Interview with Mr. Mohammed Sadullah Khan, Senior Faculty Member, Insurance Studies Unit, The Institute of Banking, Saudi Arabia, Conducted by S G Afzal Biya Bani, Resident Editor, The Insurance Times, Saudi Arabia
Mr.Mohammed Sadullah Khan is currently working as Senior Faculty (Insurance) at Institute of Banking, IOB Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is a direct recruit of New India Assurance,1989 batch, he worked as Regional Business Development Executive for over 14 years with Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Company Saudi Arabia.
He is a Fellow of Insurance Institute of India and Chartered Insurance Institute, UK. Mr. M. S. Khan was University Topper in MBA (Marketing) and is a well-known Insurance professional in Middle-East. He is a prolific writer and the author of two books on Insurance – “Savings on Motor Insurance” and “Reinsurance for Beginners”.
Before we start off today, I would like to thank you for joining us this afternoon for this exclusive interview which is on (NRI) Non-Resident Indian Insurance Professionals.
Please tell us about your Institute of Banking (IOB) background?
The current name “The Institute of Banking” was coined in the year 1989. But the Institute was initially established by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency in 1965.
As you are aware that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency is the Regulatory body for Banking and Insurance Sectors and they have been doing a very good job diligently in maintaining the credibility of the financial Institutions.
Initially the institute’s main focus was on the conventional academic education. With the acceleration of the development of the banking business and the increasing introduction of advanced technologies in the banking sector, it became essential to change the Institute’s goals and strategies to respond to such changes and to cope with the expectations of the leaders of the banking and financial sectors.
Institute of Banking is delivering more than 400 training courses in a variety of subjects, such as Banking, Investments, Management & Marketing, Information Technology, Capital Markets, English, Soft skill and Insurance etc.
When did you join the Institute of Banking (IOB) and how?
Joining IOB was my second stint in Saudi Arabia. I joined Institute of Banking on 14 March, 2009. Prior to this I worked for Royal & SunAlliance from 1994 till 2008.
Being a direct recruit belonging to 1989 batch of New India Assurance Company and working at Mumbai gave me an excellent exposure to almost all areas of Insurance. I was the founder and writer for an “Insurance Q & A column” for one of the leading English dailies of Saudi Arabia. Through those columns I came in contact with IOB.
Can you specify the courses offered by your Institute and what is the language of Instruction?
Our Institute offers a large number of courses in various Financial areas and English language. Almost all our (other than English as a language) courses are offered in Arabic and English. More than 90% of our courses are in Arabic. I would like to mainly focus on Insurance Subjects.
As far as Insurance topic is concerned, we are the sole provider of Insurance Foundation Certificate Examination (I.F.C.E.), it is a mandatory examination for the specified employees working in the Insurance Industry.
We are also responsible for building the material for this examination, provision of Certificates and maintaining of records.
We also provide training for IFCE course, other than this we are also offering training programs and certification in various other subjects such as Motor Insurance, Property Insurance, Protection & Savings Insurance, Liability Insurance, Health Insurance, Essentials of Underwriting, Reinsurance, Principles of Insurance.
We are also running a 2 year Diploma Program in Insurance in Arabic, courses for Diploma in Broking and Diploma in Loss Adjusting.
What is the procedure for Individual Registration for IFCE Exams and the Fees structure?
IFCE being a mandatory examination, one of the pre-condition for registration for IFCE examination is that an individual should be working for an Insurance Company or provider.
The registration process is simple and can be done online through IOB website. The fee’s for a first take of IFCE exam is set at SR. 1,000, and any retakes thereafter is set at SR. 500. These fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
What is the passing marks and pass percentage of students appearing for IFCE examination?
In-order to pass the IFCE examination one has to obtain a minimum marks of 70 out of 100, which is 70%. There was initial resistance for IFCE examination.
One of the main reasons for this resistance was the rate of failures. During early period the pass percentage was less than 20% but now it has improved and is above 60%. The passing of IFCE examination has encouraged many candidates to pursue further studies in Insurance Subjects.
We would appreciate if you could give your advice to our readers, who are IFCE aspirants?
IFCE and Insurance Education guidance has become my passion. Many known and unknown faces have benefited from the guidance. The current pattern of IFCE examination is bit easy. People with experience often fail because of their experiences.
They have to identify three things, what they do at their office is the practice and what we read in the book are principles. Then there is Regulatory requirement.
Hence when understanding principles they should keep their practices aside. They have to keep their understanding of the subject in three compartments practice, principle and regulatory part.
