What it does: Life insurance, group insurance, retirement planning and investment planning based on Sharia principles.
Best known for: Sharia-based investment plans.
Staff stats: Around 4000 employees, mainly in Indonesia.
The good bits: Well defined career path, excellent training programs and experienced mentors to guide you.
The not so good bits: Performance-based incentives and monthly targets lead to a highly competitive and high-pressure environment.
BNI Life was established in 1997 as a fully owned subsidiary of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). BNI is an Indonesian state-owned bank formed in 1946 which was listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange as BBNI.
BNI Life offers insurance to individuals and businesses, including life insurance, health, education, pension and Sharia related services. They value being customer-focused, agility, solutions, trust and teamwork.
BNI Life hires bancassurance specialists all through the year. The candidate must be between ages 21 to 32. Attending high school is the minimum requirement but candidates with a Diploma 3 or Sarjana 1 qualifications are preferred. Marketing experience and insurance, banking and financial services experience is an added advantage. Candidates with an Asosiasi Asuransi Jiwa Indonesia (AAJI) license are prioritized.
Interested candidates can visit their careers page and apply through email. Occasionally they conduct walk-in-interviews for bancassurance specialists. These will be advertised via job sites and newspapers.
Other than bancassurance specialists, BNI Life hires graduates in HR, finance, psychology, business management and IT. The bulk of the other hires are for IT. They advertise these positions on their site and sometimes directly recruits through career fairs held in universities. Interested candidates can check their career page for openings related to these fields.
BNI Life is known for its well-defined career paths. Initially, there are two career paths available to new starters. One option is to work within a BNI branch and coordinate with bank employees to sell insurance plans to eligible customers. The other option is to go out and find prospective clients as a worksite bancassurance specialist. In both paths, the next step is to become a team lead that handles a small team. Depending on your performance and experience you can become a branch sales manager and area sales manager for your chosen path. The next step is to become the area sales manager overlooking both in-branch and worksite teams before reaching the ultimate goal of VP, head of bancassurance.
BNI Life has many different product offerings, giving graduates the option of transferring to another department and pursue a different career path. For example, graduates can get transferred to the group assurance unit which focuses on selling insurance coverage to corporations or become a Sharia benefit consultant who focuses on investment plans based on Sharia principles.
BNI Life is known for its performance-driven culture. Remuneration and promotions are heavily tied to sales performance which naturally leads to a competitive environment. The competitive environment combined with the additional pressure of achieving monthly targets can be highly stressful for new hires.
BNI Life conducts various activities that focus on the well being of employees. There are sporting events such as inter-branch basketball and football tournaments. The BNI Mini Olympics is another event where all BNI employees can participate, including BNI Life employees.
The Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) of Indonesia requires financial companies to carry out financial literacy programs. BNI Life holds financial literacy programs targeting rural villages each year, with a focus on educating people on money management, planning for retirement and also Sharia-based investment strategies.
They also provide free insurance cover for athletes who perform exceptionally in national and international events. In the healthcare front, they offer free medical camps and other services for needy families.
At BNI Life you’ll be working in a high-pressure environment where most things are focused around achieving monthly targets. Performance-driven remuneration encourages healthy competition and high achievers are given ample opportunities to move up the ladder.