Stricter time for insurance agents exams in offing

Arti Sharma / TNN / Aug 6, 2007, 04:21 IST

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Clearing exams to be an insurance agent through cheating or other illegal means won't be easy anymore.

Stricter time for insurance agents exams in offing

MUMBAI: Clearing exams to be an insurance agent through cheating or other illegal means won't be easy anymore. Insurance Institute of India which conducts tests for agents twice a month in about 160 centres across the country has cracked the whip on insurance companies for irregularities during exams.
According to sources, the institute's secretary general has dashed off missives to heads of all insurance companies, warning them of actions for flouting examination norms.The directions specifically warn against carrying cell phones to examination centres.
In addition, companies have been warned against sending officers (sales and unit managers) to the venue of the exam. If insurance companies fail to comply with these guidelines, the institute will suspend exams at centres where irregularities are reported. The insurance institute has put the onus of transparency during exams on officers who are in charge of candidates.
The institute is also understood to have sent letters to schools where exams for insurance agents are held. Schools and colleges have been advised to seek police protection during the exam period.

Insurance Institute of India secretary general S Gidwani declined to comment on these developments. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman C S Rao told TOI, "The agent recruitment exam is still under process we need to see what works for the system and what doesn't. We are investigating certain cases where we feel companies are directly involved and will take action accordingly. If required, we will bar the company from recruiting fresh agents for a specific period."

Clearly, there is room for improvement in the system. In the past, instances of rampant cheating have been reported.
Cases of impersonations, fake hall tickets, cheating at centres with company officials messaging answers to candidates and paper leaks are common. According to some agents, every trick in the book has been used by training institutes and often company sales managers to ensure the numbers they require to recruit are in place no matter what the cost.
As a result, instead of the required 100 hour training mandated by the regulator before an agent can sit for the exam, training institutes churn fake certificates.

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