Education Requirements for Insurance Agent

Although it is only mandatory to hold a high school diploma (or equivalent) to be an insurance agent about one third of agents also hold a bachelors degree in either a commerce or business related subject. Holding a higher level degree will increase your employability. Public speaking experience is another thing the employers look for because it usually indicates good people skills which is very important when meeting with clients. If you are looking for a more managerial position it is good to have either an education in business or managerial experience.

Constantly changing tax laws, government regulations and benefits means that agents must continually educate themselves or take courses to keep up to date on the changing environment. Also because understanding most policies requires a lot of technical and legal jargon, employers look for individuals who have a firm grasp on their understanding of the terminology.

Agents in all states are also required to hold a licence. Licences may vary depending on the state in which you work and the kind of insurance you indent to sell. Each state requires separate licences for health/life insurance and property/casualty insurance. Obtaining a license involves taking a course with an exam on the topic of insurance fundamentals and state insurance laws. Most licensing authorities require licence holders to take a re-certification exam every two years to make sure you information is up to date.

Insurance Agent Salary Guide

According to the BLS the median annual wage for insurance sales agents in May 2010 was $46,770. The salaries recorded ranged from $25,940 to $115,340.

Many agents are paid on a commission basis only as opposed to a flat rate. That means that the amount they are paid if fully dependant on the amount that they sell, the more policies you sell the more money you make.  This however in not the only way agents are paid, depending on what brokerage you work for you may also be paid a flat salary rate, a salary plus commission or a salary plus bonus. For experienced agents a commission only pay tends to be the most profitable.

Insurance Agents Employment Outlook

Employment for Insurance sales agents is expected to grow 22% in the next 10 years (2010-20). There are currently 411,500 agents employed in the US and that number should increase by 90,200 by 2020. There have been some fears that the growing number of people making direct online purchases of insurance policies will diminish the need for insurance agents. This is however not the case. Because the profitability of insurance companies depends on an ever increasing customer base, agents will still need to reach out to potential customers and make connections that otherwise might not occur. As mentioned before there is currently a shift in the employment structure of the insurance industry. Brokerages are growing much faster and the number of agents employed directly by insurance companies is shrinking, therefore almost all of this anticipated growth is expected to take place in the brokerage firms (not the companies directly).

Insurance Agent Job Description

Insurance agents can be divided into two sub-categories, Brokers (the ones that work for independent insurance brokerages selling policies for a number of insurance companies) and Non-Brokers (the ones that work specifically for a single insurance company, also called captive agents). About 56% of all insurance agents work as brokers, this number is expected to rise as most insurance companies are finding it more economical to hire out brokerages rather than employing their own agents.

Agents spent the majority of their time working in offices or travelling to meet with a client. The majority of agents work on their own schedule. Because a major part of the job is ensuring that clients remain content with the services provided lots of agents will end up work evenings and weekends because this is typically the most convenient time to meet with clients. When agents are not meeting with clients they are usually working in a cubical or office preparing a presentations for meetings they have scheduled later in the week.

Insurance Agent Salary Information

All insurance agents are well equipped with knowledge and references to do their job. This is mandatory to everyone who works in an insurance agency. To be able to do well in this trade, one has to undergo an extensive training to be able to perform his duties. To add more, insurance agent salary has to be on a competitive bracket to motivate them to do their job well. Remuneration and commissions are great motivators. It can do wonders to a person to perform better if not best.

A good insurance agent must possess certain knowledge and skills to do his job properly. He has to have strong interpersonal skills to perform presentations and communicate very well not only to the clients but to the team from which he belongs to. He has to know how to establish a good camaraderie among office staff and to the superiors at the same time. Professionalism is expected regardless of how high or low an insurance agent salary will be.