What Does an Insurance Sales Agent Do?
Insurance sales agents and representatives are professionals who meet with clients, determine their insurance needs, and then present policies and coverage options to meet those needs. An insurance sales agent is the intermediary between the insurance company and the customer. Some agents may specialize in a single type of insurance, such as auto, home, health, or life insurance, or sell several different types of coverage.
An insurance sales agent must be adept at verbal and written communication and relationship-building. They must develop and maintain a network of prospects for new policies, and influence existing clients to renew their insurance plans. Also, candidates must obtain licensing from their state to sell insurance. This can be a very lucrative and rewarding career for a candidate that has the right mindset and personality to succeed.
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National Average Salary
Insurance sales agent salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. Click below to explore salaries by local market.
The average national salary for an Insurance Sales Agent is:
$53,466
Insurance Sales Agent Job Descriptions
It’s important to include the right content in your job description when hiring an insurance sales agent. The following examples can serve as templates for attracting the best available talent for your team.
Example 1
An insurance sales representative is needed to work at [Your Company Name] full-time. As an insurance sales agent for [Your Company Name], you must contact potential clients, network with potential clients, and ensure these clients use our service through cold-calling and referral contacts. As an insurance sales agent, it will be your responsibility to design and use marketing strategies as well as the strategies in accordance with our policies. It will also be your responsibility to collect information from clients, create reports on your success, check claims, and ensure you have access to the latest insurance sales techniques. If you are capable of doing all this, as well as applying yourself full-heartedly to a sales position, this job may be for you. You must be confident in your cold-calling and contact ability, as well as your ability to form new relationships with customers and improve existing relationships. If you can do all this, we would love to have you on our team.
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Assess client needs and promote suitable insurance products
- Seek out and network with potential new clients
- Fill out and submit applications
- Issue quotes, maintain client records and prepare reports
- In the event of a claim, help clients file and receive financial compensation for their loss
Education and experience
A high school diploma or its equivalent is required for this position. However, some companies and insurance agencies may prefer agents to have an associate or bachelor’s degree. Employers prefer coursework in sales, business, finance, accounting, and related subjects.
Required skills and qualifications
- A high school diploma or its equivalent is required for this position. However, some companies and insurance agencies may prefer agents to have an associate or bachelor’s degree. Employers prefer coursework in sales, business, finance, accounting, and related subjects.
Preferred qualifications
- Strong background in insurance
- 3+ years of experience working in sales
Example 2
Responsibilities
- Identify, qualify, and develop insurance opportunities and prospective clients
- Foster and maintain excellent relationships with clients and prospects through regular follow-up, accurate and timely quotations, and general account support
- Obtain best coverage for insured, process quotes, and bind insurance coverage; follow up as necessary with inspection, photos, and other documentation. Present policies to insured and educate them on coverages and rates
- Support and prepare clients for renewal and retention
- Anticipate, respond to, and follow up on all existing client needs
- Monitor, review, and report on key metrics to ensure sales targets are achieved and execute sales activity documentation in a timely, accurate, and professional manner
- Maintain CE and participate in ongoing education and keep informed regarding industry information, new product information, legislation, coverages, and technology to continuously improve knowledge and performance
Qualifications
- Demonstrate strong knowledge of insurance products and usages, rating procedures, underwriting procedures, coverages, and industry operations to effectively secure new business and maintain an existing client base
- Have a proven track record of business-to-business sales success
- Possess strong presentation, persuasion, and negotiation skills with the ability to close sales
- Be people-oriented, customer-focused, and professionally assertive in developing new client relationships and servicing existing clients
- Demonstrate strong professional networking skills by being consistently active in the community, local networking groups, and other professional business development opportunities
Example 3
Essential duties and responsibilities
- Prepare to become a licensed agent through attending appropriate courses, self-study, participation in training activities, and job shadowing of agents to learn skills and accumulate experience
- Provide general clerical and administrative support to staff including handling inbound and outbound phone calls, reports, filing, researching and gathering information, and maintaining overall appearance of sales office
- Assist customers with general questions, receive customer payments, issue receipts, and verify balance/daily reports of receipts for cash drawers
- Complete marketing and sales related activities which further the Direct Auto brand in the local market (outbound marketing calls, car dealerships visits, local events, distribution of flyers, etc.)
- Contact customers regarding account status and renewals
- Meet and exceed sale’s goals through new product sales, cross selling, and retention of current customers
- Implement marketing programs and initiatives which further the Direct Auto brand in the local market (car dealerships, local events, etc.)
- Build and maintain relationships with community organizations and local business
- Develop and manage customer relationships and serve as a resource to customers and potential customers on all Direct Auto products and services
- Responsible for monitoring key competitors in the local market area and making suggestions on initiatives that could improve Direct Auto’s position in the marketplace
- Understand, promote, and remain current on company underwriting guidelines, announcements, and memos related to changes in company policies and procedures
- Responsible for sales administration and reporting activities
Minimum skills and competencies
- High school diploma or GED
- Demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service and develop and maintain customer relationships
- Experience or strong willingness to develop key relationships and market our products within community organizations and the local business community
- Valid U.S. State-issued driver’s license
- Strong computer skills and working knowledge of MS Office applications
- Highly motivated to market and sell in multi-product environment where cross selling and customer retention is essential to sales budget attainment
- Must possess effective verbal and written communication skills
Example 4
We’re looking for a charismatic, driven individual that has a natural sales ability and a go-getter mentality with a desire to help others. If this sounds like you then come join our team!
What you’ll need
- MUST HAVE 1 year of insurance experience. All other candidates will not be considered.
- 2-20 or 4-40 Insurance License is required
- Highly motivated and strong closing skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication/interpersonal skills
- Be organized and efficient
- Ability to multitask and work well under pressure
- Maintain a positive and self-motivated attitude
- Bilingual/Spanish a plus (not a requirement)
What you’ll do
- Work a high volume of leads daily
- Prepare insurance quotes and close sales
- Meet new business production goals
- Stay up to date with and follow all underwriting and compliance requirements
- Ensure a positive customer experience
- Help protect customers by offering insurance and financial products that will meet their needs
Candidate Certifications to Look For
- Health Insurance Associate (HIA). The Health Insurance Associate certification program is one of the most comprehensive and well-recognized programs currently available. This certification program can prove to be immensely beneficial to an insurance sales representative as it is perfectly designed to teach the representative about all aspects of the position.
- Certified Customer Service Representative (CCSR). A certified customer service representative will be tested to ensure the quality of their customer service as well as their mastery of common customer service techniques. This certification can be immensely useful to insurance sales representatives and the nature of their job is in line with the customer service industries. This certification is offered by the American Association of Health Plans and can be immensely useful to any sales representative who has to deal with customer service as an aspect of their position.