How an insurance company is structured

Org chart

The distribution branch is shown in depth, from the distribution head to a branch manager and the agency and sales team. Underwriting, claims, operations, compliance, HR and finance are drawn one level down. Regional managers sit between distribution and branches in larger insurers.

Levels and designations

Approval chains

How the structure works

The company sells a promise, so its structure separates the people who sell from the people who price and pay. Distribution runs branches where agency managers and development officers recruit, train and guide agents, and sales executives sell directly. Underwriting studies each proposal, prices the risk and decides whether to accept it, reporting to its own head, not to sales. Claims investigates and settles what customers are owed, kept independent of both sales and underwriting. Operations issues policies, endorsements and renewals. Actuarial, compliance, IT, finance and HR sit behind them. This split protects fair pricing and honest claim settlement from sales pressure.

How it changes with size

A small insurer or a large agency may run a few branches with a distribution head, a shared underwriting desk and a claims officer. A mid-sized company builds a branch network, regional managers over clusters, and full underwriting, claims and operations functions. A large insurer adds product lines such as motor, health and property, each with its own underwriting and claims team, plus bancassurance and digital channels alongside agencies. As the company grows, the independence of underwriting and claims from distribution becomes firmer, because regulators and solvency rules demand it.

Common problems

Distribution is field-heavy, so development officers and agents work outside the office and attendance must be taken on a phone. Sales targets can push for policies that underwriting should question, which is why the two stay separate. Claims must be settled within service norms, so claims staff carry deadlines that need cover during leave. Agents are not employees but still need records and payouts. Month and quarter ends bring sales pushes and long hours. The steady fixes are app-based attendance for field staff, independent underwriting and claims lines, and one branch manager as reporting manager per officer.

• App-based attendance for development officers who work outside the office
• Underwriting and claims kept independent of sales targets
• Claims deadlines covered during leave so service norms hold
• One branch manager as reporting manager per officer

Set up this structure in ZeniaHR

1. Add each branch as a branch record, and create departments like Distribution, Underwriting, Claims, Operations, Compliance, HR and Finance so staff group by function.
2. Create designations such as Sales Executive, Development Officer, Agency Manager, Underwriter, Claims Officer and Branch Manager, and use grades to hold pay bands.
3. Give every officer a reporting manager, usually the branch manager or function head, and an HR partner, so leave and corrections route correctly.
4. Set up mobile app punches with check-in spots for development officers and field sales staff, and set grace and correction rules for branch and back-office staff.
5. Use access control with data scope per role and field masking, so staff see only the salary, bank and customer fields their role needs.
6. Keep leave, corrections and overtime on the reporting manager then HR route, and add the distribution head as a hiring approver above branch managers.

Frequently asked questions