The insurer's profession
2026 update: the insurer's profession includes risk analysis, selection of terms, support of the contract and help in settling an insured event. Requirements for qualifications, functions and pay vary depending on the employer and the specific position.
In the far-off socialist days, the word "agent" could prompt three associations in a Soviet person. For those who loved detective stories, a muscular dark-haired man in dark glasses with a square jaw appeared before their eyes; for cultured people the word was linked to the film "Beware of the Car", in which Innokenty Smoktunovsky brilliantly played Yuri Detochkin, an agent of Gosstrakh, the state insurer (which, unfortunately, did not add respect to the profession — Detochkin seemed a kind loser, not of this world).
For everyone else, who had neither read nor watched, the profession of insurance agent was associated with a woman of indeterminate appearance and age who, once a month and not very insistently, offered to insure your children, property and life…
Not a particularly pleasant stereotype, is it? Probably that is why job-seeking ads of the 1990s quite often contain the phrase "No agents, intimate services or Herbalife, please!", and the fact that "agent" comes ahead of "intimate services" tells a thoughtful reader a great deal. Such were the times…
It must be said that until 1991 we lived in an absolutely predictable society. We needed no fortune-tellers or soothsayers lifting the veil of the future with a trembling hand. Everything was clear to us anyway. The state decided for us where to take our holidays, what to wear, where and how to be treated. As befits a good master, it provided without fuss everything necessary for such a life, and it protected us from imperialist enemies of every stripe and from plunderers of socialist property on the one hand, and from natural disasters on the other.
The year 1992, which followed 1991, brought us a change of socio-economic formation. The restoration of capitalism in Kazakhstan began. Capitalism with all its inherent institutions, strengths and weaknesses. And that means insurance will occupy a quite sought-after position.
Believe me, there is every ground for such optimism. To be convinced it is right, it is enough to look at the place insurance occupies where capitalism is well established and state interference in citizens' lives is minimal, so that they are left alone to face the consequences of their actions.
In the West, a person without 5–6 insurance policies is not considered a full member of society. Taught by life, people there insure everything they can: health, property, liability… Gradually the same is happening with us. Not everyone, of course, has a villa in the Canary Islands to insure, but everyone has a roof over their head and some property.
Who the insurer is today
In the legal sense, an insurer is an insurance company that holds a licence and assumes clients' risks. In everyday speech, "insurers" means everyone who works professionally in insurance: from the agent who issues a policy to the underwriter who assesses a large industrial risk. Today this is not the "loser Detochkin" but a specialist who understands law, finance, engineering and client psychology.
Main professions in insurance
Insurance agent
Represents one or several insurance companies, advises clients and issues contracts on behalf of the insurer. Agents are included in the register of insurance agents, and their work is based on an agency agreement with the insurance company.
Insurance broker
Works in the client's interests: analyses the client's risks, requests offers from different insurers, helps choose terms and supports the settlement of losses. Brokerage activity in Kazakhstan is licensed by the ARDFM.
Underwriter
Assesses a risk, decides whether to accept it for insurance and determines the terms of the contract: sum insured, rate, deductible, exclusions.
Claims specialist
An adjuster or loss commissioner reviews the claim for an insured event, arranges an inspection, assesses the damage and prepares the decision on payment.
Actuary
Calculates rates and insurance reserves and assesses the company's financial stability. Actuarial activity requires a licence from the authorized body.
Reinsurance specialist
Places the company's large risks with other insurers and reinsurers in order to spread liability. For more on the mechanism, see the reinsurance section.
Duties of an insurance specialist
- identify the client's needs and the risks to which their life, property or business is exposed;
- explain the terms of the contract in plain language, including exclusions and the deductible;
- draw up documents correctly and collect information about the risk;
- support the contract: renewal, changes, inclusion of new objects;
- help the client when an insured event occurs and monitor payment deadlines;
- comply with legal requirements, confidentiality and anti-money-laundering rules.
Necessary knowledge and skills
- knowledge of the fundamentals of insurance and civil law of Kazakhstan and of compulsory types of insurance (MTPL, OSRNS and others);
- an understanding of finance: how the rate and reserves are formed, how to read an insurer's financial statements;
- the ability to analyse the risks of a specific industry — construction, transport, trade;
- communication and negotiation skills, and calm handling of claims;
- care with documents and attention to the wording of the contract;
- readiness to keep learning: rules, products and regulator requirements change.
Beginners will find it useful to master the basic terminology — it is collected in the glossary of insurance terms.
How to grow in the profession
A typical path starts with sales or client support, after which the specialist chooses a direction: underwriting, claims settlement, corporate insurance, reinsurance or actuarial calculations. A relevant degree in economics, law or mathematics helps, but practical experience, professional courses and product knowledge remain decisive. Specialists who understand the client's industry and can speak the same language with them are valued.
How a client can choose an insurance specialist
- find out whom the specialist represents — the insurance company or you as the client;
- check the licence of the insurer and the broker; the list of market participants is in the insurance companies section;
- ask to be shown the insurance rules and to have the exclusions explained in writing;
- do not agree to pay the premium without a document confirming the payment.
If you want to understand your risks with a professional, you can get a consultation.