DID YOU KNOW?? Today, the insurance industry in Malaysia offers more than just financial protection; there’re also great job opportunities for you. Whatever careers you choose in this industry; you’ll enter an industry that offers great career development and growth through training and education.This is great place to start!! View what career opportunities offered to talented people in the Malaysian insurance industry today. You can also explore various other careers in insurance, the next question is only – when? The future’s bright. The future starts today!

1. Careers
in
Insurance
in
Malaysia

2. POTENTIAL CAREERS IN INSURANCE IN MALAYSIA
With the growth of the financial sector anticipated to be between 8-11%
annually leading to an increased contribution of the financial sector to about
10-12% of nominal GDP in 2020 (2010: 8.6%), and given the envisioned
transformation of the financial sector, there will be an even greater demand
for high-quality talent by the financial sector, or the insurance industry in
particular.
In 2012, the Malaysian insurance industry had about 141, 231 workforce in
all areas of the business. With several rapid developments taking place
today, we have to anticipate a double - figure increase of the talent pool in
the next 3 to 5 years to come.

3. Marketing
•
Marketing involves looking into the insurance
needs of clients for which market research
may have to be done from time to time.
•
A marketing officer may also have to
supervise and motivate the agency force of
the insurance company. He or she will be
required to provide them assistance, guidance
and training and ensure that they achieve
their business targets, and provide efficient
after-sales services to the clients.
•
Personnel in this department must
understand and have an affinity to meeting
and satisfying the demands of the customers.

4. Insurance Agent
• To act on behalf of an insurance company to acquire insurance
business from the customers or prospective customers of the
insurance company. Unlike the insurance broker who represents
the buyer of insurance, the insurance agents represent the
insurance company essentially to sell insurance policies.
• Insurance agents can act on behalf of not more than two general
insurance companies and one life insurance company at a time.
• To be a general insurance agent, one must sit for and pass the PreContract Examination For Insurance Agents (PCEIA) , Part A & Part
B, and to be a life insurance agent, one must pass Part A & Part C
of the PCEIA. The examination is conducted by The Malaysian
Insurance Institute (MII).

5. Insurance Agent
•
After passing these examinations, the general agent will have to register
himself/herself with the Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), and the life
agent with Life Association of Malaysia (LIAM) before he can transact any
insurance business.
• An Insurance agency can be operated
either on a part-time basis or on a fulltime basis. However, in today's very
competitive environment, more and
more agents have become professionals
who operate their agency business on a
full time basis. Traditionally, insurance
agents are paid by the insurance
companies they work for by way of
commissions on sales.

6. Underwriter
• To assess the risks involved in the insurance
proposals made to the company and decide
whether to accept or reject the proposal.
• If the underwriter decides to accept the proposal,
he also decides on the terms and conditions of the
insurance contract depending on the degree of the
risk. He may decide to pass on a part of the risk to
another insurer (reinsurance).

7. Underwriter
• An underwriter must have a multitude of skills and
knowledge in order to understand the risks before he can
decide on how to insure the risks.
• There are also many specialist
underwriters who are experts in
certain fields and classes of
insurance only e.g. in insurance of
space-crafts, aviation or oil and gas
platforms, etc. This is because
some risks are so large and
complex that only specialist
underwriters have mastered the
job.

8. Investment
•
After collecting the premiums, the
insurers make use of the premiums
to make payments towards
commissions, administrative
expenses and claims but there is a
difference in time between receipt
of the premiums and payments to
be made.
•
During this time lag the insurers are
in possession of large sums which
they invest carefully keeping in
view the security of the investment
as well as the income on their
investments.

9. Investment
• The investment department's personnel have to use their expertise to achieve a
balance between secure investment and high returns. The investment manager also
has to ensure that the company is financially strong so that the company is able to
settle all claims. The investments are spread out in government securities, shares
and debentures of companies, fixed deposits with banks and finance companies,
investment in land and buildings, etc.
• There are times when the insurers may not make much profit from the underwriting
(i.e. the surplus of premiums over commissions, administrative expenses and claims).
• Sometimes they may even suffer underwriting loss. But they may earn enough income
from investment which may outweigh the loss suffered in underwriting. Therefore,
investment by an insurance company is of considerable importance.

10. Claims
•
A claims personnel's job is to process and settle the claims made on the insurance
company under insurance contracts. Before settling the claims, he ensures that :
a) the loss has taken place
b) the loss is covered under the terms of
the insurance policy
• To do this, he needs enough knowledge
and evidence of the causes that led to
the loss and the extent of the loss. In
view that the world today is so
complex and the types of insurable
losses so numerous, the need for
skilled and knowledgeable people with
integrity and professionalism has
become a vital part of any claims
department.

11. Actuary
•
An professional who uses mathematical skills to create and manage
programmes which reduce the financial loss due to the expected
and unexpected events that happen to people, like illnesses,
accidents, unemployment, or early death.
• Helps design plans and
evaluates the financial risks a
company takes when it sells
an insurance policy or offers a
pension programme.

12. Actuary
•
Actuaries have many responsibilities.
•
First, an actuary must make sure that there is enough cash on hand to pay
benefits when people make claims on their insurance policies or draw income
from their pension plans.
•
Secondly, the actuary must also see to it that the price charged (premium) to
participants of an insurance or pension plan is fair.
•
Actuaries are often found in highly responsible management positions and
frequently work as vice-presidents and presidents of insurance companies or as
senior partners on actuarial consulting firms.

13. Broker
• Full-time professional intermediaries whose job is to place the
insurance business of their clients (corporate clients) with any
of the insurance companies.
• They are expected to know the various insurance coverage and
rates of premium offered by the insurance companies.
• They represent their clients who want to buy insurance
coverage.
• The brokers have to study the insurance needs of their clients
and place their insurance after negotiating terms with the
appropriate insurers.

14. Broker
• They also help their clients in presenting claims to the insurance
companies and in getting their claims settled.
• The brokers are paid a brokerage by the insurance companies.
• Insurance brokers require a
license from the insurance
regulator and a professional
indemnity policy before they
can commence business.

15. Loss Adjuster
• Loss adjusters/assessors are independent professionals who are
appointed by the insurance companies to survey a loss due to
fire, motor accident, etc.
• Their job is to investigate the causes of the loss and determine
the extent of loss and report their findings to the insurance
company.
• Based on their reports, the claims are settled.
• They are paid by way of fees by the insurers.

16. Loss Adjuster
• They need to possess not only knowledge of insurance coverage but
also know-how different kinds of losses take place and be able to
determine the extent of loss or damage.
• They also advise on loss
prevention/minimization
measures in the light of their
experiences.
• Loss adjusters require a license
from the insurance regulator.

17. For more information, please visit:
General Insurance : Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM)
www.piam.org.my
Life Insurance: Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM)
www.liam.org.my
Broking: The Malaysian Insurance and Takaful Brokers Association (MITBA)
www.mitba.org.my
Loss Adjusting: Association of Malaysian Loss Adjusters (AMLA)
03 9281 6615/6617
Education: The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII)
www.insurance.com.my