How to Become an Insurance Appraiser: Career, Courses, After 12th, Scope, Salary, Jobs

What Does an Insurance Appraiser Do?

• Insurance Appraiser are the field agents of insurance companies. 
• They are assigned clients who have placed insurance claims on the policies for auto damages or others. 
• Once there, they will check the damage and decide how much claim is to be awarded to the claim. 
• Checks are done to see if the damage is covered by the policy and not fraudulent. Insurance Appraiser work with car insurance, house insurance, life insurance etc.
• Insurance Appraiser either work on an independent basis offering their services to companies. 
• Other work in the capacity of Captive Agents or with companies full-time. 
• The work of an insurance appraiser is demanding and there are no work hours. 
• They move from location to location estimating the cost of damage repairs and other details.

Steps to Become an Insurance Appraiser

To work as an Insurance Appraiser in any company there are steps to go through. From schooling, to colleges, internships and then working. To assist students who want to work in the field and have no idea how to go about it can refer to the following step by step process.

• Research: Before delving into any career, some research and groundwork must be done. One must know what courses are available, eligibility criteria, admissions process etc. In terms of colleges, what are the best colleges that offer Insurance concentration, facilities available, placements track record, course fees, facilities must be paid attention to. Get a clear understanding of what the job title entails in terms of personality skill requirements and technical skill requirements. 
• Registration: After research, shortlist entrance tests to take for chosen course and college. Currently, all registration is being done online due to the pandemic. To start, one must register at the organising authority’s website. Open up the website and navigate to the ‘Apply Now’ link. Create a student account using an email id and active phone number.
• Entrance Tests: Prepare for the entrance tests. Download the paper syllabus, marking and past papers to start. Take note of any recent changes made to the paper. Preparations can be done using basic school books for Mathematics and Science sections. With the examination score, apply to colleges of choice. Register and apply for college. Institutes will evaluate the score and send invitations for further admissions rounds.
• Personal Interviews: Once institutes send out invitations for personal interviews, start preparing for them. Look up questions related to the chosen specialisation. Practice with family and friends with potential questions. Usually, personal interviews take place on the campus with other applicants attending. 
• Admission: With all admission rounds completed, take admission. Colleges will send out letters of admission offer to shortlisted students. One can now pay the admission fee along with the first year or semester fee to take admission. Download the payment receipt after payment has been done. Look up scholarships for which one is eligible.
• Complete course: When the academic year starts, start attending all classes. Take note of course credits to complete to graduate. Interact with professors to get insight and help with working in the industry. Look up university clubs and societies that align with one’s choice. Extracurriculars will help with higher education admission and with job search too. 
• Earn degree and preparations for a job: Placements start during the final year of academics for all courses. Organizations with vacant job positions in various capacities will visit the campus. Take help of the placement cell with mock interviews and other assistance. Interviews also take place on-campus and at the company office too.
• Start working: Before taking up a job offer, interview in multiple companies. One gains experience and confidence with the process. Consult professors and seniors with the received job offers. Send in confirmation to the chosen job offer and start working with earnestness. 

Types of Insurance Appraiser

Insurance Appraiser for auto damages work in two different capacities. First, as a consultant working on a commission basis and second in a full-time capacity earning both a salary and a commission. The insurance industry has various roles that work together to make the engine run at full capacity. Some such roles are of a Claims Handler, Fraud Investigator and a Customer Service Manager or Customer Service Executive. Stated below is a description of all such roles.

Basis of Profession

Claim Handler: A Claims Handler is the person who sees the claim from the start to the finish. They will take the claim made against a policy, check for fraudulent activity, the extent of the damage and decide if the claim can be awarded. Additionally, their work also includes coordinating with other service providers to replace the damaged product. For more large-scale incidents like a multi-car accident, the Claims Handler will also have to consult with a lawyer and a loss adjuster. The average salary of this job riles ranges around INR 3 LPA.

Fraud Investigator: With insurance claims, there is always the danger of fraudulent claims. This is where an Insurance Fraud Investigator comes in. They will look into any claims or activities like buying insurance that can raise a red flag. They do research and conduct investigations to understand the full picture. A Fraud Investigator requires not only knowledge of the insurance field but also knowledge of Actuarial Science or Statistics and laws relating to insurance is needed. They perform audits, evaluate if a candidate is credible or not, help with police investigations, look into financial crimes and more. The average salary of a fraud investigator ranges around INR 4 LPA to INR 7 LPA.

Customer Service Manager: Any industry or company that provides services and other products to customers will need a Customer Service Manager. These professionals are the first person one contacts when one has any queries or complaints. The Customer Service Manager will help customers solve their problems, give them information about the latest product and also connect them with seniors in the team. The average salary of such a professional ranges around INR 5 LPA.

