How to become an insurance agent?
Insurance is a good profession to choose if you have a plan to earn more within a limited amount of time. If offers a number of benefits as well as an ability for you to serve the humanity and deal with them in overcoming their damages. However it is not always an easy field as it requires a lot of effort and you have to face some rejections in life, but if you are concerned with getting good salary packages then working as an insurance agent may be good for you. So, in order to become an insurance agent, you need to keep in mind the following things:
1). You shall have a bachelor’s degree:
Some people consider this job as an easy going profession and they think that having simple diploma would help them. It might be true for some companies but not all. It’s always better to have some courses earned related to finance, marketing or business if you want to become a skilled agent. As you have to promote the company and its insurance policies, therefore you should also have some good communicative skills and thus you need to be able to understand the psychology of others and deal with them accordingly. Thus, in order to be an agent you should at least have these courses earned if not a whole degree.
2). Requirements for a licenser:
In some states, this is a major requirement for becoming a policy agent. You have to devout some hours in attending classes or training sessions before you actually join an insurance company. This is important as you need to have information regarding everything. Some companies only tell you to focus on the field in which you want to become the agent but its better you get knowledge about all of them. Along with that they will ask for proper background information with you signatures and finger prints on it, and then you will be able to work as agent.
3). Becoming a licenser:
The third step would probably be that you obtain that license. As you have studied and taken classes for regarding the field for which you will be selling in the future, now you need to pass an exam to make sure you have got enough information to be an agent as it is a very big responsibility. There are certain security registrations and depending upon the type you will choose, you will go through that registration too.
4). Get a job in an insurance company:
So, after completing all the steps, now it’s time to apply for the job. Most people also prefer to have an agency of their own and start their own business. But if you apply and get a job at a proper company, then you will be provided with the proper training as in how to deal with the clients and use different marketing strategies.
Types of insurance agents:
There are 2 major types of insurance agents:
1). The Captive or Direct Writer:
As it is much evident from the name, these agents work for the companies directly and the rule is that work for only one company. They are only allowed to work and sell the insurance policy of one specific company and cannot go beyond that no matter how much the prices of other companies become competitive or how much the prices of that company fluctuates. The advantage of working as a direct agent is that it allows you to get recognition and have simplicity. Moreover, they get efficiency in their writing skills and knowledge. The disadvantage is that if he chooses to leave either the job or the state, then it will depend on the insurance company to make decisions in that regard, he cannot make them on his own.
2). The Independent Agents:
An Independent insurance agent works differently. His job is to sale the policies of different companies so he has to work for different companies. They are often referred as “brokers” and provide clients to different insurance companies. The advantage of becoming such an agent is that they can work for multiple companies and what is more that they can work for company that will provide the most benefit. However there is a minor disadvantage that they have limited resources as many companies do not agree to hire these agents.
What is the average salary of an insurance agent?
The salary for an insurance agent may vary from the country to country or state to state as every country has its own policy. In some countries people are paid working for the hour wise, so they will be paid differently. Moreover a person working for a direct agent or a direct medical agent will earn more than the other agents. For example, in U.S the average salary of an insurance agent is $59,593 per year. In Pakistan, it is 32,396 thousand per month. If we look it overall, then insurance agents have reported to have $79,938 per year or from $18000 to 186,000 per year.
What are the benefits of being an insurance agent?
1). It is easier to acquire a course related to insurance and pass an exam. The educational requirements are relatively easy and although you need to go through that whole license procedure, but it’s easier than applying for the difficult jobs and getting yourselves into complications.
2). Getting a job in an insurance company is an easy task also. You can go yourself and drop your CV’s to the insurance companies or if you search for them online you can find thousands of them. So you need a little effort for the search and then all the process is easy and they hire people quickly. Most of the companies depend on the salaries which are based on commissions and it’s not surety based. So people keep on applying and leaving on and off and they require new workers so hire easily.
3). The biggest advantage of an insurance company is the money. Working in an insurance company provides you a lot of money and commissions. So if you are looking to earn more in a short time, this is a great opportunity for you.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Why do insurance agents quit?
According to some reports, people have quitted as insurance agents quit it due to the financial issues. As these companies pay according to the commission provided to the companies themselves, so they sometimes do not get the enough wages. So, around 26% people have quit it due to this reason. However they might be other reasons such as a desire to choose any other profession or health problems.
Q: Who is the richest insurance agent?
Gideon du Plessis is the richest insurance agent earning around 7 crore in a year and covering over 700 plus insurance policies within a year. It is said that he failed in the 10th grade, never went to school again, started his career 23 years ago and is now the richest insurance agent.
Q: How do insurance agents get clients?
The best technique to target more people and earn a great amount of clients is through referring. You can engage audience by first offering them good insurance packages and then providing them small incentives with your company’s logo on them. In this way people will be impressed by your schemes and recommend their friends and families to get insurance of your company. So to cut it short, the best way is to adopt the techniques that will help in the promotion of your company.
Related Questions:
1). Cheap Insurance Companies
2). How much do insurance agents make?
3). What is insurance?
4). Does Insurance Cover Therapy
5). What is an insurance premium?