Looking to become an insurance agent? Think selling insurance might be in your blood, but not sure where to turn for information? This article will help you explore the advantages of becoming an insurance agent. First, there are some outstanding books out there on becoming an insurance agent from how to increase your motivation to what all entails in becoming an agent. For now, here is some helpful information on the subject.
What Do You Do As An Insurance Agent?
Perhaps you're wondering what exactly an insurance agent does. Well, insurance agents not only sell life insurance, health, property, and car insurance, but they're responsible for explaining how the different insurance policies work.
- Make suggestions to clients on how they could get better coverage
- renewing customers' policy
- upgrading clients' policy
- assisting clients with claims
Insurance agents also have to attend meetings, go to seminars, and keep updated with new services. Agents deal with estimating premiums and submitting payment plans. They keep some type of bookkeeping record. Insurance agents also supervise over claims and design insurance plans to fit their clients.
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Do Insurance Agents Make A Decent Living
Now that you know the duties, an insurance agent does. You may be wondering: If insurance agents make a good living? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average amount insurance agents made in 2018 was around 50, 600 with the highest being 125, 610. Newcomers in the industry of insurance can make a pretty decent living with some being able to make as much as 100,000 in their first year.
For example, an agent selling around two policies weekly could receive commission between 50,000 to 100,000 in one year. Not many career opportunities pay that amount on commission in the first year. Still, to earn this amount isn't easy, as a sales agent has to earn the commission by getting customers to buy the product, and many times they don’t.
What Skills are Needed To Becoming An Agent?
For someone to become a successful insurance agent, you have to possess certain traits and skills.
- Reliability. The customers need to know there is someone they can depend on to get changes to their policies or answer questions they might have about their policy.
- Discipline. In this type of work, insurance agents can't afford to become distracted. These individuals use technology to keep track of productivity.
- Good Communication. Good communication is a must for an insurance agent. Without a clear understanding, a client could buy the wrong policy. You also need to build confidence between the client and yourself.
- Time Management. Being an insurance agent is a challenging but rewarding field. Still, you can become worn out if you don't manage your time. The key to success depends on how much productivity is done during work hours. Develop this skill early, and you can increase your chances of a successful career.
- Decisiveness. As an insurance agent, you can't afford to come across as being indecisive. You're not perfect, far from it, and you will make mistakes. Remember, you need to weigh your decision on other factors such as knowledge and experience. In time you will accumulate better decisions and even learn from the bad ones.
Are Insurance Agents In Demand
The good news is that this field will grow at a rate of around 5 percent between 2019 and 2029. This rate is faster than many other job opportunities. 2022 will see an increase of up to 10 percent stated by the Bureau of Labor Statics. More insurance agent jobs will become available from insurance companies changing to brokerages. Even though the amount of online insurance purchasing will increase, insurance agents will still be an important factor in communication for customers seeking to buy a policy.
Most people won’t have the time to search diligently for the right insurance. They will continue to rely on agents to do the work for them, instead. Those seeking this field will have better opportunities for employment with a college degree and knowledge in different aspects of insurance prospects. People who speak more than one language increase their chances of being successful. Healthcare reform legislation has also opened up more doors for insurance agents. You can find examples of health insurance proposals here. Because the population continues growing older, the demand for help in finding long-term care insurance will increase.
