What is the certification and licensure given to an insurance agent?

• It is mandatory for insurance agents to obtain certification and licensure, as it makes their professional activities legal.
• Candidates who possess a certification tend to acquire preference over the other employees at the time of appointment and also they also enjoy higher remuneration package.
• There are a number of certifications designated for the post of an insurance agent that are offered by The American Institute of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (AICPCU) and also the Insurance Institute of America (IIA).
• The most popular certification program is the Certificate in General Insurance which is given to candidates that covers fundamental insurance principles and various types of coverage.
• Some of other certifications offered by this organization include Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Insurance Services (AIS), Associate in Personal Insurance (API), Associate In Claims (AIC) and Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI).
• Every state requires its insurance agents to be licensed but however, the requirements for licensing vary.
• This licensure is necessary in order to sell insurance policies to customers legally.
• Most of the states demand a separate licensing to sell casualty and property insurance to sell health and life insurance policies.
• To obtain licensure, applicants must complete two years of continuous education wherein they learn about the various policy programs keeping pace with the changing taxation laws and government rules and regulations which have an impact on the insurance field.
• Candidates must complete their pre-licensing work experience before they take the licensing examination.
• These pre-licensing courses prepare the individuals for the state certificate examinations which are offered by a number of special insurance companies and agents.
• And also, the IIA, AICPCU and the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research (NAIER) offer pre-licensing training programs and seminars.
• The examination checks for the candidate’s skills in commercial insurance, life, property, health, casualty and government regulations.

How is an insurance agent trained for the job?

The position of an insurance agent requires a certain amount of educational qualifications which will help them to perform the duties and responsibilities given to them as part of their job position. Following are the educational qualifications for an insurance agent:

Educational Requirements:

• A minimum of high school diploma is required in order to become an insurance agent supplemented with college training if they portray excellent skills in sales promotion and other related aspects of the profession
• A majority of organizations seek for candidates who have complete their graduation education while majoring in subjects such as economics, finance or business.
• Also, courses in accounting and mathematics will prove helpful.
• Certain colleges and universities offer bachelor’s degree in the field of insurance which allow them to learn the economic and social aspects of insurance industry while giving them an edge in fields of business laws, marketing, finance and economics.
• Candidates must also be literate with computer proficiency as they are also given the responsibility to administer and maintain financial information by calculating premiums for customers.
• Additional courses taken up as part time work study in the field of psychology, sociology and public speaking may also prove helpful as they sharpen the candidate’s sales techniques.
• Many insurance businesses offer a wide number of training courses, which may be taken up by high school diploma holders.
• Candidates may take up training studies and learn the profession by observing the work of experienced workers.
• Further, a number of conferences and meetings help insurance agents to stay in touch with the latest trends of the field.
• A number of insurance companies encourage their employees to be educated in the field of taxation law as these courses increase their employment advancement opportunities.

What skills does an insurance agent require?

Apart from educational requirements, there are as set of skills and abilities required to become an insurance agent. These skills and abilities help the professional to excel in the profession thus, giving them the chance to grow to higher positions in the profession. Following are some of the skills and abilities required to be an insurance agent:

Skill Set:

• Communication Skills: The core essential skill of an insurance agent is to have excellent communication skills as they are involved in communicating with costumers to sell insurance policies and also written skills are required as they should take care of the administrative activities of the organization.
• Ability to work under pressure: Insurance agents are given a set a targets which must be completed within a month or the specified time period. As such, they should have the ability complete their work, working under pressure for long hours. Deadlines are fixed for them and they should be able to finish all their selling and other administrative activities within the stipulated time period.
• Organizational and Management Skills: These two are essential skills for an insurance agent as good organizational and managerial skills will help him to complete his activities with efficiency. Loads of work lies on the desk of an insurance agent and therefore, he must prioritize his work which will enable him to complete his job duties smoothly and effectively.
• Knowledge of insurance policies: The vital role of an insurance agent is to sell insurance policies to customers. Hence, he must be updated with all the latest policies and the rate of interest which will help him to sell policies to customers. He must possess the skill to design a policy to suit the individual customers.
• Skill of sales promotion: An insurance agent, who works for an organization, must have the ability to promote his company with its unique policy features. He should have a considerate amount of sales and marketing skills which will help him to fulfill this responsibility and also to sell insurance policies by motivating the customers.

What does an insurance agent do?

The job of an insurance agent is enumerated with a number of duties and responsibilities as part of his job position. He often acts as a middleman between the insurance company and the client negotiating deals with both the parties.

