A Brief Overview of Licentiate, Associateship and Fellowship Exam

The Insurance Institute of India ((III) is the governing body that conducts insurance exams in India and provides course material. Obtaining career growth in the insurance industry requires taking the Licentiate exam then the Associateship exam, and finally the Fellowship exam.

These certifications are mandatory at certain levels of promotion within a PSU insurer. For e.g. corporate agents are required to be fellows, and a principal officer needs to be an associate. Beyond these, there are higher specialty exams that deal with high-end statistical modeling for insurance analytics and are known as actuarial courses.

All insurance companies recognize these professional exams and encourage their employees to appear for these exams. These qualifications are recognized by esteemed institutes overseas as well. Notably, Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) in the UK, and CPCU in the US. Let’s take a detailed look into the requirements for each of the exams.

1. Licentiate Exam

This is an entry-level professional exam with a total of three papers, two compulsory and one is on a choice based subject. This subject can be chosen from an exhaustive list and subjects carry credit points of 20, 30, and 40. All exams have 100 multiple-choice questions, no negative marking, and the pass mark is 60. Candidates can choose between Life and Non-life insurance subjects for III Licentiate Exam.

2. Associateship Exam

A mid-level professional exam with a total of six papers. Two compulsory and four based on subjects of choice. Candidates require a total of 250 credit points that include the 60 licentiate points, to pass this level. All papers are multiple-choice with 100 questions each. This exam also gives a choice between Life and Non-life insurance. On successful completion of the associateship exam candidates can use the designation AIII (Associate of Insurance Institute of India).

3. Fellowship Exam

A senior-level professional exam has a total of seven papers out of which one is compulsory and six are based on subjects of choice. The compulsory paper is based on an actuarial science subject, and at this level, there is no choice between life and non-life as fellows are required to have knowledge of both domains. Candidates need to accumulate a total of 500 credit points (including the 250 associateship points) to successfully clear the exam. Once cleared, candidates can use the designation FIII (Fellow of Insurance Institute of India).

Check out this Reddit thread discussing some of the useful fellowship exam study techniques.

Additional Information for candidates:

1. Frequency: These exams are conducted twice Offline and 4 times Online around April/May and October/November each year.
2. Eligibility: 18 years of age and passing marks in S.S.C. or any equivalent examination.
3. The fee as per III: For first-timers: Registration fees as 700 INR and examination fees 500 INR per subject. Registration fees compulsory for Associateship and Fellowship i.e. 700 INR and 600 INR respectively.

The above examinations are fairly simple to clear and are mandatory in your growth within the insurance industry. Promotions, salary increments, and favorable yearly reviews all depend on the level of insurance knowledge that candidates gain. Details on examination patterns, a list of subjects, and credit points can be found on the III website.

David Swift - A freelance blogger, social media manager and career enthusiast, belongs to the land of poets and thinkers - Germany.