By becoming a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) an insurance agent can open several opportunities for future growth.
About six months from now, a few thousand top insurance agents from India and around the world will be meeting at Kohala Coast, Hawaii, US for an exclusive interaction with fellow financial professionals at the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) annual meeting. What needs to be noticed here is the increase in the number of agents sent by India’s largest insurer, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
The state-owned insurance group held the top position and sent the maximum number of agents for MDRT in 2017. Data from the trade association's website shows that there was an increase of 1,727 agents - a 51 percent increase - sent in 2017 as compared to the previous year.
Founded in 1927, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), is a global, independent association of more than 62,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 69 countries.
Globally, MDRT membership is recognised as the standard of excellence in life insurance and financial services business. And here, LIC has been consistently topped the members' list.
Having entered the life insurance business in 1956, LIC has almost 11.5 lakh agents selling policies. And agent productivity is higher as this is their most prominent distribution channel.
Yet, getting onto the MDRT list is no easy affair. For instance, to qualify for membership in 2018, an agent is required to raise a minimum of USD 164,000 in annual gross income from the sale of insurance and financial products. Further, a minimum of USD 47,500 must be the income from new business generated during the production year.
For the Court of the Table (COT) category, an agent is required to get USD 282,000 of commission and USD 564,000 in premiums. For the Top of the Table (TOT) category, it is USD 564,000 of commission and USD 1,128,000 of premiums.
Source: MDRT, figures in USD
Those who get selected can attend exclusive events and are eligible to learn and interact with some of the top financial services professionals across the world. This not only opens up future partnership opportunities, but can also be a good platform to get information about job opportunities in other markets and companies.
Career development for an insurance agent is not the top priority for companies. While there have been programmes instituted to ensure that the agents have a more meaningful path, attrition has been one of the key concerns that has plagued the sector.
This is primarily because agents do not see a full-time career in the sector. There are still a sizeable number of people selling insurance only as a part-time job. Initiatives like the MDRT can be a source of motivation and agents would end up walking an extra mile to sell their products.
Not just LIC, there are several agents of private companies who qualify for MDRT membership each year. Although the targets may seem too high to an ordinary individual, making the cut could mean a significant shift in the way business is done and a change in the lifestyle of an agent.
Becoming a member of MDRT is definitely an achievement and that extra nudge can mean a better source of livelihood for any insurance agent. At a time when income has been a source of concern for agents, being an MDRT member could help them get access to HNI clients, especially since they do not get a regular salary as other employees.