PUBLIC SECTOR INSURANCE COMPANY
PUBLIC SECTOR INSURANCE COMPANY
Though the Public Sector Insurance Companies are Central PSUs, these companies are dealt separately to give adequate focus to job opportunities available in this promising and emerging sector of the Indian economy. There is no substitute for visiting the relevant websites for detailed specific recruitments advertised by these companies and methodology of recruitments. It is important to go over the WWW: Win-Win-Win Core Strategy for helping the jobseeker to formulate a customized strategy for preparation in addition to job specific technical know-how and expertise expected for the positions advertised. There are six nationalized insurance companies in India. They are:
1. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC);
2. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC);
3. National Insurance Company Ltd;
4. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd;
5. New India Assurance Company Ltd; and
6. United India Insurance Company Ltd.
Though the Public Sector Insurance Companies are Central PSUs, these companies are dealt separately to give adequate focus to job opportunities available in this promising and emerging sector of the Indian economy. There is no substitute for visiting the relevant
websites for detailed specific recruitments advertised by these companies and methodology of recruitments. It is important to go over the WWW: Win-Win-Win Core Strategy for helping the jobseeker to formulate a customized strategy for preparation in addition to job specific technical know-how and expertise expected for the positions advertised.
There are six nationalized insurance companies in India. They are:
1. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
The company was founded in 1956 when the Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance of India Act that nationalized the private insurance industry in India. Over 245 insurance companies and provident societies were merged to create the state owned Life Insurance Corporation. Today, the LIC has eight zonal offices, around 109 divisional offices, 2,048 branches and 992 satellite offices and corporate offices. It also has 54 customer zones and 25 metro- area service hubs located in different cities and towns of India. It also has a network of 1,337,064 individual agents, 242 Corporate Agents, 79 Referral Agents, 98 Brokers and 42 Banks for soliciting life insurance business from the public.
2. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC)
The entire general insurance business in India was nationalized by the Government of India (GOI) through the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act (GIBNA) of 1972. 55 Indian insurance companies and 52 general insurance operations of other companies were nationalized through the Act. The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed in pursuance of Section 9(1) of GIBNA. It was incorporated on 22nd November 1972 under the Companies Act, 1956 as a private company limited by shares. GIC was formed to control and operate the business of general insurance in India. The GOI transferred all the assets and operations of the nationalized general insurance companies to GIC and other public-sector insurance companies. After a process of mergers and consolidation, GIC was re-organized with four fully-owned subsidiary companies: National Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited. Now all the subsidiaries have been demerged since 2002 and the main function of GIC is of re- insurance after the enactment of IRDA (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority) Act, 1999.
3. National Insurance Company Limited
The company was incorporated on 6th December, 1906 with its registered office in Kolkata. Consequent to passing of the General Insurance Business Nationalization Act in 1972, 21 Foreign and 11 Indian companies were amalgamated with it and National Insurance Company became a subsidiary of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) which is fully owned by the Government of India. Since 7th August 2002, after the legislative enactment in the form of Insurance Amendment Act, National Insurance Company has been de-linked from its holding company General Insurance Company and is presently operating as an independent insurance company which is wholly owned by Government of India. National Insurance Company Ltd (NIC) is one of the leading public sector insurance companies of India, carrying out non life insurance business. It is headquartered in Kolkata with a network of about 1000 offices across the country.
4. Oriental Insurance Company Limited
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Company Ltd, the Oriental Insurance Company Limited was incorporated on 12th September 1947, in Bombay (now Mumbai). The main aim behind its establishment was to venture into the business of General Insurance. It became a subsidiary of Life Insurance Corporation of India in 1956 and continued as such till 1973 till nationalization of General Insurance.
In 2002, after the Insurance Amendment Bill was passed, Oriental Insurance Company was de-linked from General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India. The following year, all the shares of the company that had been held by GIC were transferred to the Central Government. Oriental Insurance Company Limited has as many as 26 Regional Offices in India with the head office being in New Delhi. Apart from that, there are more than 900 operating offices of this company across the country. It is also involved in overseas operations in Nepal, Kuwait and Dubai.
5. New India Assurance Company Limited
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., based in Mumbai, is one of the five wholly Government of India owned assurance companies of India. It was founded by Sir Dorabji Tata in 1919, and was nationalized in 1973. Previously it was a subsidiary of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC). But when GIC became an re-insurance com pany as per the IRDA Act 1999, its four primary insurance subsidiaries New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance got autonomy. The company with its corporate office in Mumbai has about 28 regional offices, 397 divisional offices, 588 branches, 27 direct agent branches and 23 extension counters.
6. United India Insurance Company Limited
It was formed by the merger of 22 companies, consequent to the nationalization of General Insurance companies in India. Since 2002 it has become inde- pendent. Its headquarters is at Chennai. It has 1340 offices spread across the country.
