spread over three to five weeks. For renewal of his license, the agent will have to undergo training for just 25 hours.

Applicants seeking license to act as a composite agent shall have to undergo training in an approved institution, with at least 150 hours' practical training in life and general insurance business, which may be spread over seven to eight weeks.