Garth Ibbetson Eddy K A Berutu
Asia is again celebrating Insurance Day on Oct. 18. This year’s focus will be on promoting awareness of the insurance industry and its inherent career opportunities to our next generation of leaders, those between the ages of 18 to 25, says Christian Wanandi, chairman of Insurance Day 2013.
Research tells Avatar Global Consult Limited that the current workforce within the insurance sector consists mainly of those in the 35 to 54 age band. Importantly Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data on population statistics indicate that the under-24 age band (approximately 109 million) remains a largely untapped resource pool for the financial services sector.
The financial services sector is constantly searching for young, adaptive and versatile talent inherent to this age band. Given this and the way in which technology seems to be molding the X and Y generation, some interesting observations have been made.
Based on research by Nielsen more than 50 percent of the Indonesian population uses at least one type of mobile telecommunication instrument.
Indonesia has one of the largest Internet societies on the planet with more than 39.1 million people accessing the Internet at any given moment, with around 65 percent accessing the net via mobile phone technology.
2011 saw Indonesia positioned as the second largest Facebook network globally, importantly this Facebook inclination has seen massive growth, from around 30,000 in 2006 to 41.7 million in 2011.
Twitter users in Indonesia have exceeded 6 million with an average of 250 followers per account
With the above statistics in mind it is obvious that the technology-savvy youth have a long and bright future ahead of them, the missing link in this equation seems to be an intrinsic awareness of the benefits to financial freedom and the planning thereof. This missing link becomes more relevant if aligned to current global fiscal instability and sovereign debt issues, specifically in Europe and the United States of America. This sustained economic instability could well influence the fiscal future of many other countries including that of Indonesia. A secondary effect of this type of phenomenon could lead individuals into financial uncertainty and/or instability.
Individual fiscal instability is acutely compounded by the sudden death of a breadwinner in a family. Death is something not easily discussed and therefore the topic, and its potential consequences, is often avoided (often referred to as the "it will never happen to me" syndrome). This said, the fundamental question still remains – what would be the financial consequences of a death or critical illness in any given family at any given time? Does the family have enough disposable income to sustain the lifestyle they have become accustomed too? If the answer is no, then appropriate financial planning is required immediately, if not addressed, children’s education and other basic living fundamentals could be severely effected.
The solution to this unfortunate event is a rather simple one. A life and critical illness policy at the right cover levels will provide a cash injection post event, to sustain the family’s current standard of living. The premium of said policy affords flexibility and affordability and is therefore relatively simple to sustain. The ultimate benefit however could prove vital, specifically when it comes to surviving a critical illness or balancing debt in the event of the loss of a breadwinner.
In summary the vision of Insurance Day is not only to promote awareness of the importance of appropriate life and critical illness cover but to highlight the many opportunities that lie within the financial services industry when it comes to career choice and aligned career satisfaction.
Careers in sales, marketing, finance, medical underwriting and actuarial science are some examples of the type of career path that lie within the insurance industry. These careers offer exciting prospects for growth and advancement and importantly offer substantial rewards to the young, active and productive generation of Indonesia.
A sales career is not only a great incubation environment for budding entrepreneurs, but offers significant financial rewards to those with a good work ethic, discipline and drive. Importantly, sales agents form a vital link between an insurance company and potential consumers.
Graduates of Actuarial Science in particular are highly sought after within the Indonesian financial services sector. Indonesia is significantly behind in graduates of the science when compared to global averages and although this path of study presents some significant academic challenges to the graduate, the demand and resultant rewards for this type of skill are massive.
So if you see yourself as part of the picture described above why don’t you start today in investigating your financial security? You may also be amazed at what lies ahead in terms of career opportunities.
Happy Insurance Day!
The writers are co-founder & managing partners of Avatar Global Consult.
Source: The Jakarta Post
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