The examination is of multiple choice questions (MCQ), hence the book prescribed by IOB should be read from first page to the last page and that too word by word. There should be a minimum of 3-5 readings of the whole book with understanding.
If you get hold of 100 sample test questions then you should work on that test only after you are thorough with the subject, until then avoid any kind of sample test. The sample test result will be able to provide you with your level of learning.
In case of difficulty a full-fledged course will always be helpful. After you complete your IFCE, you have to think this only as a stepping stone and move towards gaining other Insurance Certifications.
For Indians I suggest them to go for Licentiate Examination of Insurance Institute of India, at the earliest. I always suggest my other students to first go for local certification if available, then at a later stage they can think of International certification.
For those students who do not have local certification can directly go for the International certifications
Do you have any tie-up with any International Insurance Institutes or Charters?
Our main focus is to provide a high quality education, training and development programs to our students. We always strive to bring the best available courses on the table.
Currently we are offering courses related to two Diploma’s one in Insurance Broking and the other one in Loss Adjusting in collaboration with ANZIIF (Australian & New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance).
We are also working with other Professional International bodies to bring in the best quality education to Saudi Insurance Market.
Do you have any plans for tie-up with the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai or NIA Pune in near future?
My first Insurance qualification was from the Insurance Institute of India (III) and I am also a Fellow of Insurance Institute of India. I have high regard for III. I will be happy to have some kind of tie-up between IOB and III. We have already taken a step towards building mutual co-operation for the benefit of Insurance Industry in Saudi Arabia. In this respect we are planning to visit India shortly.
Are there any specific courses for training Insurance Intermediaries in Saudi Arabia?
We do offer courses leading to Diploma in Insurance Broking. We also anticipate a licensing arrangement for the Insurance Intermediaries in near future. We are working on courses which are suitable for Insurance Intermediaries and qualifying in these courses may help them, if licensing system comes into force.
Are you conducting any Seminars and workshops for the benefit of Insurance Industry?
We believe conducting high level workshops and seminars will help the Industry. It helps in enhancing the knowledge of the participants, team building, exposing the services, creating a platform and networking. We have conducted few workshops last year.
We had conducted our First Saudi Insurance Symposium in the year 2011 and I was one of the organizers and the speakers at that event. We will be conducting Second Saudi Insurance Symposium on 26th and 27th of February this year. This time I will be one of the Panelists on Human Capital Development.
Do you have the provisions for web based training?
Currently we do not provide web based training facility. But we do understand the need for web based training, we will be having a look into it at the appropriate time.
What is your opinion about the awareness of Insurance courses in Saudi Arabia ?
Before the regulation of Insurance in Saudi Arabia there was very low awareness about Insurance courses and Certifications. Very few expatriates were able to pursue their goals of Insurance education in Saudi Arabia.
CII courses and III courses were equally popular. Now due to mandatory Insurance Foundation Certificate Examination (I.F.C.E.) and Saudization drive there is more demand among all towards furthering Education and Certifications.
Do you have any other initiative or future plans for Professionalism in Insurance? What do you think is the best course of professional development for Saudi Insurance Industry?
We at the Center of Insurance Studies strive to provide internationally accredited academic and professional insurance programs, certificates, and diplomas. We also do continuous assessment of the insurance educational needs to develop and enhance our educational solutions through research, training, and development.
One of the foremost initiatives is to get the prior learning exemptions to our certificate IFCE from Internationally reputed Organizations.
I feel that the Insurance Industry in Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy stage. During next 3-5 years there will be more demand for professional insurance certification. Currently apart from IOB, there are few private institutions and universities which are offering Insurance courses.
But I feel that during next few years there should be a local body, which should offer professional development and certifications to the Insurance Industry personnel, which will work on similar pattern to Insurance Institute of India.
Finally, would you like to share few memories of your Insurance professional life with our readers?
My Insurance profession memories are embedded with my experience of getting selected by New India Assurance Company in the year 1989, as a direct recruit, their memorable induction training program and working at one of their busiest branches in New Mumbai till l994.
Being a focal point between rural and biggest urban conglomerate had a rich experience of understanding, training staff, multi-dimensional problem solving, providing covers, handling claims, identifying fraud and addressing it for a range of products from Bullock Carts to CAR policies for Railway station.
Exposure to a variety of demanding and nice customers, bosses and employees was one of the best experiences I could ever gain.
The weather, hilly tracts, unpredictable and incessant rains, silvery lines in the green and wet mountains, walking amidst all kinds of weathers and environments helped me in working like a workaholic. Those were the really unforgettable lingering memories of my Insurance Professional Life.
Thank you very much sir for your precious time and sharing your views – S. G.. Afzal Biya Bani
