Kathmandu. It has been almost three months since the government-owned Indian insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), implemented a special program to promote life insurance along with employment for women. Under this program, implemented to mobilize women to sell life insurance policies, women agents are provided with a minimum allowance of at least ₹7,000 (11,200 rupees) per month.
The Indian government has set an ambitious goal of covering all Indian citizens under the insurance umbrella by 2047. Under that goal, this government-owned life insurer aims to spread insurance awareness to the remote areas and households of the poorest citizens through women agents and to get them involved in insurance. LIC hopes that the minimum allowance amount, in addition to the contribution to the insurance business, will help women agents meet their transportation and household expenses, so that they can continue in this profession.
LIC Bima Sakhi: What is this scheme?
LIC’s ‘Bima Sakhi’, launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year, is a scholarship scheme exclusively for women. This scheme has been launched to empower women financially.
The insurance company will provide intensive training to women participating in the campaign as Sakhi on life insurance policy sales. After completing the training, they will work as LIC agents in their villages. LIC’s ‘Bima Sakhi’ scheme will improve access to insurance for the poorest households in India.
To be eligible for this scheme, a woman must have passed class 10 and be in the age group of 18-70 years. If any of the ‘Bima Sakhi’s’ have completed their graduation level studies, they will get the opportunity to work as licensed LIC agents. They may also be eligible for the job of Life Insurance Development Officer within the company.
LIC Insurance Sakhi Allowance:
Under this scheme, LIC will ensure a minimum remuneration for the ‘Insurance Sakhi’ for the first three years in addition to the commission received from the sale of insurance policies. The estimated monthly income of the Insurance Sakhi will start from Rs. 7,000. In the first year, they will receive Rs. 7,000 every month. In the second year, the monthly payment will be Rs. 6,000. The third year will be reduced to Rs 5,000.
However, to be eligible for the allowance in the second year, a person must have renewed at least 65 percent of the policies in the first year of the allowance. Similarly, to be eligible for the allowance in the third year, at least 65 percent of the policies must have been renewed in the second year as well.
‘Bima Sakhi’ will have to sell at least 24 life insurance policies. The condition is that they must have earned a commission of at least Rs 24,000 from the sale of these policies. They will also receive a commission in addition to the allowance.
In India, Angan Badi Sevika Sahayika has been mobilized to ensure access to healthcare for all citizens. These women volunteers are providing health services door-to-door in villages like the women health volunteers in Nepal. LIC believes that the deployment of ‘Bima Sakhi’ will be as effective as the effectiveness of the women volunteers.
If the ‘Bima Sakhi’ model implemented by the Life Insurance Corporation of India is successful, life insurance companies in Nepal can also learn from it to expand the reach of insurance.
The concept of inclusive insurance has been introduced all over the world recently with the aim of including households with low income and weak saving capacity in the insurance coverage. Such a concept cannot be implemented only by introducing cheap insurance premiums and insurance policies that bear sufficient risk, for this, awareness about insurance should be spread at every door. We need to create confidence that insurance is accessible to all, and we need to win the trust that once insured, claims will be received immediately. For this, the mobilization of women volunteers like ‘Bima Sakhi’ can be a very effective tool in the context of Nepal as well. The contribution made by female health volunteers in Nepal to the control of maternal mortality rate and the success of vaccination campaigns is even appreciated worldwide.