Recruitment The Life Insurance Corporation of India conducts its own tests for recruitment in different posts. Recruitment to the other public sec- tor insurance companies is done in a combined entrance test con- ducted by the GIC for different posts. The summarized details of the recruitment process in public sector insurance companies have been discussed below.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
1. LIC Officers’ Exam
A competitive examination for the recruitment of the Assistant Administrative Officers, etc., in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is held once a year, generally in the month of June. The blank application form and particulars are published in the Employment News, generally in the second week of April, and the last date for submission of application forms is usually the second week of May every year.
Educational Qualification:
Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree from a recognized Indian or foreign university with a minimum of 50% marks (relaxable in the case of SC/ST candidates to 40%) in aggregate in either of the degrees.
Age Limit:
21 to 28 years on 1st April of the year of examination. Upper age limit is relaxable for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, confirmed LIC employees, etc.
Initial Pay:
Scale of Rs. 4250-2304940-350-5290-230-8510
Scheme of the Examination:
The examination comprises
A) Written Examination
B) Interview of such candidates who qualify in the written test.
Examination Papers:
The written examination will consist of the following papers:
Paper I (Objective)
It will consist of:-
• Reasoning Ability (Bilingual)
• General Knowledge and Current Affairs (Bilingual)
• Numerical Ability (Bilingual)
• English Language with special emphasis on grammar and vocabulary.
Paper II (Descriptive)
It will consist of
Test on Essay (can be written in Hindi or English)
General Insurance Corporation of India
1. GIC Officers’ Examination
GIC officers’ Examination is a combined examination conducted for recruitment of Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO-Generalist) in the establishments of General Insurance Corporation of India that are mentioned hereunder:
National Insurance Company Ltd, Calcutta
The New India Assurance Company Ltd, Mumbai
The Oriental Fire and General Insurance Company Ltd, New Delhi
United India Insurance Company Ltd, Mumbai.
GIC Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO) Examination is a direct entry to the officer cadre. AAOs are normally appointed as Branch Managers in smaller branches and, as the name of the post indicates, are responsible for overall general administration of the branch.
Even in the bigger branches and higher offices, AAOs are assigned important tasks and assist not only in better administration of the branch/said office but also help in achieving the financial goals.
Important Dates
The notification for the GIC Officers’ examination
commences in the month of March/April, generally.
•The examination generally is conducted in the month of
May/June.
•The last date for submission of application is generally in
the first week of April.
Educational Qualification Graduate/postgraduate with 50% marks (relaxable in the case of Scheduled Castes/Tribes at 40%)
Age Limit 21-30 years on 1st October of the year previous to the year of examination (relaxable in the case of SC/ST/OBC, ex-servicemen and serving confirmed employees of G.I.C.)
Exam Pattern comprises of two stages: Stage I: Written Examination Candidates who have submitted duly filled applications and who fulfill all the eligibility criteria are called for the objective type written examination that comprises of the following:
•Test of Reasoning
•English Language
•General Awareness
•Professional Knowledge
Stage II: Interview Only those candidates who pass the written examination are
called for the Interview.
2. GIC Assistants’ Examination
GIC Assistants’ Examination is an Exam to get an entry into the General insurance Companies of India to serve in Assistant cadre in any of the following mentioned Establishments of General Insurance Corporation of India:
National Insurance Company Ltd, Calcutta
The New India Assurance Company Ltd, Mumbai
The Oriental Fire and General Insurance Company Ltd, New Delhi
United India Insurance Company Ltd, Mumbai.
These Assistant cadre positions provide a person with tremendous opportunities to grow further to officer cadre.
Important Dates
This examination is held once a year, generally in the month of August.
Notification of the exam is published in the Employment News, generally in the month of March.
Eligibility
Age Limit
18 to 28 years on the first June of the year of examination.
Educational Qualification
Pass in Higher Secondary (Senior Secondary) with 60% marks or a Graduate of a recognized University.
GIC Assistants Exam Pattern The pattern of GIC Assistants Exam comprises of two stages:
Stage I: Written Examination The Exam will have both objective type and descriptive type papers. The Objective Paper will consist of Test of Reasoning, Numerical Ability, Clerical Aptitude, English Language and General Knowledge. Objective tests except English will be bilingual, i.e., both in English and Hindi. The Descriptive Test will be on Essay, Letter Writing and Precis writing in English.
Stage II: Interview Those who successfully complete the written exam will be called for personal interview.
Note: Recruitment in the clerical cadre is also conducted by these insurance companies based on the available vacancies. The details can be seen as and when the notification for the same is published.
Pass in Higher Secondary (Senior Secondary) with 60% marks or a Graduate of a recognized University.
GIC Assistants Exam Pattern
The pattern of GIC Assistants Exam comprises of two stages:
Stage I: Written Examination
The Exam will have both objective type and descriptive type papers. The Objective Paper will consist of Test of Reasoning, Numerical Ability, Clerical Aptitude, English Language and General Knowledge. Objective tests except English will be bilingual, i.e., both in English and Hindi. The Descriptive Test will be on Essay, Letter Writing and Precis writing in English.
Stage II: Interview
Those who successfully complete the written exam will be called for personal interview.
Note:
Recruitment in the clerical cadre is also conducted by these insurance companies based on the available vacancies. The details can be seen as and when the notification for the same is published.
