Is an Insurance Career Right for You?

Are you a motivated self-starter who enjoys helping people? Are you comfortable with selling to individuals and/or business clients? Does the idea of being in control of your earning potential appeal to you. If so, a career in insurance sales could be right for you.

Becoming an Insurance Agent

Individuals seeking to work as insurance agents must become licensed for each type of product they plan to sell. Each state has its own licensure and continuing education requirements. Typically, prospective insurance agents must complete an approved pre-licensing training program and pass an exam. Insurance agents also have to take continuing education classes to maintain their licenses.

Additional classes and tests may be required to receive authorization to sell additional coverage lines. Some insurance professionals specialize in selling a particular type of product, such as life, health, or property and casualty policies. Others represent a variety a different types of insurance products.

Working as An Insurance Agent

Insurance agents help their clients manage risk. When you work as an insurance agent, you will work on behalf of your clients on an ongoing basis to find the best and most cost effective policies to match their insurance coverage needs. In addition to servicing current customers, the most successful insurance agents spend time a significant amount of time prospecting for new clients.

If you concentrate on personal lines, you'll spend most of your time working with individuals seeking coverage to protect their families and personal assets. Agents who work in personal lines typically sell life, health, dental, supplemental, automotive, homeowners, and flood insurance policies.

Individuals who focus on business coverage help business owners and managers of all sizes make sound decisions about the best types of policies to protect their companies. Insurance professionals who work with business clients represent a wide variety of products, including workers compensation, errors and omissions, liability, business interruption, and other types of policies.

Jobs in Insurance

Some insurance agents work go to work directly for an insurance company. Others remain self-employed, choosing to work as independent agents representing one or more major insurance companies. Those who work as independent agents are typically paid on a commission-only basis. Insurance agents employed directly by an insurance company are typically paid on a salary plus commission basis.

For the right people, careers in insurance can be very rewarding and very lucrative. While there is always an element of risk associated with jobs that are largely or entirely commission based, insurance agents who work hard, represent quality coverage products, and provide outstanding customer service can enjoy excellent financial and professional rewards.