INSURANCE SALES AGENTS

individuals and businesses select
insurance policies that provide the best
protection for their lives, health, and
property. Agents prepare reports,
maintain records, seek out new clients,
and help policyholders process insurance
claims when a loss occurs.
Insurance Sales Agents may sell a variety
of insurance such as, property and
casualty, life, health, disability, and longterm
care. Property and casualty agents
sell insurance that protects individuals
from financial loss stemming from
automobile accidents, fire, theft, storms,
and other incidents that can damage
property. For businesses, property and
casualty insurance can also cover injured
workers’ compensation, product liability claims, or medical
malpractice claims.
Some Agents work as an employee of an insurance company
and sell policies exclusively for one insurance company. This
is particularly true for the life insurance field. They are known
as ‘captive agents’. Other Agents work as independent
Insurance Sales Agents, or brokers, who sell products from
various insurance companies. Independent Insurance Sales
Agents compare policies from different insurance companies to
recommend the most beneficial policy to their clients. Usually
independent Insurance Sales Agents specialize in casualty
insurance.
Insurance Sales Agents interview prospective clients to obtain
data about the client’s needs and the physical condition of the
person or property to be insured. They compare present
coverage, if any. Then Agents work out an insurance plan to
cover risks suited to the customer. They explain the plan’s costs
and benefits. If their selling effort is successful, the Agent
prepares the appropriate applications and submits them to the
insurance company.
Life Insurance Agents sell insurance that provides financial
support to a beneficiary in the event of the policyholder’s
death. Life insurance policies can be designed as a long-range
investment to finance retirement or education. Increasingly,
Insurance Sales Agents are becoming involved in cross-selling
financial planning products such as, mutual funds, variable
annuities, and other securities. Life Insurance Agents
commonly sell financial products.
Health Insurance Agents sell health insurance policies that
cover the costs of medical care. They may also sell dental
insurance and short and long-term disability insurance policies.
www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Page 2 of 6 INSURANCE SALES AGENTS Number 455
Agents also provide follow-up services. They keep
in touch with clients, handle policy renewals, and
suggest additions or changes to keep the coverage
up-to-date.
Insurance Sales Agents perform the following
tasks:
• Advise clients in selecting casualty, life, or
property insurance.
• Call on policyholders to deliver and explain
policy, to suggest additions or changes in
insurance program, or to change beneficiaries.
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of
various policies.
• Explain group insurance programs to promote
sale of insurance plan.
• Select company that offers type of coverage
requested by client to underwrite policy.
• Explain necessary bookkeeping requirements
for customer to implement and provide group
insurance program.
• Contact underwriter and submits forms to
obtain binder coverage.
• Establish client’s method of payment.
• Plan and oversee integration of insurance
program into bookkeeping system of company.
WHAT SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT?
Important skills, knowledge, and abilities for
Insurance Sales Agents include:
• Customer and Personal Service – Knowledge of
principles and processes for providing customer
and personal services. This includes customer
needs assessment, meeting quality standards
for services, and evaluation of customer
satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing – Knowledge of principles
and methods for showing, promoting, and
selling products or services. This includes
marketing strategy and tactics, product
demonstration, sales techniques, and sales
control systems.
• Clerical – Knowledge of administrative and
clerical procedures and systems such as word
processing, managing files and records,
stenography and transcription, designing forms,
and other office procedures and terminology.
• Persuasion – Persuading others to change their
minds or behavior.
• Active Listening – Giving full attention to what
other people are saying, taking time to
understand the points being made, asking
questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at
inappropriate times.
• Speaking – Talking to others to convey
information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making – Considering
the relative costs and benefits of potential
actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension – Understanding
written sentences and paragraphs in workrelated
documents.
• Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning
to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
alternative solutions, conclusions or
approaches to problems.
• Writing – Communicating effectively in
writing as appropriate for the needs of the
audience.
• Monitoring – Monitoring/Assessing
performance of yourself, other individuals, or
organizations to make improvements or take
corrective action.
• Mathematics – Using mathematics to solve
problems.
• Written Comprehension – The ability to read
and understand information and ideas
presented in writing.
Due to intense competition, beginning agents
sometimes become discouraged in their efforts to
build a clientele. However, opportunities should
be favorable for prospective agents that manage
their time well and who do not become easily
discouraged. Other important qualities for an
Insurance Sales Agent include self-confidence,
initiative, strong communication skills, and
outgoing personalities. Also, involvement with
local civic or social groups or clubs will help the
agent develop potential future sales contacts.
WHAT’S THE WORK ENVIRONMENT?
Most Insurance Sales Agents work in small offices
from which they contact clients. Agents also
spend a great deal of time away from the office,
traveling to meet with clients, close sales, or
investigate claims.
INSURANCE SALES AGENTS Number 455 Page 3 of 6
Union Membership
To date, there has been little or no unionization of
Insurance Sales Agents.
WHAT’S THE CALIFORNIA JOB OUTLOOK?
The following information is from the occupational
projections produced by the Employment
Development Department (EDD) Labor Market
Information Division (LMID):
Insurance Sales Agents
Estimated number of workers in 2002: 26,700
Estimated number of workers in 2012: 32,500
Projected Growth 2002-2012: 21.7%
Est. openings due to separations by 2012: 6,400
These figures do not include self-employment.
This occupation will grow faster than average
compared with all occupations in California.
There will be a total of 12,200 job opportunities in
this occupation during the projections period. The
average number of annual job opportunities in this
occupation will be 1,220.
