Larissa Georgievna lost her business in the wake of the 1998 crisis but soon got back on her feet, changing careers and becoming an insurance agent.

The Leader: What did you study at college?

Larissa Georgievna: I graduated from the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Construction and attended business courses at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

The Leader: What was your occupation before you found a job in this company?

Larissa Georgievna: I worked as a construction engineer for 15 years. Eight years ago I took out a loan at a bank and opened my own company. The company had multiple activities. We worked on the stock market and were occupied with wholesale trade as well as photo services. I had been head of the company for 8 years. The bank was closed because of the 1998 crisis, and our business quickly followed.

The Leader: How did you find out about your present job?

Larissa Georgievna: I looked at advertisements. Eventually, I found one that stressed the fact that they needed people to work with clients, and that appealed to me. I called and they came for an interview. I saw the building, environment and staff and decided that I would like working here.

I knew nothing about insurance. The company educated me. I attended classes for nine days at The School of Insurance. We had training courses in psychology and on how to communicate with clients.

The Leader: Can you tell me about your job?

Larissa Georgievna: Nowadays, I mainly work with car insurance. I work at the insurance desk in a car salon three days a week. The rest of the week I work from home. People call to ask about our policies and how much they cost.

The Leader: Please tell me about what you do at the salon.

Larissa Georgievna: I sit at my desk and watch the clients of the salon closely. I can tell by intuition and years of practice whether the person I’m looking at is the kind of person who would be willing to insure his car. If someone’s really thinking of buying a car he or she will go straight to what they want. I don’t approach people who wander around the whole salon.

The Leader: How do you go about convincing people to buy policies?

Larissa Georgievna: If I see a client who looks like they are ready to buy a car, I go up to the person and ask if he or she would like to insure it. If the answer is no, I ask why, and then I explain the advantages of insurance, our prices and who our company is owned by.
The Leader: Do you have to follow a weekly plan?

Larissa Georgievna: To some extent. As I’ve already said, three days a week I work in a car store, the rest of the time I look for, visit and offer to insure clients. Every week I have to write a report detailing the work I’ve done and give any new policies to the company.

I work every day and sometimes on weekends. But at the same time I have a free hand; I can see my clients at any time and I don’t have to be in the office at nine in the morning. That’s one thing I really like.

The Leader: What do you like about your job?

Larissa Georgievna: Everything. I especially love looking at the cars and watching people and the pleasure they feel as they choose and buy a car. I like the fact that no one forces me to do something if I don’t want to and that every day I meet different people.

The Leader: What are the difficulties of working in this business?

Larissa Georgievna: There is a total ignorance about the insurance business in our country. People don’t understand the importance of insurance and I have to explain to them how they will benefit from it. Also, there is no middle class in our country. Russians don’t have enough money to get insured.

The Leader: What advice can you give someone looking for a job?

Larissa Georgievna: I advise people not to be afraid of changing their fields of work. You can achieve anything if you really want to.

The Leader: What are your plans for the future?

Larissa Georgievna: I am ambitious within reasonable limits. I want to reach the top managerial level in our company. I think that in the future I will open a branch office for Inkorstrakh.