Guardian Angels

8216;8216;It was quite an experience to see myself selling insurance products instead of kitchen products,8217;8217; she says today. 8216;8216;I realised the importance of life insurance when I began selling its benefits to customers. Also, LIC had a large number of products which were not marketed well and I decided to introduce them to the public.8217;8217; The beginning was easy for Nanda, the first list of clients came from the payrolls of Escorts itself, its subsidiaries and joint ventures where she sold a large part of policies targeted for the middle class.

However, Nanda has thrown her net far and wide 8212; she has sold the LIC8217;s prestigious Jeevan Shree to heads of companies, has a long list of prestigious companies as her clients, and has even sold LIC8217;s Jan Shree to people living below the poverty line. For the latter category, which was to be sold through a nodal agency, Nanda hit upon a brilliant idea 8212; she operated through the Raj Kapoor Jan Kalyan Sansthan, a trust formed by her siblings in the memory of their father.

Nanda is not in the least inhibited by her profession, insurance agents like salesmen are not somebody you welcome through your front door, and has actually expanded on her 8216;8216;wonderful profession.8217;8217; She runs a school to train insurance agents and has developed an insurance portal which is rated among one of the best worldwide see box. 8216;8216;I can see awareness for insurance growing and the market expanding,8217;8217; says the shrewd Nanda.

Until a few years ago, women like Ritu Nanda were few. Today, many more are joining the circle, making big bucks selling life insurance products, becoming star achievers for their employers and expanding the insurance business to the glee of the new companies entering the market.

However, insurance companies handpick these new wealth creators carefully, they are women who are social, love meeting people and move around in influential circles. They are professionals, come from wide backgrounds and are at different stages of life. And, more importantly, they are not known as agents, but employers call them advisors or consultants.

For Delhi-based fashion designer and socialite Bubbal Sethi, it was Om Kotak Mahindra which first contacted her. The reasons were clear 8212; Sethi leads a highly active social life, is a member of her colony8217;s welfare club, chairperson of the club8217;s beauty parlour and member of the managing committee of the local Mata Ka Mandir. After her initial hesitation, Sethi actually began enjoying her training classes. 8216;8216;I think it is a good thing to make people aware about life insurance,8217;8217; she says today. Sethi has completed 100 hours of training and has already assured her employers business worth over Rs 2 crore. None of her policies are less than Rs 10-15 lakh. 8216;8216;I enjoy this so much that I8217;ve almost stopped designing,8217;8217; she exults. Her wide social circle has certainly come in handy for the business.

From studying a patient8217;s medical history to studying his financial history, Mumbai-based Protima Kapadia, 45, has come a long way as an insurance agent for Max New York Life. 8216;8216;I was fascinated by the high level of professionalism and prospects of this sunrise industry,8217;8217; beams Kapadia. 8216;8216;I8217;ve always enjoyed meeting people and working as an insurance agent has helped me meet all these objectives,8217;8217; she gushes.

Kapadia is also compensated well for her switch in careers 8212; she is now aiming to attend the Million Dollar Round Table MDRT Conference organised by New York Life in Las Vegas later this year. 8216;8216;I hope to meet all my sales targets to attend the conference,8217;8217; she explains.

However, getting motivated women on the rolls is not an easy task. As an official of Om Kotak Mahindra Life explains, 8216;8216;It helps us if the person is already known in the market.8217;8217; But the company does not believe in bringing celebrities alone in its fold. 8216;8216;We look at all segments of the market when we choose our candidates.8217;8217;

The concept of becoming insurance advisors has also caught on with young people. Armana Sodhi, daughter of Delhi8217;s causeratti queen Nafisa Ali has also joined Max New York Life. Armana is presently in London but as her mother explains on her behalf, 8216;8216;It8217;s a great concept and I feel it is good if you give services to people of quality.8217;8217; On why she decided to join Max, Ali says, 8216;8216;Max are our very dear friends and I know they have integrity and have long term goals to be in this business.

Another youngster from Kolkata, Ritoo Goswami, an aspiring model, has recently joined Allianz Bajaj. Goswami believes selling insurance goes beyond the mundane 9 to 5 job, and she enjoys socialising. Her career in modelling makes her list of friends even longer. So far Goswami has sold only two policies but has a long list of prospective clients who she intends to tap soon.

For the Delhi-based, 22-year-old fitness instructor Suparna Kapoor, the orientation of giving life cover to individuals prompted her to join the business. 8216;8216;I am a people8217;s person,8217;8217; says Kapoor, who joined Max New York Life in May this year and has already sold about 15-20 policies ranging between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 lakh including endowment, term and whole life policies. There are times when she has earned a commission of Rs 50-60,000 a month. She enjoys the idea of flexible timings and being her own boss.

The option of a well-paying job with flexible timings has inspired many women to come into the business. Rekha Singh, an ex-airline manager, did not want a full-time job. She joined Max New York Life in May 2001, and has already become one of its top advisors by getting business of around Rs 6-7 crore and earning a commission of Rs 4.92 lakh upto December 2001.

Max New York Life8217;s Director, Agency Distribution, Rajesh Sud explains, 8216;8216;These women are high achievement oriented individuals. They are approachable and, therefore, easy to trust. The company also feels the quality of its agent advisors is one of its key differentiators.8217;8217;

Selling insurance has brought opportunity to many housewives who have so far remained in their husbands8217; shadow. For Delhi-based, 33-year-old Neeta Batra, barely three months into the business, is already a star performer for Om Kotak Mahindra by doing Rs 5 crore business. She has been conferred the title of 8216;Ubharta Sitara8217; by the company last September. Wife of a jewellry exporter, Batra started selling policies to her husband8217;s associates, friends and relatives.

Companies like Allianz Bajaj has even tapped prosperous but smaller towns like Indore and Pune to bring more women into the fold of insurance advisors. Indore8217;s 33-year-old Sunita Sahni is enthusiastic after her first few sales. 8216;8216;I can do everything 8212; look after my kids, continue with my club activities, meet people and earn money,8217;8217; she thrills. Perhaps, there lies the secret of the job8217;s success. There is time to do a bit of everything.