Find more information about the best CSR jobs in insurance. Insurance call center jobs are plentiful, but is a career as a customer service representative right for you?
Customer service representative careers in insurance are widely available at well-established local and national insurance companies. Some things you should consider before you take an insurance call center job:
- You may think of a customer care specialist job as a stepping stone into another career in insurance. But more and more, insurance call center managers are posting jobs for CSRs that are permanent full-time positions. For years, sales, marketing and claims have poached valuable team members from insurance customer service departments, and supervisors are savvy; they want to hire people who view customer service as a career, not a launching pad for something else.
- Customer service jobs can be a lot of fun if you're a team player. If you don't work well as part of a team, then an insurance claims or call center CSR job is probably not for you. Sure, you'll be on the phone and on your own for most of the day, but you'll also need to participate in team meetings, team-building exercises, and group training and birthdays, showers and parties for coworkers, too. The bond between team members that work in the call center pressure cooker is almost unbreakable. Even people with widely varying personalities have to come together and help each other when it's needed.
Do you have the right personality for an insurance call center job?
It takes a strong person to make a career as a customer service representative. The atmosphere is often highly charged, with high-stress situations that need quick decisions and the ability to work closely with others as a group. Do you have what it takes to succeed?
- You must have the ability to make split-minute decisions to get the best insurance CSR jobs. You may have to check in with a manager to get permission before you make some decisions, but you'll also be given some authority to make judgment calls, too. The ability to distinguish between a critical situation that needs your attention and a run of the mill call about a late insurance payment is an important part of being successful in a customer care specialist job.
- Insurance call center managers look for CSR job applicants with strong problem-solving skills and excellent written, verbal and listening skills. Basic computer skills and experience using a multi-line phone (logging into a CSR phone queue, placing people on hold, transferring calls) are a definite plus for insurance claims service and CSR jobs. Problem solving skills come in handy, as you will often need to research problems for customers.
- Flexibility is a must-have for customer care specialist jobs. You may be expected to work evenings or weekends if you take a customer care specialist job with an insurance company. Make sure you understand the work schedule before you are hired. Ask if you'll have to work overtime or additional hours at any time of the year.
What you can expect to earn in a customer service representative career.
The salary range for an insurance call center job is around $25,000 to $35,000 annually with benefits. The low end of the salary range for an entry-level CSR varies depending upon your experience. The overall salary expectations aren't too much higher, unless you move into an insurance call center supervisor or manager job. You may also have the opportunity to make more if you take an insurance claims CSR job or customer care specialist job that involves sales.
Learn more about jobs in insurance including claims, product development and underwriting.