Following are some of the duties and responsibilities given to an insurance agent:

Duties:

• The primary duty of an insurance agent is to analyze and suggest additions to an insurance program in order to bring about beneficiaries to the policy and the policy holders.
• It forms the responsibility of this professional to customize an insurance program so that in suits the needs of the individual customers which often cover a wide variety of risks facilities.
• It is the duty of an insurance agent to coordinate with the clients to obtain personal information from them when claims are made on one particular policy and also to calculate the premiums and note down payment method.
• An important duty of an insurance agent is to sell a variety of insurance policies which may be for business or individual purpose on behalf of the insurance company which includes fire, medical, marine, dental insurance etc.
• Insurance agents are involved in looking out for new clients by developing a wide network of customers and generating a new set of potential clients and explaining to them the advantages and disadvantages of the various policies designed by the insurance company.

Responsibilities:

• Insurance agents are responsible for ensuring that the policy requirements are fulfilled which includes medical examination and the completion of all the appropriate forms with valid information.
• These professionals are responsible for developing new market strategies by analyzing the market trends and needs in order to compete with other companies who are involved in selling insurance policies to individuals.
• They are responsible to attend meetings, programs and seminars which help them to learn about the new market services and products in order to enhance their technical skill in developing new accounts.
• Insurance agents are given the responsibility to examine and inspect the general condition of the property, age and other characteristic features which will help to decide the insurance risk of a policy.
• They are also given the responsibility to perform certain administrative tasks by maintaining policy records and updating policy renewals.
• They are responsible for planning and incorporating insurance programs by looking into the bookkeeping system of the organization.
• These professionals are also responsible for contacting with underwriters and submitting forms in order to obtain coverage for the policies.

What is the remuneration given to an insurance agent?

• The salary for an insurance agent is fair considering the amount of activities given to them as part of their job role.
• However, their salary depends on a number of factors such as experience in the industry, area of employment, geographical location of employment etc.
• The average median salary of an insurance agent is estimated to be $50,003 annually.
• The top ten percentile of professionals earn a salary more than $55,171 per annum while the lowest ten percentile of insurance agents earn a salary ranging around $36,985 and $40,484 for a year.
• They also enjoy bonus which ranges between $966 and $19,645 for a year.
• Experienced insurance agents earn more.
• It is observed that professionals with experience of less than one year in the industry earn a salary ranging around $30,410 – $50,932 for a year while on the other hand insurance agents with experience of one to five years in the industry earn a salary ranging around $28,364 – $59,700 per annum.
• Geographical location of employment has a huge impact on the salary package of any kind of professionals.
• Insurance agents, who are employed in the state of New York, earn an income ranging around $29,953 – $120,413 annually.
• Comparatively, those employed in the state of Florida earn salary ranging around $36,745 – $113,235 per annum.
• Insurance agents who are employed with companies are given a salary ranging around $32,405 – $111,712 annually.
• The same professionals who are self-employed earn income ranging around $19,866 – $227,051 per annum.
• Besides the traditional salary, these professionals also enjoy benefits which include life and health insurance coverage, paid holidays and paid sick leaves.

An overview of the job of an Insurance Agent:

Insurance agents are professionals who may be appointed by individuals or companies to assist their clients in the selection of right policy after analyzing their needs. These professionals are responsible for explaining the agreement of the policies between the insurance company and the client, by helping their clients to fill out forms to obtain the desired information from them. Insurance agents are answerable to their client’s queries while filing their claims. There are three major categories of insurance which may be life, property or health. Insurance agents who work with selling of life insurance policies are also responsible for scheduling for physical examinations for their clients. These professionals who in several ways as they may be working for one company or may also be self-employed by acting as independent agents who may be hired by one or two companies. Further, they specialize in one particular area of insurance which restricts them to strictly operate business within the area of the specified boundaries.

Insurance agents are referred to as producers by the common man as they are involved in the selling of a variety of insurance policies which may be health, casualty, disability and property. All these policies protect individuals from either financial loss in business entities of loss of caused due to accidents, storm, fire and any other event that have damaged the property or life of the insured person. In case of business insurance, the policy covers product claims and liability by compensating with the injured workers and their malpractice.

In addition to selling insurance policies, these professionals are also involved in the preparation and maintenance of records and to look out for new clients. Agents who work for one particular organization are known as captive agents while those who are not typically employed in one company are referred to as freelancers also known as brokers who act as middlemen representing a number of companies. The main aim of these professionals is to give their clients the best policies with the best coverage and rate of interest. The field of insurance business is spread with a wide range of opportunities for advancement and the employment rate is expected to grow than the average fall when compared to other occupations by the year 2014.