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Career growth in LIC AAO

I worked in LIC as AAO for a few months (in 2014), as well as in Bank of Baroda as PO (in 2013). I was selected in SBI PO too. So, in this article I am going to share my experiences, and what things I got to know during the LIC AAO training.

Later on, I will also compare LIC AAO with Bank PO jobs. Read on!

Table of Contents
  • What is LIC AAO?
  • LIC AAO hierarchy and promotion
  • LIC AAO work life balance
  • LIC AAO home posting and transfer policy
  • Bank PO jobs vs LIC AAO
  • LIC AAO vs SBI PO

What is LIC AAO?

LIC AAO stands for Life Insurance Corporation of India’s Assistant Administrative Officer. So, it is an administrative, office or desk job. You will sit at a LIC office and manage the staff.

Note

Unlike LIC AAO, LIC ADO is a field job, as it’s related to marketing and business development. LIC ADO stands for LIC Apprentice Development Officer.

LIC AAO is a Class I officer, and it’s the entry point of all officers in LIC, just as PO is the entry point of all officers in an Indian PSU Bank.

LIC is a public sector organization, just like public sector banks and PSUs. So, you may call it a government job in laymen’s terms. LIC is not going to be privatized soon (though government may sell some shares of it). So, don’t worry about any rumours regarding it.

In LIC there are various departments, and as an AAO you will have to manage one of these departments in your branch. Here’s a list of some of the departments where you may get assigned to:

  • Claim Settlement
  • Accounts
  • Policy Servicing (PS department)
  • Office Servicing
  • New business
  • Marketing
  • Sales

Once you enter a branch, your branch manager will ask you to join a certain department depending on the needs of that branch. But you will get a chance to work in multiple departments. So, don’t worry too much about it.

Note

In Banks too there are a lot of departments, such as:

  • General
  • Loans
  • Treasury
  • Forex

However, most of the new Bank POs are assigned to general tasks first. Only after getting some experience are they given the task of handling loans. While LIC AAOs can get assigned to any department.

Treasury and Forex in a bank are handled only in bigger branches and so only a very few POs get these. Probably, you will have to wait a little and use some approach. But if you get some experience in Treasury or Forex, you can join any private sector or foreign bank later on in your life at very high salary.

When I asked my training instructor in Bank of Baroda Lucknow Zonal office training centre, that how can I get into Treasury or Forex, he said that it’s not up to me. I will have to work in any department and in any branch that I am asked to. I got a similar answer from my Branch manager in Bank of Baroda Kanpur branch.

While applying for LIC AAO, you may apply for Generalist profile (in which I was selected), or in profiles like IT/ Chartered Accountant/ Actuarial/ Rajbhasha. A candidate may apply for only one profile at a time.

Note

The AAOs of LIC and AOs of many non-life insurance companies (e.g. UIIC, The New India Assurance etc.) are equivalent. That is, while entry point in LIC is AAO, the entry point in public non-life insurance companies is AO. But it’s only a difference of nomenclature.

In LIC you will become AO (Administrative Officer) after promotion.

LIC AAO hierarchy and promotion

To put in short, promotions in LIC are very slow. You may have to wait for an average of around 7 years to get your first promotion (i.e. to become LIC AO).

But let’s have a look at the hierarchy levels in LIC (in ascending order):

  • Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO) - entry level position
  • Administrative Officer (AO) – after your first promotion
  • Assistant Divisional Manager (ADM) – sounds like Assistant District Magistrate, cool isn’t it!
  • Divisional Manager (DM)
  • Senior Divisional Manager (SDM)
  • Regional Manager (RM)
  • Zonal Manager (ZM)
  • Executive Director (ED)
  • Chairman

Moreover, there is supposedly a lot of politics in this organization (though it’s true for almost all organizations). But you will have to deal with internal office politics only once you enter middle management or above.

LIC AAO work life balance

Work-life balance in LIC AAO is definitely better than a Bank PO job. Job stress and burden is less in LIC. That was one of the reasons why I joined LIC. For me work-life balance matters more than salary.

Even salary-wise LIC AAO earns a little more than Bank PO. In the year 2014, I used to get around Rs. 28,000 in hand in Bank of Baroda. While in LIC I used to get around Rs. 35,000. However, the salary of SBI PO was and is much higher.

Obviously, the salaries are much higher now. Just check the job notification to check the current packages being offered.

