-Sunita Thapa
Acting as a bridge between the insurance company and the insured is an ideal profession. Agents, who have the responsibilities to spread awareness about insurance in every household, are now finding it challenging to spread the awareness of insurance through alternative means at home.
Since,the access to modern means of communication like internet is not accessible for majority of population. On the otherhand our society is not prepared to welcome or accept something that is being briefed or explained through social media. As we know that convincing general people for life insurance is not an easy task, trying to do the same through social media or virtual means will be much tough.
It is the responsibility of the insurance company to provide protection and financial security from the risk as per the requirement of the customer and it is the responsibility of the agent to extend the same to the insured.
Amidst the devastation of Covid19 pandemic, the insurance agents have not been able to collect the premium as their expectations and forecast. Agents have to go to the client’s door and explain about the insurance.But during the ongoing landemit,the agents have to precausiously think to visit the potential clients home. On the other hand, even the insured is worried and avoiding to invite or allow agents to visit their home.This how the agents are in poor state these days.
Many agents lost their lives in this epidemic and many agents are still undergoing treatment against Covid19. The inability of the agents, to reach their homes even at the last month of the financial year, seems to have a big impact on this sector. In Nepal, life insurance business is solely dependent on agency network. The impact limited mobility of agents has been clearly seen on the new business data published by Beema Samiti.
Insurance that provides protection against life-threatening diseases, risk coverage and financial loss has covered risk even on the ongoing epidemic.
This epidemic has made even the insured feel the strong need of insurance. In such an epidemic, the agent feels helpless only when he/she meets the insured and understands their suffering. Today, when people need encouragement, agents can become a source of motivation for financial and investment management.
Even the state has covered insurance under essential services. If the insurance company, the regulatory authority Beema Samiti and even the state had given priority to the agents and given priority in the vaccination campaign against Covid, it would have been easier for their mobility, neither the agent would have found it difficult to reach the insured’s house.
(Thapa is the Agency Manager of Citizen Life Insurance Company Dulegaunda Branch)
