How Insurance Sales Person Can Become a Partner in an Insurance Marketing Firm?

To increase the insurance penetration in India, the IRDAI has introduced an Insurance Marketing Firm. So, it can sell multiple insurance products of life and non-life insurance companies by providing multiple choices to investors. Along with this, an IMF can sell financial products such as mutual funds and pension products.

For selling insurance products company engages with Insurance Sales Persons (ISPs) and for selling other financial products it engages with the Financial Services Executive (FSE). Also, they help the IMF to sell different products to a variety of customers. The IMF can agree with the insurance companies to carry out Insurance Business activity. Below we shared how an ISP and FSE can engage in an Insurance Marketing Firm.

What is the IMF and ISP?

The Insurance Marketing Firm is a distribution channel for insurance products which was introduced by the authority in 2015. This is one stop for all the financial needs of customers at different stages of life. The registration of the IMF will be done under IRDAI, and the registration will be done district-wise. IMF is allowed to choose a maximum of three districts within the state.

An Insurance Sales Person (ISP) is an individual employed by an Insurance Marketing Firm (IMF) to solicit or procure insurance products. However, the Insurance Marketing Firm can engage Insurance salespersons (ISPs) to solicit and procure insurance products of a maximum of two insurance of Life insurance, General Insurance and Health Insurance.

Certification for ISP of the Insurance Marketing Firm

1. The insurance marketing firm can engage individuals to market insurance/ and financial products.
2. IMF is not permitted to engage in the marketing of any other financial products which are not mentioned by the authority.
3. ISPs that are engaged by the IMF are allowed to solicit and procure insurance products of those insurers with whom the IMF has entered into a tie-up/agreement.
4. The FSEs that are engaged by IMF must have a registered license or certificate issued by the respective regulator as specified in the Regulations.

Qualifications and Eligibility Criteria for ISP

The minimum qualifications of an insurance sales person are as follows:

• Must pass in class 12th or equivalent examination from a recognised Board/ Institution.
• Must undergo a training of 50 hours prescribed by the authority.  
• Should be resident in the area where IMF is located.
• In case, the ISP has any one of the following qualifications then he/she has to undergo 25 hours of training and pass the examination. 
  • Associate/ Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai.
  • Associate/ Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India.
  • Associate/Fellow of Chartered Insurance Institute, London.
  • Postgraduate qualification of the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management, Hyderabad.

However, an Insurance Marketing Firm can engage the same person for the sale of both insurance and other financial products. It is possible only if he/she meets the qualification criteria and certification requirements as laid stated above.

Duties and Responsibilities of IMF towards ISP

• The IMF engage with licensed ISPs and FSEs on a salary and incentive basis.
• The IMF must include the relevant conditions and clauses in the agreement with ISP based on matters such as:
  
  • Prescribed code of conduct.
  • Engagement with the Insurance Marketing Firm.
  • Sales processes/ rules etc.
• The remuneration paid by the IMF to ISP should be on a salary and incentive basis for the solicitation and procurement of policies.
• The Insurance Marketing Firm can assist individuals to become ISPs to undergo the prescribed training and certification.
• The IMF must ensure continuous monitoring of the activities of ISPs and must it will be responsible for compliance with these regulations and code of conduct by ISPs.

Certificate to Act as Insurance salesperson for an Insurance Marketing Firm

As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), any individual who wants to become an insurance salesperson in IMF has to fill out the below form to act as an ISP.

New Guidelines Issued by IRDA for IMF Partners

For an insurance marketing firm, it is possible to retain policies along with other financial products such as mutual funds. So, in the recent guidelines, IRDAI allowed the IMF to market insurance policies along with other financial products that are approved by the financial sector regulators.

These products can be sold by any two kinds of licensed persons:

1. Insurance Sales Person (ISP): He/she will be responsible for marketing products alone.

2. Financial Service Executive (FSE): He/she will take care of other financial services such as providing financial advice, sales of mutual funds, and the National Pension System.

However, these individuals must have the licenses and qualifications from the respective authorities. The insurance agents cannot become insurance salespersons and cannot be promoted to agents until they have an active salesperson license. Also, for providing financial services, certificates from regulatory bodies are required. For example - to sell mutual funds, it is mandatory to get certification from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). 

A certification from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is required to sell NPS. So, for selling products related Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) obtaining a registration as an investment adviser is required. The remuneration of the salesperson will not be commission-based and his growth will be towards becoming a broker. In that case, the customer’s interest will be solely important.

Conclusion

To conclude, a company that wants to become an Insurance Marketing Firm (IMF) need at least Rs. 10 lakh of net worth of all time. Also, buy a professional indemnity insurance policy that is four times the business turnover of a marketing firm. The IMF license is granted to an IMF for three years and it can be renewed before the expiry date of the license. So, if you are looking to register an Insurance Marketing Firm, we at Registrationwala can assist you in the process. Reach out to us to know more about the registration process. 

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.