What OICL Assistant is
OICL Assistant recruits graduates into the Class III Assistant cadre of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., the entry level clerical and customer-facing role at this New Delhi-headquartered public sector general insurer. Its most recent cycle, in 2025, is the best-documented of the four general insurers’ Assistant exams on this site: the official notification is directly cited below, not just secondary coverage of it.
Who can apply
Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university is the requirement, and you must have passed English as a subject at some stage from secondary school through graduation. Reading, writing and speaking proficiency in the regional language of the state or union territory you apply for is mandatory, tested through a qualifying Regional Language Test. The age band is 21 to 30 years, “as on” 31 July of the recruitment year, with relaxations of 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC and ST, 10 years for PwBD, and further relaxations for ex-servicemen and widowed, divorced or separated women.
How the exam runs
Tier I, the Preliminary Examination, is a one hour test of one hundred questions across English Language, Reasoning Ability and Numerical Ability, with a quarter mark penalty for each wrong answer.
Tier II, the Main Examination, is a two hour objective test of two hundred questions worth two hundred and fifty marks across English Language, Reasoning Ability, Numerical Ability, Computer Knowledge and General Awareness, with the same quarter mark penalty. There is no interview stage: candidates who clear Tier II proceed to a qualifying Regional Language Test, and final merit is decided on Tier II score alone.
Preparing the application
Photograph and signature specifications match the rest of the banking and insurance exam family: a JPEG photograph between 20 and 50 kilobytes and a JPEG signature between 10 and 20 kilobytes. The resizers on this site handle both in your browser without uploading anything.
The application fee is 850 rupees for general, OBC and EWS candidates, and 100 rupees for SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates.
On exam day
Arrive at least an hour before the reporting time on your admit card, with the printed e-admit card, a government photo identification, one recent passport size photograph and a black or blue ballpoint pen. No electronic devices are permitted inside the hall.
What the job actually involves
An OICL Assistant is the front-line clerical and customer-facing employee at a branch: issuing and renewing policies, collecting premiums, helping customers with queries and claim documentation, and maintaining branch records. Probation runs a minimum of six months, extendable if performance is unsatisfactory, and there is no formal service bond, though a probationer who resigns or is terminated must repay salary drawn plus 25,000 rupees toward training cost. OICL and NICL have discussed a possible merger in recent years, which is worth knowing if you are weighing a long career here. The official Oriental Insurance website, linked above, carries the current notification, vacancy count and exact dates for the cycle you are applying to.