Insurance is a customer-centric business, right from the marketing and selling stage to product designing and finally to claims management. It is therefore, imperative to formulate suitable training programs at every stage for employees, now as the insurance sector has been liberalized. This article throws light on the insurance training scenario in India and what more needs to be done.

The success of an organization depends upon the personnel working for it. Existence of well-trained staff has an impact on the growth of the organization. This principle is more important for the insurance business than it is for many other sectors. Insurance is a type of business that runs on people's trust in the organization. Insurance business is mainly to capitalize on any risk to any property or life by insurers. The insurer receives premium from the insured and in return compensates any financial loss incurred by the latter due to unforeseen circumstances. The insured trusts the promises made by the insurer, buys the product and pays the premium.

The people working on behalf of an insurance company need to possess sound knowledge of the products and also have good communication skills, so as to clearly convey the required information to the customers and build their trust in the company. Only then the customers will buy the product and pay the premium. Apart from selling products, the intermediaries have the responsibility of educating customers about the importance and need of insurance.

As customer relationship plays a major role in the insurance business, adequate training has to be provided to the employees to understand the customer needs and communicate the suitable product details according to their requirements. Proper understanding and efficient handling of customers will help to build good relationship with them.

Insurance Chronicle Magazine, Training in the Insurance Sector, Claims Management, Insurance Sector, Insurance Business, Customer Relationship Management, Oriental Insurance Company, Risk Management, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, IRDA, Life Insurance Corporation of India, LIC, National Insurance Academy, International Insurance Standards.