How to Become Insurance Appraiser in India?

Certain courses and fields require their applicants to pursue a specific stream. Like to study Medicine or Medical courses, one must have a Science stream at class 12th. Also, there is a combination of subjects one must take up. However, to work as an Insurance Appraiser, there are no such requirements. 

The step by step process to take up at the school level is as follows.

School Level Preparation

• At the school level, much like Medical or Engineering courses, there is no requirement to pursue any specific stream. Stream here refers to Arts, Commerce or Science.
• Instead, look to improve extracurriculars and take part in competitions. Some examples of extracurriculars to choose from are debates, student unions, volunteering for events and raising money for a cause.
• Improve communication skills. Insurance Appraiser need strong written and spoken communication abilities. Read books, newspapers daily and consume appropriate media.
• Towards the end of the class 12th start with researching about the insurance field. Look up job titles, their responsibilities, courses, fees, entrance examinations and other details.
• Start preparing for entrance examinations. Admissions to Management courses require a national or state level entrance test. Download syllabus and past papers to start. Refer to school level mathematics and science books for sections on them.

How to Become Insurance Appraiser after 12th?

Students who have finished their class 12th examinations have the option to pursue an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate degree after that. Insurance is taught as a specialisation in Management courses. Admissions for undergraduate courses take place on a merit basis and through university conducted entrance tests. However, for postgraduate courses admissions are only on entrance tests and personal interviews. Other details for admission at both levels are written as below.

UG Preparation

• At the undergraduate level, there are BBA in Insurance and B.Com degree in Insurance Management. All courses are of three to four years in duration.
• Admissions are done on both merit basis and through entrance tests. Entrance tests are held at the university level. For example, the Symbiosis Entrance Test and Delhi University Entrance Test.
• Applications for admissions and entrance tests are to be submitted online. Look up application dates for the same. Dates are being shifted due to the pandemic so care should be taken to read the latest notifications.
• With entrance tests results, qualified students will be invited to take admission or for personal interviews. The interviews will take place with the department heads.
• Pay the admission fee and the first semester fee once all rounds of admission are done and prompted to do so.

PG Preparation

• At the postgraduate level, students can enroll into a masters courses in Management with Insurance as a specialisation.
• Masters courses are completed over two years. It also includes a mandatory internship and project work.
• Admissions are done through a national or state level entrance test like CAT, XAT, SNAP or MAT. These are highly competitive tests and many students take them annually.
• To prepare for it, one must download the latest syllabus, past papers, important notes etc. Regular practice will help with the English, Mathematics and Reasoning sections.
• Aim at securing a high rank in the examination. With the examination score, apply to the college of choice.
• Personal interviews and group discussions will take place for shortlisted students.
• After all rounds, an offer letter to take admission is made to the student. Pay the admission fee and the first semester fee to secure the seat.

Courses to Become Insurance Appraiser

BBA Insurance

BBA Insurance is a specialized 3 Year UG programme that studies the fundamentals and concepts used and practiced in the Insurance sectors. This course covers the study of the basic concepts of management with specialized training in subjects such as International Insurance Management, Risk Management, Investment Banking, etc.

BBA Insurance Admission Process

• Register for admission from the university website of the university conducting the test.
• Use an email id and a phone number to start. Login to start applying.
• Fill out the application form with necessary details. Be accurate to make sure the application goes through in one go.
• Scan and upload documents. Take note of the format and size of the document.
• Pay the application fee using credit cards, debit cards and internet banking. Download the payment receipt.
• Submit the application form.

BBA Insurance Eligibility criteria for the Exam

• To be admitted to a BBA programme, one should have completed their class 12th from a recognized educational board.
• Furthermore, the minimal aggregate score to have is 55%.
• Take and submit an entrance test score.

BCom Insurance Management

BCom Insurance Management is a 3 year UG course where students learn about personal and commercial insurance, management of property loss and insurance policies that comply with certain situations.

B.Com Insurance Management Admission Process

• To take admission, one must register first at the university of choice.
• Open up the university website and read through the program requirements for admissions.
• Register for admission using the ‘Apply Now’ option.
• Fill out the application form with necessary details. Be accurate in details given.
• Scan documents in the correct format and size. Upload them to the portal.
• Pay the application fee using online means. Download the payment receipt.
• Submit the application.

B.Com Insurance Management Eligibility criteria for the Exam

• To study B.Com Insurance Management, one must have completed their class 12th examination from a recognized educational board.
• The minimum aggregate score to have is 55%.
• There is no requirement to pursue any specific stream. However, some institutes have stream specification as Commerce.

