Insurance agents represent insurance carriers and brokerage firms in the sale of insurance products to consumers. These products include: health, property, disability, accident, or long-term care. Some agents also diversify their revenue streams by providing financial planning services. Insurance agents earn an average annual income of $79,938, the top 10% earn higher than $116,850 annually. If you’re looking for a new career with flexibility and even the ability to work online maybe working as an insurance agent is right for you. Read more to learn what positions are available and how to become an insurance agent.
Agents should be knowledgeable about the kinds of policies their agency offers and assist clients in selecting the policy that is best suited to their requirements. Additionally, they should possess excellent sales, customer service, and marketing abilities to find and attract prospective clients. Agents of insurance may offer a variety of various kinds of insurance, including health, life, vehicle, and liability. Agents employed by the insurance carrier sell policies just by that carrier, whereas those employed by brokerages offer policies by the range of providers of insurance.
If you think you would find personal fulfillment in assisting in the protection of the public’s well-being and security, you may find a job as an insurance agent very satisfying. A job as an insurance agent provides a variety of advantages, including an easy entrance into the industry, the opportunity to select your work environment, and high earning potential. Understanding the fundamental duties and educational requirements for insurance agents is an excellent first step in determining if an insurance agent profession is a suitable fit for you. We will cover what insurance agents perform, the two types of agents, their typical pay, and how you can become one in this post. Additionally, we address many commonly asked concerns regarding this profession.
Types of insurance agents
Insurance agents are classified into two types:
Captive agents: These are agents that sell insurance on behalf of a single business. The benefit of becoming this kind of agent is that your brand will be recognized by the public, and the back office will be simple. They can simplify their procedures and acquire in-depth underwriting expertise since they operate for a single carrier. The issue may occur if the company’s rates are not competitive.
Independent agents: Independent agents offer insurance for a variety of firms and may shop around for the best prices. This kind of agent is often referred to as a broker, and they act in the client’s best interests, not that of the carrier. The difficulty for this kind of agent is that they are often sole proprietors with little resources.
The average salary for insurance agents
Insurance agents earn an average annual income of $79,938, ranging from $18,000 to $186,000 per year. Insurance agent salaries vary according to the sector in which they operate and their geographic region. Agents that work for direct health and medical insurance companies earn a higher commission than other types of agents.
To work as an insurance agent, you must have a high school certificate or GED and a state-issued insurance license. Licensure requirements differ by state, but in general, you must complete a course and pass your state’s licensing examination. You must acquire a license for each kind of license you sell, which means you may need several licenses if you want to offer a variety of various types of insurance. For instance, if you want to offer both health and life insurance, you would need two separate licenses.
While high school education is legally all that is required to become an insurance sales agent, the majority of businesses prefer that agents have a college degree. Aspiring insurance agents may consider studying business, economics, or finance courses to enhance their effectiveness while selling insurance. They may also want to study marketing or psychology to improve their ability to promote and sell insurance goods. Certain schools and universities provide insurance and risk management courses that educate students about insurance theory, security analysis, and the fundamentals of risk management. A double major in risk management and insurance, or a business degree with a focus on risk management, is very advantageous if you want to work as an underwriter.
Each state has its licensing requirements, but you are usually required to hold a license for each category of insurance in which you want to sell products. You may be needed to do classroom instruction or self-study to earn a certain amount of hours. Additionally, you may be asked to provide fingerprints and information for a background check.
Each state will need you to pass a licensure test that validates your understanding of applicable state insurance regulations and insurance principles unique to the kind of insurance you will be selling. Depending on the kind of insurance you offer, you may be needed to register as a Series 6 or Series 7 broker.
If you want to work as an independent insurance agent in a shared office with other agents, you will almost certainly get on-the-job training while working alongside more experienced agents before seeking your customers. Additionally, you may want to seek a captive agent job with a particular insurance provider.
What is the role of an insurance agent?
Insurance agents are salespeople who specialize in the selling of insurance products. Agents are responsible for creating strategies to market various kinds of insurance, assessing the requirements of a company or person and offering insurance plans that suit those needs, and building connections with customers to expand their client base. The majority of agents focus on a particular kind of insurance, such as health, property, disability, accident, or long-term care.
Numerous insurance agents also diversify their revenue streams by providing financial planning services to customers who are preparing for retirement or are interested in setting up investment or pension plans.
What kind of education is necessary for becoming the insurance agent?
Agents come by a variety of educational backgrounds. While agents with just a high school education may often qualify for employment, certain companies prefer agents with the college degree. Completing the degree in management or business, for instance, may prepare graduates for careers in insurance sales by familiarizing them with marketing, economics, and finance concepts. While insurance sales agents are not needed to have a specific degree, the majority of states need agents for completing the pre-licensing course of training. These courses usually last some days or longer and cover all of the material covered in the state licensure test. Pre-licensing students study insurance ethics, the many kinds of insurance policies, and the applicable state regulations for the sort of insurance they are required to sell.
After being recruited, new agents of insurance usually get on-the-job training by their company. Trainees gain knowledge of the various insurance products offered by their firm. Additionally, they get training in sales techniques and may be paired with an insurance sales mentor.
Are there any licensure or certification requirements?
Each state regulates insurance brokers differently, and even within the state, these regulations differ according to the kind of insurance sold. In general, one should pay the fee, complete the pre-licensing course of training, and pass the licensing test to get the license to sell insurance. Additionally, several jurisdictions require that license applicants be sponsored through the employer. Agent licenses should be maintained and renewed regularly via completion of continuing education.
What is the time commitment required to become an insurance agent?
While earning a college degree over two or four years may improve employment chances, in many instances, an individual can develop to be the insurance agent through completing only the pre-licensing course that can last few days.
How much money does the insurance agent make?
In 2012, the typical annual salary for agents of insurance in the USA was $48,250. The bottom 10% of earners in the profession earned less than $26,240 that year, while the top 10% earned higher than $116,850.
What are my employment prospects?
Between 2012 and 2020, statistics predicts that insurance sales agents’ employment will increase by 10 percent with the average expected growth for all professions. The BLS anticipates that agents that sell long-term care and health insurance, as well as those that offer financial planning services along with the insurance sales, would have the greatest employment prospects.
What are insurance agents’ long-term career prospects?
After gaining expertise, sales agents may progress to senior management and sales roles within their brokerage or agency. Certain agents achieve success by operating their own agency.
How can I get employment as an insurance agent?
There are several national and regional insurance carriers and brokerage firms with whom you may inquire about job possibilities. Because sales success is contingent on developing relationships in your community, volunteer experience may help you in your job hunt. If you are unable to find work immediately, you may be able to get experience in the insurance sector by completing an internship or accepting a similar position.
How may I get more information related to becoming the insurance agent?
There are many national insurance agent organizations, including the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of USA and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. Additionally, there are several state associations for agents of insurance, and these organizations may provide valuable information on how to become an insurance agent in your state. Typically, state organizations provide pre-licensing training for agents as well.
This post was written with the help of Fiverr. I partner with experts in a variety of fields to write posts. Dheera writes posts on insurance and finance. If you’re interested in another insurance post read Insurance as an Investment. Subscribe for more business, sales and investing posts. Have a lovely day.
