Q1. You have spent over 36 years in the insurance sector, what sort of skill sets do you think one should possess in order to sustain in the industry?
The
insurance sector has need for a wide range of skills and knowledge. We need underwriting, analytical, accounting,
legal, risk management, information technology and people oriented skills.
The student needs to have a good grasp of the
basics of insurance be it life insurance, non-life insurance or health
insurance, the Insurance Act and IRDAI Regulations and Guidelines.
People oriented skills are essential for
customer facing executives in the offices and those who would like to take up
marketing assignments.
Q2. How does NIA prepare students differently,
compared to other colleges offering similar programmes?
There
cannot be any comparison of NIA with any other college offering similar
programme. NIA’s faculty composition is simply unique and cannot be replicated. On one hand we have the core academic faculty,
on the other we also have practicing senior executives from the Insurance
Industry on deputation as faculty for 2 to 3 years each. These people have decades of experience
behind them – both in the theory and practice of insurance and risk management
as well as in the art and science of managing people, processes and
performance.
Besides
the aforesaid faculty, we also invite insurance industry leaders, regulators
and other experts to deliver guest lectures and to interact with our students.
Q3. How are the students at NIA given exposure
within the industry?
Apart
from regular classroom instructions, the students have to undertake a Summer Internship
Programme of 8 weeks with an insurance company and submit a project report
which is evaluated by the faculty after one-to-one interaction with the students.
Besides
this, students are also associated with annual seminars conducted by the
Academy, the most of important of which are:
(a)
Annual FAIR Seminar (with the Federation
of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers)
(b)
Annual C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Seminar
(c)
Annual Insurance Summit
The
students are also assisted in editing and publishing a high quality biannual
magazine, ‘PRAVARTAK’ devoted to issues in Insurance, Risk Management and
General Management.
Q4. What is the growth potential for NIA
graduates in India & abroad?
Indian
Insurance Industry being one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the
world, all our students get absorbed by the domestic insurance industry and a
few are taken up by the domestic software industry because of our student’s insurance knowledge. However, some of
our alumni have moved abroad and they are doing very well.
Q5. What will be your advice to students
looking forward to join NIA?
My
advice is simple, Come and study in NIA to remain several steps ahead of your
competitors.