Career: Insurance Sales Agents
Technology is often a double-edged sword in the business world, both helping and hurting businesspeople. Take its impact on the insurance industry, for example.
Insurance sales agents can now get insurance information and process customers' applications quickly and easily using the Internet and various software packages. This allows them to take on more customers. On the other hand, customers themselves are using the Internet to handle some of their insurance questions and problems -- which reduces their need for insurance sales agents.
Insurance sales agents help people and companies choose insurance policies that protect their lives, health, and property.
Did You Know?
- Insurance sales agents who work for one insurance company are called "captive agents." Those who work on their own, selling insurance for several companies, are called "brokers."
Are You Ready To...?
- Seek out new customers
- Keep in touch with old customers
- Explain technical matters
- Keep up with changes in the insurance world
- Help customers settle insurance claims
- Use computers
- Keep records and prepare reports
It Helps to Be...
An outgoing, confident person. You'll need good communication skills in order to get and keep customers, and to explain highly technical information. If you are flexible and enjoy continued learning you'll be able to keep up with the ever-changing world of insurance.
Make High School Count
- Do your best in math.
- Sign up for business, accounting, and economics classes.
- Study psychology and sociology to build your communication skills.
- Learn a foreign language such as Spanish.
- Take computer classes.
- Develop your public speaking skills by running for student government or joining the debate team.
- Find a summer sales job.
Did You Know?
- Insurance sales agents sell one or more types of insurance, including life, health, disability, long-term care, and property and casualty insurance.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for insurance sales agents to grow slower than the average for all careers through 2014. To cut costs, many employers are hiring low-paid customer service representatives to do work formerly done by sales agents.
Many insurance agents can't find enough clients to earn a living. If you don't want to end up in their shoes, you'll need to understand and offer a variety of insurance and financial services. Speaking more than one language is another plus.
Compensation
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, insurance agents earned an average of $58,450 in 2006.
Brokers may be paid by commission alone. Commissions are a fee paid by the insurance companies for each policy sold. Agents might also earn a commission in addition to a base salary.
