National Insurance Company Limited (NICL), a central public sector general insurer, published its Administrative Officer advertisement on 7 October 2026. It is recruiting 321 officers in Scale I: 200 Generalists and 121 Specialists. Registration is open from 8 to 28 October 2026, and the preliminary exam follows quickly on 17 November.
Generalist or Specialist: where do you fit?
Any graduate with the required marks can apply as a Generalist, which is where most of the seats are. The 121 Specialist seats are open only to candidates with a matching professional degree:
Also read: UIICL Administrative Officers AO Admit Card 2026 · NICL Assistant Pre Result 2026 – Out
- Risk Engineers (28): an engineering degree in any branch. This is the largest specialist pool and a strong option for engineers outside IT.
- Finance (20): a qualified CA or CMA, plus graduation.
- Legal (20): a degree or PG in Law.
- Automobile Engineers (20): automobile engineering, or any engineering degree with a one-year automobile diploma. These officers handle motor claims assessment.
- Agriculture (20): a four-year degree or PG in Agriculture, Agricultural Biotechnology or Agricultural Engineering, aimed at crop insurance work.
- IT (11, including one backlog seat) and Company Secretary (2).
For every discipline, the qualifying degree needs at least 60% marks (55% for SC, ST and PwBD). You can apply for only one discipline, so choose the one where your degree gives you the clearest eligibility.
Age and pay
You must be 21 to 30 years old as on 1 October 2026. In other words, you were born between 2 October 1996 and 1 October 2005. OBC (non-creamy layer) candidates get 3 years of relaxation, SC/ST candidates 5 years and PwBD candidates 10 years. Confirmed employees of public sector general insurers get 8 years.
The pay scale runs from ₹82,485 to ₹1,56,745. With allowances, the monthly package in a metro centre works out to roughly ₹1.14 lakh. That makes this one of the better-paying graduate-entry PSU roles this year.
Exam structure
Phase I is a 100-mark, 60-minute objective test covering English (30), Reasoning (35) and Quantitative Aptitude (35). It only shortlists candidates for the next stage.
Phase II carries 250 objective marks in 180 minutes. Generalists face five 50-mark sections: Reasoning, English, General Awareness, Computer Knowledge and Quant. Specialists take the same subjects at 40 marks each plus a 50-mark Technical/Professional paper. A 30-mark English descriptive test is qualifying. The final merit list combines Phase II objective marks and the interview in an 80:20 ratio.
A realistic preparation window
Only about three weeks separate the application deadline from the prelims. If you are applying, start sectional practice now instead of waiting for the admit card. Prelims cut-offs in insurance AO exams are usually sectional, so a weak English or Quant section can eliminate an otherwise good score.
Applying
- Go to the Recruitment section of nationalinsurance.nic.co.in and open the AO 2026 link.
- Register with a working email and mobile number. All call letters are sent there.
- Pick your discipline carefully. Your degree details must match it.
- Pay ₹1,000 (General/OBC/EWS) or ₹250 (SC/ST/PwBD) online. Bank charges are extra.
- Print the final form. The fee is not refundable, so check every field before paying.