Left a six-figure bank job to sell life insurance: 10% commission, but a trust problem

According to The Business Standard, this man was a banker for 15 years. Despite a six-figure salary, company-paid family tours, transport and home-loan benefits, he worked 18 hours a day. Wanting freedom and more contact with people, he left his Assistant Vice President post in 2019 and joined Sonali Life Insurance. His main asset is the large network built during his banking career; he need not go to the office daily, and his job is to connect with people and persuade them to buy a policy or a deposit pension scheme (DPS). His income is entirely commission. The report's example: on a 10-year DPS paying out Tk 10 lakh with a monthly premium of Tk 5,000, the agent gets 10 percent every month, or Tk 500. Because the company has a mobile app and premiums can be paid by mobile banking, he no longer has to visit every client. The big obstacle is trust: only 4 percent of people in Bangladesh are insured. Agents explain that in the past they had to collect premiums in person every month, clients paid late, and some agents kept the money instead of depositing it with the company, so people lost faith. Industry people believe digital payment is changing that. His goal is to insure as many people as possible, because more clients means more commission.