LIC AAO home posting and transfer policy

LIC AAO is an all-India post, just like Bank PO. So, you may be transferred to any city, town or village of India.

Note

Unlike LIC AAO, LIC ADO remains in the assigned zone all his life. LIC ADO is a marketing job that requires forming good relations with customers and LIC agents. So, it’s natural that some stability is provided here, when it comes to transfers.

New people seldom get home posting. You will have to spend at least a few years in a far-flung place, probably in a small branch (especially if you are a male). This is true for many large public sector banks too, e.g. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda etc. However, some smaller banks may give you home posting.

Females may get posting near their home town.

UIIC

When it comes to insurance sector, UIIC is considered the best for females. It has a very high female to male ratio. But it’s in non-life insurance and most of its branches are in south India.

In a bank or in LIC, the posting will not be in your hand. It is absolutely arbitrary. So, cross your fingers and hope for the best. However, if you know someone in higher management, then may be you might get a more favourable posting. But even then it’s not easy.

But most of the LIC branches are fine. So, it doesn’t matter much where you get posted. Just focus on learning in the initial few years.

In the second posting you may get a posting you want, probably near your home zone. But the first posting is not in your hand at all.

ECGC

If you have had a urban upbringing like me, then you may be apprehensive regarding getting posted in small towns and villages. If that’s the case, and you are still interested in insurance sector, then your best bet is ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd.). It insures export-import business in India and most of its branches are in big metropolitan cities only, like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad etc.

When I got around 90 all-India rank in IBPS-PO 2012, my first choice was ECGC. But I got my second choice Bank of Baroda at the end.

Bank PO jobs vs LIC AAO

We have already compared Bank PO and LIC AAO on various parameters. But let’s list them here again and see some other differences and similarities too. Here we will be considering only the PSBs, i.e. Public Sector Banks (not private banks).

  • Both LIC AAO and Bank PO are entry level officer jobs. In both the jobs you may be transferred all over India – even to small towns or villages.

  • Promotions are faster in most of the Bank PO jobs. In my batch of Bank of Baroda POs (2012-13), many became even branch managers within a year or two (but in small village branches). While, one of my trainers in LIC Bhopal training centre (2013-14) told me that you should not even think of becoming AO for the next 7 years.

  • Bond period in LIC is much longer than in Banks. In 2021, the bond period in LIC is 4 years. If you leave LIC within this period then you will have to pay Rs. 2 lakhs. In banks it may vary but it’s not more than a year. In fact, in most of the banks you may leave by giving 3 months prior notice or by submitting 3 months salary.

  • Both LIC and Banks provide a lot of training to new joinees. In LIC the training spans 9 months. While in banks it may vary from 6 months to a year. SBI PO training is considered the most rigorous. In comparison, LIC AAO training is a breeze. You will enjoy it a lot, play management games, interact with actuaries, senior officials etc.

  • In LIC you may give actuary exam, and become an actuary. Actuaries are those people who design insurance policies, e.g. how much premium should be taken, risk assessment based on previous data, statistics etc. There are only a handful of actuaries in India. It’s considered one of the best jobs in the world.

LIC AAO vs SBI PO

I was selected in both LIC AAO and SBI PO while I was working in Bank of Baroda as PO. But I decided to join LIC, even though salary of SBI PO was much higher than that of LIC AAO.

The reason was that I wanted to become an Actuary. Actuary is a job in insurance sector that is considered one of the best jobs in the financial field. Some say it’s even better than becoming IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer through UPSC examination.

I will describe the actuary job profile in detail in a separate article. Though you can become an actuary even if you are not working in insurance sector, but it makes more sense if you are.

Note

Bank job is more about calculation, while insurance job is more about maths (calculus, statistics etc.).

But if you do not want to become an actuary, then SBI PO job will definitely be considered better than LIC AAO. Not only the pay is high, but you get many other benefits like very good home allowance, and other benefits. Also, promotions are faster in SBI than LIC AAO. So, even the growth is much faster.

Online Learning

To get selected as LIC AAO or Bank PO you will have to face two aptitude examinations (pre and mains) and then an interview. In aptitude examinations you will encounter questions from Maths, Reasoning, English, General Studies (especially Economics).

If you want help in your Maths, Reasoning or English preparation, you may check-out our following websites:

  • math-english.com: A website to help you prepare online for aptitude examinations. (In English Medium)
  • hindi-education.com: A website to help you prepare online for aptitude examinations. (In Hindi Medium)
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