How to pursue a career as a Point of Sale Person (PoSP)?

Who is PoSP?

Point of Sales Persons is an Alternate Distribution Channel for Insurers introduced in 2015 by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). PoSPs can sell a variety of pre-underwritten insurance products to their customers.

PoSP need a minimum qualification of just 10th pass to qualify. It is an ideal choice for people looking to enter the industry and start a flourishing career as full-fledged Insurance Agent in future.

A POSP can sell simple, pre-underwritten and standard insurance products. They sell products that are pre-underwritten and specifically approved by IRDAI for solicitation through POSP. These products do not need elaborate explanations for the customer. A PoSP cannot sell complicated or high-risk products.

PoSP can be a Student, a Housewife, a Working Professional, a Retired Person, or even a Businessman.

Registration:

No Registration is required with IRDAI. However, PoSPs are sponsored by insurers or intermediaries to carry on sale and solicitation activities and they provides adequate training and certifications.

The IRDAI prescribes model syllabus for both categories of PoSPs.

Expected Employer:

PoS persons can be engaged directly by insurance companies or by other intermediaries such as corporate agents and insurance brokers. If you want to get certified as a PoS agent, you need to get yourself registered with an insurance company or broker who will then arrange required 15 hours mandatory training as stipulated by IDRDAI.

Products a PoSP Can Sell:

General Insurance Products:

• car or two-wheeler policies
• Personal accident policy
• Travel Insurance
• Home insurance

Life Insurance & Health Insurance Products:

• Pure Term Insurance Product with or without return of premium
• Non-linked Non-Participating Endowment Product (Survival benefit feature also allowed)
• Immediate Annuity Product
• Non-linked, Non-Participant Health Insurance products with fixed benefits
• Any other product / product category, if permitted by the Authority

A PoSP can be tied up with only 1 insurer or intermediary at a point of time.

Scope

Insurance is like a royalty income. Once you sell insurance to someone, they will be buying it from you every year. Almost everyone needs Insurance these days, that means all your neighbors, friends, relatives, and even their contacts can become your clients. There is no end to the potential income.

PoSPs are broadly divided into categories of Life and Non-Life, depending upon the type of training undertaken by them.

The IRDAI Annual Report records that as on March 31, 2021, the total number of PoSPs engaged by insurance market participants was 8,27,901.

Typical Job Profile:

Job profile is straight forward and very simple as PoSP is deals with standard pre-underwritten products which are straight forward and does not require much explanation or clarification. Though PoSP undergoes proper training on the product they would go to sell in the market.

Expected Salary/Commission:

Insurer or Insurance intermediaries usually share 30-50% of their commission to an PoSP. Based on how many policies you actually sell, your potential earnings per month as a PoSP insurance agent may go byond Rs. 50,000 a month, provided you are a serious sales person and work hard and have good network within neighbours, society and sales acumen.

Qualification and Training required:

To become a POSP, you need to have the minimum educational qualifications and training required by the IRDAI.

• You must be over 18 years of age,
• You should be a Resident of India
• You have Passed Secondary school, Matriculation, or any other equivalent
• You need to have a valid Aadhaar Card and PAN Card.
• A Bank account

A 15-hour training as mandated by IRDAI is required to get officially registered as a PoSP agent-.

If you want to get certified as a PoSP agent, you need to get yourself registered with an insurance company or broker who will then arrange required 15 hours mandatory training as stipulated by IDRDAI. After the completion training, you need to pass the IRDAI test with a certain minimum percentage.

The training involves 15 hours of inhouse training, followed by exams (conducted by the insurers or intermediaries) on the basis of the model syllabus. Successful candidates are provided a certificate and appointed as PoSP in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions.

Cost

PoSP does not require registration with IRDAI and the training and product knowledge are sponsored by the Intermediary and insurer usually free of cost.

Model Syllabus for Exam:

PoSP- General Insurance

Module 1 - Introduction to Insurance

1. Concept of Insurance
2. Purpose and need of insurance
3. Concepts of risk, peril and hazard

Module 2 - Indian Insurance Market

1. IRDAI
2. Insurers
3. Insurance Intermediaries
4. Insurance Agents
5. Point of Sales Persons

Module 3 - Principles and Practise of Insurance

1. Offer (Proposal) and Acceptance
2. Consideration (Premium)
3. Insurable Interest - Utmost Good Faith - Indemnity - Contribution and Subrogation - Proximate Cause
4. Proposal Form - Sales Literature - Payment of premium - Section 64VB of Insurance Act - Premium Receipt - Insurance Policy - Endorsements - Warranties - Section 41 of Insurance Act (Rebating)
5. Intimation of claim - appointment of surveyor - survey report - assessment of loss - settlement of loss - discharge voucher - payment of claim

Module 4 - Point of Sale - General Insurance Products Including Health Insurance

1. POS - General Insurance including Stand-Alone Health Insurance
2. POS - Categories of POS Products and Salient Features of POS Products

Module 5 - Miscellaneous

1. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
2. Protection of Policyholders Interests Regulations
3. AML/ KYC norms
4. Do's and Don't's for POS Persons

PoSP- Life Insurance

MODULE 1 - INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE

1. Concept of insurance
2. Purpose and need of insurance
3. Concepts of Risk, Peril and Hazard.

MODULE 2 - INDIAN INSURANCE MARKET

1. Insurers
2. Agents
3. Intermediaries
4. Role of POS Persons
5. IRDAI

MODULE 3 - PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF INSURANCE

1. Offer [Proposal] and Acceptance
2. Consideration (Premium)
3. Insurable Interest
4. Sales Literature
5. KFD cum Proposal Form
6. Renewal Notice
7. Utmost good faith
8. Premium payment options
9. Section 64 VB of Insurance Act
10. Policy Terms and Conditions

MODULE 4 - POINT OF SALE - LIFE INURANCE PRODUCTS

1. Master Circular on POS Products and POS Persons - Life Insurance
2. Categories of POS - Products
3. Salient Features of POS - Life Product

MODULE 5 - Miscellaneous

1. AML/KYC
2. Dos and Don'ts for POS Persons
3. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
4. Micro Insurance Regulations
5. Micro Insurance Products and their salient features

(Check our Mock-test available for PoSP exam:)

Are PoSP’s are Insurance Agent?

Yes, however a full-fledged Insurance agent requires registration with IRDAI while PoSP are un-registered Insurance Agent.

A person who wants to build-up his carrier as an Insurance Agent or other Intermediary, can start his profession as a PoSP and they gradually because a full-fledged Insurance Agent once he acquires adequate knowledge and hands-on experience in insurance marketing.

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