Insurance Agent Jobs
Insurance Jobs: Corporate and Independent Insurance Agency Careers
Is the insurance agent career path right for you? Learn more about the job description and find out if you should go corporate or work as an independent agent.
Could an insurance agent job be the right career for you?
An insurance agent career can be fulfilling and lucrative, too. You’re helping people protect their homes, businesses and personal belongings. Depending upon what insurance agent career path you take, you may also be helping others to protect their families. And as an insurance agent, you have unlimited earning potential.But is an insurance agent career right for you?
Insurance agent job description basics- personality types.
The insurance agent career has changed over the years, but one constant remains the same. You have to enjoy working with people in order to have a successful insurance agent career. You’ll face some very stressed out and unhappy customers in the event they experience a loss, and it’s up to you to run interference with a cheerful and positive attitude. Negotiating skills, motivation, a comfort level with insurance advice and some pc skills are also a necessity for a successful insurance agent career.
Insurance agent job openings- where do you fit in?
- Get an insurance agent job with an insurance carrier, and you may find yourself working at directly for corporate, either in the office or in a branch of the insurance company. Many take corporate insurance agent jobs working for insurance companies to get the free training and benefits. In other words, the corporate insurance agent job provides a lot of security and few (if any) out of pocket expenses, making it an attractive career prospect.
- Independent insurance agency jobs work for multiple insurance carriers, but aren’t officially employed by any of them. The benefits of an independent insurance agent career include a higher earning potential than working for an insurance company. In addition, the freedom of self-employment allows you to decide who you want to work with and where to place insurance. The downside is that a lot of new independent insurance agent careers fizzle out quickly without the marketing and training provided by an agency or insurance carrier.
- Taking an insurance agent job with an agency has a hybrid of benefits shared by independent insurance agent and corporate insurance agent jobs. You’ll most likely receive some benefits and a regular paycheck, but you may not get the higher commissions afforded by being an independent insurance agent.
Get licensed to start- and continue- an insurance agent career.
You don’t need a college degree to sell insurance. But it certainly can’t hurt you to increase your educational base to enhance your insurance agent career. You will need to learn about insurance, get licensed for any state where you plan to sell insurance, and keep up your continuing education requirements.
The insurance agent career income earning potential is high.
Expect to start out in the $25,000 to $40,000 range, and to move to $40,000 to $60,000 mid-career, with insurance agent earning income as high as $100,000- or more- for an insurance agent with many years experience.
Talk back with a writer: tell Lisa Nichols about your successful career as an insurance agent.
Visit the insurance section homepage to read about more careers in insurance.
