Association to certify life insurance agents

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI) has issued a policy requiring all life insurance agents across the country to register themselves with the association for training and certification.

Association vice chairman Eveline F. Pietruschka said on Tuesday that the policy, which aims to standardize the quality of all life insurance agents in the country, had been approved by the government.

"We need to certify our agents to protect the public and the policyholders from fraud," said Eveline on the sidelines of a ceremony to launch the association's data center.

The first training is scheduled from March 1 to August 31.

She said that AAJI had formed a task force to prepare all "infrastructure" for the certification, including standards that should be met by agents, a syllabus for training and tests that agents have to pass in order to get certificates. Data about the agents will be available at the newly launched data center.

She added that the association had been greatly assisted by the Singapore College of Insurance in creating the certification program.

Under Ministerial Decree No. 426/2003, the association has the task of educating and training the country's life insurance agents and the authority to certify them. There are about 80,000 life insurance agents nationwide.

Insurance Director the Ministry of Finance Firdaus Djaelani said the government approved the association's policy as it would boost the quality of the country's insurance agents.

"The current condition is not healthy: there are just few qualified agents in the market," said Firdaus.

According to him, the government would issue a regulation on Sept. 1 barring life insurance firms from selling their products via uncertified agents. The public will also be urged not to buy from such agents.