Dated 23rd Feb, 2000

CAREER GROWTH in the insurance sector largely depends on the individual's ability to generate business for the company.

* Agents are the foot soldiers of the company who work on a commission basis. They have to be outgoing, proactive and aggressive with good persuasive skills. An enterprising agent who works for about three hours everyday can earn up to Rs. 10,000 per month.

* The job of a development officer (DO) is to recruit agents, train them, establish a network, give them assistance and serve the policy-holders. The promotion for DOs is based on the points system where they are evaluated on several counts like the number of agents they have recruited, the qualifications of those recruited agents, the number of polices they have sold and the new members enrolled. These points are tabulated under two columns - credits and debits. If the points are on the plus side, they get incentives. The more the number of plus points, the greater are the incentives. But in case, the points are on the debit side, their facilities like conveyance and telephone allowances are reduced or withdrawn. If for four years continuously, any DO shows debit points, he or she could be terminated from service.

* The Assistant Administrative Officers have a time-bound promotion and they are in charge of various departments. Persons with a legal bent of mind, good at problem solving and possessing sound business sense will find the job fulfilling.

* The zonal headquarters of the LIC are in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kanpur, Bhopal and Kolkata.