Trends
Advances in technology assist the Insurance Sales
Agent by streamlining services to customers,
allowing the Agent more free time to contact new
customers to build a new client base. For
example, insurance companies increasingly
provide business services through telephone call
centers that provide convenient extended hours to
customers. Also, many companies provide basic
information on the Internet, sometimes including a
self-help format to enable customers to compute
their estimated costs for insurance premiums.
More and more Life Insurance Sales Agents are
expanding the range of available sales products to
include financial planning services such as mutual
funds, annuities, and other securities to help
clients make long-range savings plans for
retirement. Refer to Licensing and Certification
and Other Sources of Information for additional
information.
Sales of health and long-term care insurance
policies are expected to increase as the "baby
boom" population ages.
WHAT DOES THE JOB PAY?
California Earnings
The following information is from the
Occupational Employment Statistics Survey of
Employers by EDD/LMID:
Insurance Sale Agents 2005 Wages
Hourly wages range from $16.43 to $37.58
Average hourly wage $31.22
Average annual wage $64,946
These figures do not include self-employment.
Commissions are the most common form of
payment for Agents working as self-employed
independent contractors. The self-employed
Insurance Sales Agent’s income is determined by
the amount of insurance he or she sells. Therefore,
total earnings may vary from month to month
depending on successful sales activity.
Insurance Sales Agents working as employees of
an agency or insurance carrier are paid in one of
the following ways: salary only, salary plus
commission, or salary plus bonus.
Many insurance companies pay residual
commissions on policies that are renewed each
year. For example, the Agent sells an insurance
policy once, and receives a commission every
year the policy is in effect. The percentage of
commission and residual payments vary from
company to company and depends upon the
Agent’s payment agreement with the insurance
companies. Both captive and independent Agents
receive residual commissions.
Hours
Most agents work a 40-hour week, although some
work 60 hours a week or longer. Agents usually
determine their own flexible hours of work and
often schedule weekend and evening
appointments for the convenience of their clients.
Page 4 of 6 INSURANCE SALES AGENTS Number 455
Benefits
Insurance Sales Agents working as employees of
an insurance carrier typically receive health
insurance and pension benefits.
Self-employed Agents are responsible for
purchasing their own benefits.
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR THE JOB?
Education and Training
Most insurance companies and independent
agencies prefer to hire college graduates,
especially those who majored in business or
economics. A few employers may hire high
school graduates with confirmed sales capability.
Many entrants in Insurance Sales Agent jobs
transfer from other occupations.
Many Insurance Sales Agents begin their careers
as trainees, working as an employee for an
insurance company. Trainees work under the
guidance of experienced agents to learn the
insurance business. After completing an initial
training period that lasts approximately two to
three years, many Agents become self-employed
as independent contractors.
College training should include courses in
finance, mathematics, accounting, economics,
business law, business administration, and
computer technology with training in a variety of
software products. Also, course work in
psychology, sociology, and public speaking are
helpful for improving communication skills and
sales techniques.
Self-employed Agents would benefit from business
courses that provide instruction in how to operate
and manage a small business, including
knowledge of hiring practices, withholding and
paying taxes, and maintaining proper business
records.
Licensing and Certification
Insurance Sales Agents must meet the following
requirements before beginning to sell insurance
policies:
• Successfully complete pre-licensing education.
• Successfully pass the State license
examination.
• Fingerprint clearance for unlicensed
applicants.
• Submit an Action Notice of Appointment or an
Organization Endorsement by a sponsoring
insurance company to the California
Department of Insurance.
The education requirements for new licenses for
Life Agent and Fire and Casualty Broker-Agent
include 40 hours of approved classroom hours of
General Insurance and 12 hours of Ethics and
California Insurance Code. Life Agents selling life
insurance policies that pay into mutual funds or
money market accounts are required to:
• Obtain a Life Agent license.
• Successfully pass a National Association of
Security Dealers (NASD) examination.
• Register with the NASD. Refer to NASD listed
in Other Sources of Information for additional
information.
The pre-licensing education requirements for
Personal Lines Broker-Agent (automobile,
residential property including flood and
earthquake, and personal watercraft) are 20 hours
of approved classroom hours of General Insurance
and 12 hours of ethics and California Insurance
Code.
The course on Ethics and the California Insurance
Code must only be taken once. Applicants
applying for more than one license type do not
need to repeat the Ethics and Code courses.
Refer to the Department of Insurance, listed in
Other Sources of Information for additional
information about State license requirements.
Continuing Education
Life Agents and Fire and Casualty Broker-Agents
must successfully complete a minimum of 25
hours of approved courses or attend seminars
during each of the first four 12-month periods
following the original license issue date.
Life Agents registered with NASD to sell financial
products must complete a computer-based
INSURANCE SALES AGENTS Number 455 Page 5 of 6
continuing education program on the second
anniversary of their registration and every three
years thereafter.
Agents that sell long-term care insurance must
complete an eight-hour California related longterm
care continuing education course.
HOW DO I FIND THE JOB?
Direct contact with local insurance company
managers and Sales Agents remains one of the
most effective job search methods. A local Agent
may refer jobseekers to a central office human
resource contact.
Most Insurance Sales Agents are employed in the
insurance industry and many are self-employed.
Search these yellow page headings for listings of
private firms:
• Financial Planners
• Health Plans
• Insurance
• Insurance Administrators
• Insurance Consultants
• Retirement and Estate Planning and
Management