'30,919 Selected as 2020 Excellent Certified Designers'

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The Life Insurance Association and the Non-life Insurance Association announced on the 31st that they certified 13,839 life insurance agents and 18,080 non-life insurance agents respectively through the Excellent Certified Agent certification review.

Since 2008, the Life and Non-life Insurance Associations have comprehensively evaluated agents based on registration period, 13th and 25th contract retention rates, recruitment performance, and the presence of incomplete sales cases to grant the qualification of Excellent Certified Agent.

This year, the average age of life insurance excellent certified agents was 51.4 years, a decrease of 0.3 years compared to the previous year, and the average registration period was 14.4 years. The average annual income was 95.68 million KRW, an increase of 6.41 million KRW compared to the previous year's excellent certified agents.

The 13th and 25th retention rates were 97.7% and 91.9%, exceeding the certification standards (13th retention 90%, 25th retention 80%).

Among this year's certified agents, 4,627 (33.4%) were first-time certified, 9,512 (66.6%) were certified consecutively two or more times, and 3,260 (23.6%) were certified consecutively five or more times, qualifying for the Golden Fellow award. Additionally, 147 agents (1.1%) were certified consecutively 13 times since the system's inception.

The 13th retention rate of excellent certified non-life insurance agents was 96.2%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous year, and the average annual income reached 104.84 million KRW, an increase of 1.37 million KRW compared to the previous year. The average age was 53.2 years.

First-time certified agents numbered 5,133 (28.4%), second-time certified 2,651 (14.7%), third-time certified 1,983 (11.0%), and fourth-time certified 1,612 (8.9%). Those certified consecutively five or more times, qualifying as Blue Ribbon candidates, numbered 6,701 (37.1%), and 848 agents (4.7%) were certified consecutively 13 times.

The Life and Non-life Insurance Associations plan to work with insurance companies to boost the morale and pride of certified agents, maintain external trust in the system, and strengthen promotional efforts.

A representative from the Life Insurance Association stated, "Insurance products benefit consumers more the longer they are maintained, but at the point of sale, they are intangible products whose immediate utility is difficult to perceive. Therefore, strong responsibility and ethical awareness are required from recruitment agents handling these products. The excellent certified agent system, which certifies agents with long registration periods and no incomplete sales cases, plays a significant role in enhancing trust in the insurance industry and protecting consumers' risk coverage."