When it comes to the supreme body that regulates the insurance sector, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is the name.
And if you want to be a part of this prestigious organization, the IRDAI Grade A exam is the name of the game. 2025 is almost here and if you have determined to take a resolution, preparing for the IRDAI Grade A exam may be the right one for you.
But we guess you would need some help doing that. We have prepared this guide just to help you understand the syllabus, master key topics, and employ effective study techniques. We will also talk about effective strategies and insights that would help you break into this organization.
Understanding the Exam Structure
The IRDAI Grade A exam consists of three phases:
Phase 1: Preliminary Examination (Qualifying Nature)
Phase 2: Main Examination
Phase 3: Interview
Each phase comes with its own set of distinct subjects and an approach unique to each one of them. First of all, you need to craft a tailored approach for each one of these phases.
Phase 1 Overview
The Phase 1 exam includes four sections:
- Reasoning Ability
- English Language
- Quantitative Aptitude
- General Awareness
Each one of these subjects will have 40 questions, which totals 160 questions for all 4 of them. You will get 90 minutes to answer these questions. The good news here is that Phase 1 is only qualifying in nature, which means you only need to pass the cutoff marks Phase 1 won’t haunt you further.
Phase 2 Overview
Phase 2 is more detailed and rigorous and scoring in this section will be considered for final selection. Here are the subjects you will be tested upon:
Paper I: Descriptive English
Paper II: Economic and Social Issues Impacting Insurance
Paper III: Insurance and Management
Each paper is of 100 marks and for each one of them, the duration is 60 minutes.
Detailed Syllabus Breakdown
The IRDAI Grade A syllabus is going to be the blueprint of the preparation path that you are going to take. Before even picking up a single material to prepare, you need to memorize everything in that syllabus by heart.
Here’s the broad overview of what the syllabus of the IRDAI Grade A exam will look like:
Phase 1 Syllabus
- Reasoning Ability
Topics include syllogism, coding-decoding, blood relations, seating arrangements, and puzzles.
- English Language
Focus on grammar, comprehension, vocabulary, synonyms/antonyms, and sentence correction.
- Quantitative Aptitude
Key areas include number systems, percentages, profit & loss, time & work, and data interpretation.
- General Awareness
Stay updated on current affairs, especially related to insurance regulations, economic policies, and significant national/international events.
Phase 2 Syllabus
- Descriptive English
Descriptive English is a relatively scoring subject among the 3 subjects in Phase 2. The reason is that it consists of what you might have been already doing since childhood which are essay writing, précis writing, comprehension passages, and business correspondence.
- Economic and Social Issues Impacting Insurance
ESI may look a bit scary to you because its syllabus is highly dynamic and hinges majorly on current affairs. Every year, this subject turns out to be highly unpredictable. However, the prescribed course consists of topics like economic growth indicators, social security laws, insurance penetration rates, and macroeconomic factors.
- Insurance and Management
Understand principles of insurance, risk management strategies, legal frameworks governing insurance practices, and management theories relevant to the insurance sector.
Key Preparation Strategies
Create a Study Plan
After you have done your due diligence on understanding the IRDAI Grade A syllabus, the next step should be to craft a study plan that is tailored to your own unique needs and routine. Here is how you can decide on one:
- Daily Study Hours: Decide in advance as to how many hours you are going to dedicate to your studies. Remember, that you need to stick to it every single day once you have decided on a number.
Divide these hours into two or three parts based on your routine and allocate each of these parts to different subjects based on their difficulty level.
- Weekly Goals: To keep a tab on how much course you are covering with time, you must set weekly goals. Try achieving these goals on the weekdays and keep a Sunday to compile and revise it all.
- Mock Tests: Your study plan won’t be complete without attempting a lot of mock tests. Not only will mock tests keep you on track, but they will build a sense of confidence in you which will adapt you well in advance for the real exam.
Compiling Study Materials
You should take your fair share of time deciding on this one. Many candidates commit the classic mistake of buying a lot of books from bookstores and end up getting overwhelmed without covering anything significant by the time the exam comes.
The IRDAI Grade A syllabus is again going to guide you with this. Read the topics, compile the resources be it online or hard-cover books but keep them to the minimum. You won’t be very productive if you accumulate large piles of books and get down to covering each one of them comprehensively.
Focus on Current Affairs
Regulatory exams or any other government exam opportunity such as the IRDAI Grade A exam no longer feature static topics and if they do, that would be minimal. Nowadays, these exams are highly focused on asking about current affairs, expecting the aspirants to be updated with what’s going on around the country and the world.
You can cover these current affairs by reading newspapers consistently and subscribing to some reliable online current affairs websites.
Effective Study Techniques
Active Learning Methods
Let us tell you that IRDAI Grade A preparation is going to take a lot of revision cycles for you. It may seem boring at first but it is a must in order to digest those humongous facts and complex figures. Here are some techniques you can adopt to make this boring process a bit easier on you:
- You may use flashcards for important definitions or concepts.
- Call your friends over, recite the topics and concepts you have covered in the day, and better, if you can also make a study group with other like-minded aspirants.
Practice Previous Years’ Papers
Previous years’ papers such as IRDAI Grade A previous year papers will help you get a hang of the questions that are asked every year. Some patterns that you can observe and get used to by reviewing the previous year’s paper are:
- Frequently asked questions or topics.
- Getting used to the time constraint of the exam, building speed an accuracy as a result.
Time Management Skills
During the exam preparation phase:
- Start with knowing what you are best at and what concepts you lag in! You are halfway there once you identify that. All you have to do then is to just keep getting better at the sections you are best in and be best in the areas you lag.
- It has been proven in studies that a human being can continue to focus on studies for 25 minutes and then he/she needs a 5-minute break to continue further. This is called the Pomodoro technique and adopting this technique would keep the burnout at bay and boost your performance.
Health and Well-being
You may start with high levels of motivation, but it is bound to fall if you don’t take proper care of your body and mind. Here’s how you can maintain a sound body and mind health:
- A 30-minute exercise routine of bodyweight exercise or casual walking is enough to get you ready to take on the whole day of studies.
- Don’t compromise on your sleep. Take a full 8 hours of sleep every day to prepare your brain neurons for absorbing mountains of information the next day.
Conclusion
Cracking the IRDAI Grade A syllabus is no big deal if you approach it with a winning mindset and that would include being highly disciplined and consistent. You might find this exam easier to crack than the mainstream ones such as RBI Grade B or SEBI Grade A in terms of the syllabus and less rigorous preparation requirements.
All you need is a high dose of motivation and an even higher determination of consistent discipline and you will see yourself at the helm of the insurance industry in 2025. Best of Luck!
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