MBA Insurance

MBA Insurance is a 2 year long PG course covering the concepts and rules of banking and insurance. This course prepares students for solving conflicts, the ability for establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, etc. in the organisation.

MBA Insurance Admission Process

• Open up the website of the examination’s organizing authority to start applying.
• Register on the website using an email id and a phone number.
• Login into the student account to start the application.
• Fill out the application form. Put in all the details.
• Upload documents to support the application. For example, mark sheets, entrance test scores, photographs etc.
• Pay the application fee through online modes. Download the application fee payment receipt.
• Revise the application form and submit the form.

MBA Insurance Eligibility criteria for the Exam

• The applicants for MBA program in Banking and Insurance must have a bachelors degree in any specialisation.
• The minimum aggregate score to have at bachelors level is 55% and above.
• Students who are waiting for their final year results can also apply for admission.
• Also, one must have a national or state level entrance examination score for admission.

Certificate in Insurance Services

Certificate in Insurance Services are short term courses of 6 to 1 years duration. This course involves projects, case studies and assignments related to the problems in the field brings good exposure to the workings in the insurance sector.

Certificate in Insurance Services Admission Process

• Take note of admission dates. On said date, register for application on the university website.
• Login with the created credentials and start filling out the application form.
• Scan and upload required documents to support the application. Take note of the format and size of the documents to be uploaded.
• Pay the application fee through online modes. Payment can be done by credit card, debit card, internet banking etc.
• Download the payment receipt and the application form before submitting it.

Certificate in Insurance Services Eligibility criteria for the Exam

• All applicants must have completed their class 12th from a recognized educational board.
• The minimum aggregate score to have is 50% at class 12th.
• There is no specification of any stream to pursue like Arts, Commerce or Science.
• Students with a prior diploma or bachelors degree can also apply for admission.
• There is no upper age limit for admission.

How to Become Insurance Appraiser Abroad

Insurance Appraisal is a demanding but rewarding field. Internationally, students can apply to study insurance in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. For international students, there are specifications of language proficiency and other requirements to meet for admission. All details have been elaborated on below.

UK

• The United Kingdom has a large Indian student population that is increasing every year.
• For students who wish to work in insurance, there are both short term and long term courses in Insurance, Actuarial Science and more.
• The average course fees in UK universities range from INR 11,00,000 to INR 25,00,000 per term or annually.
• International students need to be fluent in English and to prove it, submission of TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores are necessary.
• Also, letters of recommendation from past teachers, a statement of purpose is needed too.

Top Colleges

US

• The United States welcomes Indian students to courses of all levels at its universities.
• One can earn a diploma, associates degree or full time UG and PG degrees for Insurance subject.
• The average course fee for US universities is INR 2,51,478 per term to INR 28,17,500 annually.
• To gain admission, one must take the TOEFL or IELTS along with GMAT and GRE.
• Also needed are letters of recommendation from a past employer or teacher and a statement of purpose.

Top Colleges

Canada

• Reports show that over 85,000 Indian students immigrated to Canada for higher education. Even during the pandemic, more students got student visas.
• Canadian colleges and universities offer diplomas, graduate certificates and full time programmes in Insurance.
• The average course fee for courses is between INR 36,223 per term to INR 8,98,587 annually.
• In Canada, one must be fluent in either English or French and need to submit proficiency test scores for the same.

Top Colleges

Australia

• Australia offers all types of courses in Insurance, from certificates and diplomas to bachelors and masters.
• International students need to submit letters of recommendations, a statement of purpose, and show proof of finance availability. One must check the minimum GPA requirement is being met.
• Test scores required to be submitted are TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, GRE etc.
• The average course fee range is between INR 7,08,000 to INR 80,00,000 charged annually.

Top Colleges

Benefits of Career as Insurance Appraiser

To work in any industry in any capacity there are certain benefits. These could be benefits in terms of money and expected benefits but also can include unexpected benefits. 

Some of these benefits have been described below.

• Limitless earning potential
• Steady growth
• Interesting work
• Easy industry to enter
• Serve customers
• Learn new skills
• Early start

Skills Required for Insurance Appraiser

Insurance Appraiser need to be able to have certain skills personality-wise and career-wise in order to succeed. Most aspirants naturally pick these skills up while working. Others can look up online courses on the same topic. The table below lists the top skills in order to succeed as a career of Insurance Appraiser.

Salary of Insurance Appraiser in India

Salary for an individual depends on several factors like prior work experience, skill set, insurance company and other factors. For an Insurance Appraiser the salaries can be divided on the basis of type of organization, public or private, specialisation and experience level. All salaries have been put down below.

Average Annual Salary

Specialisation Wise

Gender Wise Salary

Experience Wise