INSURANCE HOT SPOT FOR JOBS

The hiring trend in the private insurance firms shows an optimistic outlook in view of the proposed rise in foreign direct investment with experts predicting up to 30 per cent growth in recruitment. "The job scenario in the private insurance segment has been good and it is growing consistently, despite the cost optimisation. Hiring will rise to around 25-30 per cent from last year as more investments are likely to happen in this sector, and big players will eye more business in the country," GlobalHunt Managing Director Sunil Goel told PTI. If the global economic conditions are better, the hiring would go by up to 40-50 per cent, Goel added. Recently, during a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet decided to raise FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent under automatic route, under which investing firms do not require prior approval from the government. Shriram Life Insurance CEO and whole time Director Manoj Kumar Jain, however, said the attrition in the industry has come down. "The total agents for the industry in 2012 fell by 9 per cent or around 2.15 lakh (including 1,600 on roll employees) compared to 3.3 lakh agents or 10 per cent in 2011. In 2012, insurance firms have also closed more than 800 (or over 7 per cent) branches," he added. However, Jain gave a conservative forecast for 2013, saying he expects another challenging year for the life insurers as the sector is not yet out of the doldrums. Talking about capital inflow into the insurance segment if Parliament passes the hike in FDI, Jain said the total share of the private insurance players is little over Rs 25,000-26,000 crore and an additional 23 per cent FDI can bring in close to Rs 5,000 crore of fresh capital into the sector.