Written by Edmore Munedzimwe
Recently we went to the Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe to try and find out what a career in Insurance is all about.
Insurance is the transfer of risk so that it is managed by someone else. Common examples of Insurance include car insurance, property insurance, disability insurance, life policies amongst others
Generally Insurance can be divided into two broad categories: Short Term Insurance and Long Term Insurance. Long term insurance focuses on insuring human life, for example life assurance, pensions and so on. Short term insurance is also called Non-Life Insurance which about sums it up.
Examples of specific job descriptions in this area include:
- Sales Agents/ Insurance Brokers: sell insurance policies
- Claims Administrator: process insurance claims when a client applies for compensation against a loss.
- Underwriter: determine if an applicant is worth the risk of insuring. Their job involves assessing the amount of risk involved in insuring a particular client.
- Financial Advisors
- Actuaries
- Appraisers
- Investigators
How do I get into Insurance?
The options which you will take depend on the exact career path which you wish to pursue.
Generally you will need either a degree in Insurance and/ or the professional qualifications offered by the Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe.
Insurance is one of those flexible careers that will allow you to start working at an early stage in the qualification tree. Such career options are good as they allow you to study further whilst you are already working. With just five O’s you can pursue the Certificate of Proficiency offered by IIZ, which allows you to start a career as a Sales Agent. This qualification requires at least four months of study. The next stages of study are: Diploma, Associateship and finally Fellowship. You can read more on these options here: http://www.iizim.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=210
If you wish to go into Actuarial Science then you will need to write the exams offered by The Institute of Actuaries( Check our article on this here: http://www.careerzim.com/Articles.aspx?artid=20160413032048).
All in all Insurance is a good and very scalable career option which also allows for entrepreneurship!