5 prominent insurers looking to hire about 5,000 people as they anticipate a business boom when the lockdown ends
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Chances are that you will be among the 5,000 people five top insurers are seeking to add to their talent pools in the June quarter. And they are equal-opportunity recruiters: Both life and general insurers anticipate a business boom when the lockdown ends and are adding jobs when many others are shedding them.
PNB MetLife Insurance is aiming to add 1,500 people for the quarter, while the number could rise to as high as 3,000 this year, sources told ET. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance is looking to hire more than 1,000 people by June end to help cater to the customer footprint gained through the merger of their banking sponsor parents.
Meanwhile, Tata AIG is looking to recruit nearly 1,000 people and its life insurance counterpart Tata AIA Life has rolled out plans to employ 500 people this quarter. Reliance Nippon life insurance has already added 300 people to its workforce in May, with plans to add 400 more in June, as these firms look to capitalize on business opportunities emerging from the pandemic.
“Financial services, especially insurance, will continue to see heightened hiring activity as risks to life and business become a real concern after the pandemic,” said Ajay Shah, Head – Recruitment Services, Teamlease. “Another aspect is that a lot of insurers have access to a wider customer base due to mergers at the parent level. This will also drive employment generation. A lot of hiring is happening in the feet-on-the-street (sales), digital and bancassurance segments.”
State-run lender United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce were recently merged into Punjab National Bank, which owns 30% in PNB MetLife. A similar amalgamation exercise has also expanded the bancassurance network of Canara HSBC OBC Life, where the recently merged OBC was a promoter.
“PNB Metlife as a policy does not comment on market speculation” PNB MetLife said responding to ET’s mailed query. “We believe as the merger takes place, the synergies of the amalgamation will come into play.”
Mailed queries to Canara HSBC OBC Life, Tata AIA Life and Tata AIG remained unanswered.
The insurance industry employs more than 6 lakh people as direct employees. The number is much larger when the contract manpower is included. With only 35% of the population at the end of FY2018 having access to medical insurance, insurers believe that significant opportunities exist in the health-cover segment.
Several of the recruiters are also ramping up their digital capabilities, creating employment opportunities in the sector at a time when uncertainty due to job-losses and salary cuts dominates the business landscape.
“The impact of the lockdown was pretty severe in the first week when about 80% of the sales disappeared and half of the recollection were impacted because most companies were not geared with full digital capabilities,” said Ashish Vohra, CEO, Reliance Nippon. “However, on a week-on-week basis, we have seen business improve. That tells us that there is an obvious demand on the customer side. People want to safeguard their lives and investments…and therefore we are recruiting.”
Vohra added that the company was adding both in-house sales teams and an agency-driven sales force, although additions to the latter cadre are delayed due to certification and qualification exams.
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