A record number of at least 40,000 people is estimated to have sat for examinations to become insurance agents last year, according to the Insurance Commission (IC), attracted by the booming insurance industry which was in turn fuelled by a rising economy.
With the total number of agent examinees reaching 27,054 in August alone, the IC said the figure would be the highest recorded over the years. Of this total number of examinees, 8,287 applied for a life insurance sales or general agent licence, 1,048 for a non-life licence, and 17,719 for a variable life (VUL) licence.
Before 2016, the highest number of examinees was recorded in 2014 at 36,798 from a low of 12,970 posted in 2010.
At the end of 2015, the IC reported a total of 61,461 licensed life insurance agents, 449 licensed non-life or general agents and 58,308 VUL agents operating in the country.