What does an agent do?
Agents are individuals who are employed by their clients to represent them in various dealings. Agents are usually employed by people in the show business industry, such as actors, writers, or directors. They meet people who are interested in dealing with their clients. They listen to the plans and vision for the project and assess if the project fits their clients' interests or public image. In the case of agents whose clients are actors, they send their clients to auditions upon review of the project details. Agents are also responsible for negotiating terms on behalf of their clients, such as salary, royalties, and set benefits, among others. They also inform the project leaders of their clients' demands on set. Agents are expected to be business-savvy and good negotiators.
Agent responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real agent resumes:
- Schedule and meet individuals\groups for assign or self-generate leads, assist and enroll eligible individuals in suitable Medicare product.
- Verify documentation and coding using CPT and ICD-9 correct coding standards.
- Assist TANF customers with obtaining employment.
- Direct compliance with all CPT and Medicare guidelines.
- Train BDC representatives on phone skills and CRM use.
- Bill appropriate ICD-9 codes to the correct insurance companies.
- Determine the eligibility of each prospect base on CMS guidelines.
- Research patients medical records for insurance compliant testing and ICD-9 codes.
- Work as a BDC agent for both the sales and service departments.
- Open and run own office, take care of bookkeeping and inventory control.
- Invoice all incoming service work orders, screen and filter work orders for accuracy and thoroughness.
- Analyze aging reports, invoice registries, and bank statements for financial discrepancies prior to audit.
- Assist with CSR duties as well as quoted new and existing clients in the personal lines insurance needs
- Assist with open house displays, organize client records, contracts, and MLS reports for client-buyers.
- Promote special programs and incentives to the client which include warranties and special pricing the dealership are offering.
Agent skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Agents are proficient in Insurance Products, Customer Service, and Life Insurance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Math skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Insurance Products, 11%
Provide a variety of insurance products for various individuals/businesses utilizing independent insurance agents throughout Texas with two in-house Independent Agents.
- Customer Service, 10%
Oversee operations for full-service agency to include sales, customer service, marketing/business development, underwriting, claims and financial operations.
- Life Insurance, 8%
Researched and provided financial services ranging from health/disability/life insurance to financial packages such as mutual funds and stock options.
- HR, 6%
Scheduled tours for sales reps. City of Fort Walton Beach Human Resources: -Maintained employee files and the HR filing system.
- Inbound Calls, 6%
Receive inbound calls on a retention contract while maintaining a positive/happy disposition in a very melancholy office.
- Financial Services, 6%
Developed and grew agency through both property casualty lines, and financial services products in increasingly competitive and highly regulated marketplace.
Common skills that an agent uses to do their job include "insurance products," "customer service," and "life insurance." You can find details on the most important agent responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for agents to perform their duties. For an example of how agent responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "insurance sales agents must evaluate the needs of each client to determine the appropriate insurance policy." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an agent: "analyze the client's financial situation and provided financial services and solutions by cross selling products from multiple lending institutions. ".
Initiative. agent responsibilities often require "initiative." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "insurance sales agents need to actively seek out new clients in order to increase business." This resume example shows what agents do with initiative on a typical day: "researched historical documentation, prepared reports and made recommendations on initiatives to improve customer support and service. "
Self-confidence. A commonly-found skill in agent job descriptions, "self-confidence" is essential to what agents do. Agent responsibilities rely on this skill because "insurance sales agents should be confident when contacting prospective clients." You can also see how agent duties rely on self-confidence in this resume example: "provided confidential customer care in person and by phone activities and leadership"
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what an agent does. Agent responsibilities require this skill because "insurance sales agents must listen to clients and be able to clearly explain suitable policies." This resume example highlights how agent duties rely on this skill: "support customers across telecommunication, financial services, healthcare, technology vertical. "
The three companies that hire the most agents are:
- Lincoln Heritage168 agents jobs
- Best Buy119 agents jobs
- Sonder56 agents jobs
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Compare different agents
Agent vs. Licensed insurance agent
A licensed insurance agent is primarily responsible for finding and utilizing opportunities to secure insurance sales. Moreover, a licensed insurance agent must reach out to potential clients, discuss and negotiate terms, respond to inquiries, and perform various assessments to determine their ability to uphold financial obligations. Besides building a client base, they also need to handle current policies, process renewals, monitor claims, maintain an accurate record of transactions, prepare progress reports and strategies, and distribute policy proceeds according to the company rules and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, agent responsibilities require skills like "life insurance," "hr," "financial services," and "real estate." Meanwhile a typical licensed insurance agent has skills in areas such as "excellent time management," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "strong customer service." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that licensed insurance agents earn slightly differ from agents. In particular, licensed insurance agents are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an agent. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Agent vs. Customer service agent
Customer service agents are employees assigned to answer incoming calls to their company's service hotline. They are equipped with proper training on company products and policies so that they can assist customers. Agents answer customer's inquiries, guide them through steps that they may need to take, and take note of customer complaints. For unsatisfied customers, agents try their best to resolve the concerns or transfer the complaints to related departments. They also try to mitigate any problems that may arise. Customer service agents should be patient, and should also have good communication and problem-solving skills.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that agent responsibilities requires skills like "insurance products," "life insurance," "hr," and "financial services." But a customer service agent might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "check-in," "reservations," "customer satisfaction," and "quality standards."
Customer service agents earn similar levels of education than agents in general. They're 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Agent vs. Health insurance agent
Health Insurance Agents are salespeople whose primary product is health insurance. Insurance companies hire them to reach sales targets. They are trained to sell insurance to individuals or groups of people. They are expected to be familiar with all the products of the company. Health Insurance Agents should assess their clients' needs and recommend the best health insurance product that fits their needs. They should be able to explain the product's features and answer any inquiries that the clients may have. Health Insurance Agents should also know how to compute insurance premiums and estimate payouts.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, agents are more likely to have skills like "insurance products," "life insurance," "hr," and "financial services." But a health insurance agent is more likely to have skills like "hipaa," "health insurance products," "health insurance sales," and "medicare advantage."
Most health insurance agents achieve a similar degree level compared to agents. For example, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Agent vs. Insurance sales agent
An insurance sales agent is an individual who helps an insurance company generate new business by contacting customers and selling one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents conduct interviews of prospective clients to get data about their financial resources and explain the features of the various insurance policies. They analyze the clients' existing insurance policies and customize insurance programs to suit their needs. Insurance sales agents also do other administrative tasks, such as keeping records and handling policy renewals.
Types of agent
Updated January 8, 2025
