Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Insurance agents

Insurance agents play a useful role. They need to have good value products that can sell easily. They do not mind earning a modest rate of commission, if it is commensurate with the effort. To bring down the cost of insurance, we have to reduce the time taken by the agent to sell the insurance. We need to improve productivity.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agents' remuneration must commensurate with scope of work and advice and not for filling up forms and providing product information.
This is what currently most insurance agents are doing. Why should they be paid a hefty commission for those useless functions? They executive what the customers want. All the advice comes from clients themselves and agents are just taking orders and execute them.That is what you often hear. Clients want this ,clients want that. This whole life plan is what the cleints want;the clients like the cash back, not enough coverage never mind. The clients want cash value plans. We cannot help it, the cleints want it.The cleints know their needs and we sell what they want.
Isn't a one time $50 enough to compensate for this kind of work by the agents? It may be also considered overpaid compared to a HDB gargage chute cleaner who has to put up with the filth and stench but earns only $20 a day.
They should consider themselves lucky to be paid for doing that . Their work can be done by a clerk.
What have they helped the cleints ? None....info? form filling? running errants? Why pay them so much?
Customers must be suckers. Customers can do that themselves too and save the money.
MAS should look into this and get the industry to redesign a compensating plan that is fair to the customers. The playing field must be leveled.

Zhummeng:o)

Anonymous said...

On the other hand, it can also be considered grossly underpaid when compared to the millions some people earn.

Anonymous said...

Yes, grossly underpaid applies to those advisers who spend time to help the client to identify and find best solutions to get client's needs met adequately.
For insurance salesmen who fill forms, read the product description, and explain the features and benefits, deliver the policy documents, say sweet nothing into the cleint's ears and buy presents for cleint, these agents are very grossly overpaid. They should be in the hospitality industry or some service industry.
These people to be paid in millions like the CEO of banks? You compare an insurance agent to a ceo? If you
think they should earn million they should be "Ah Long" or Pimps or may be rob a bank. If these insurance agents were to be in their old trade or jobs like cleaner, taxi driver, secretaries, bus driver, detergent salesmen, clerks, lounge waitress,social escorts, do you think they can earn what they are earning?

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