How to hire a commercial lines insurance agent

How to hire a commercial lines insurance agent, step by step

Here's a step-by-step commercial lines insurance agent hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a commercial lines insurance agent job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial lines insurance agent
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the commercial lines insurance agent you need to hire. Certain commercial lines insurance agent roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect commercial lines insurance agent also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents commercial lines insurance agent salaries for various positions.

   Type of Commercial Lines Insurance Agent	Description	Hourly rate
   Commercial Lines Insurance Agent	Insurance sales agents help insurance companies generate new business by contacting potential customers and selling one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents explain various insurance policies and help clients choose plans that suit them.	$16-41
   Agent	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... Show more	$9-34
   Geek Squad Agent	A geek squad agent specializes in providing various computer services such as technical and maintenance support. Their responsibilities typically revolve around communicating with clients through calls or correspondence, troubleshooting, and helping them navigate through complex operations... Show more	$9-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Insurance Carriers
   • Insurance Products
   • Insurance Quotes
   • Insurance Policies
   • Professional Customer Service
   • AMS
   • Cross-Selling
   • CSR
   • Policy Changes
   • General Liability
   • Management System
   • General Contractors
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Insurance Coverage

   Responsibilities:

   • Work with people in retirement helping manage their health and life insurance, also help structure their 401k's into annuities.
   • Provide unparallele brokerage services, specifically focusing on a thorough analysis of business risk and comprehensive options for clients.
   • Act as a retention specialist for Cigna Healthspring during AEP.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your commercial lines insurance agent job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A commercial lines insurance agent salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, commercial lines insurance agents' average salary in west virginia is 49% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level commercial lines insurance agents earn 60% less than senior-level commercial lines insurance agents.
   • Certifications. A commercial lines insurance agent with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a commercial lines insurance agent's salary.

   Average commercial lines insurance agent salary

   $55,459yearly

   $26.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level commercial lines insurance agent salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

4. Writing a commercial lines insurance agent job description

   A commercial lines insurance agent job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a commercial lines insurance agent job description:

   Commercial lines insurance agent job description example

   Insurance Brokers of Arizona
   
   Insurance Brokers of Arizona is one of the fastest growing insurance agencies in the state of Arizona and we are looking for another ROCKSTAR SALES GURU to join our Commercial Team!
   
   Through the use of various online marketing strategies (secret sauce) and 17 years of success, our sales agents spend ZERO time prospecting, ZERO time servicing, but spend 100% of their time quoting, selling, and issuing insurance policies to business owners throughout Arizona. Our motto “Our Clients’ Interest Is ALWAYS Our Top Priority!” serves as the backbone to everything we do. (1500+ Google Reviews | 4.9 Star Average)
   
   We have a staff of Service experts to help service our existing clients...
   We have a staff of Retention experts to help our clients through the renewal process...
   We have a staff of VA's to help with documents and compliance...
   
   Job Responsibilities To include but not limited to:

   • Quote INCOMING insurance opportunities thru all available markets - Yes INBOUND leads!!
   • Present commercial insurance quotes to business owners over the PHONE
   • Answer inbound calls from prospects looking for insurance.
   • Follow up with phone calls to prospects that you have quoted to close the account.
   • Able to cross-sell or pivot to other lines of insurance that are in the best interest of the client(s) .
   • Respond promptly to voicemail, emails, and other client request(s) compliant to company expectations.
   • Work with Insurance Carriers and Insurance Underwriters daily regarding new insurance quotes.
   • Update/Maintain CRM with all account documents, conversations, and any other pertinent information
   • Consultative approach - Always Be Advising (ABA)

   
   Qualifications

   • Property/Casualty License REQUIRED
   • 2 years minimum Independent Agency Experience - sales or service
   • Able to understand, review, consult, and communicate insurance related products to prospecting customers.
   • Self-reliant, assertive, highly motivated, and willingness to improve on a day-to-day basis
   • Experience with insurance-related technology (rating engine, agency manage system, etc.,)
   • Ability to handle a variety of quotes/accounts simultaneously
   • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal

   Benefits

   • Salary plus commissions or Commission only depending on individual
   • Flex schedule with the opportunity to work from home (based on experience)
   • Continuing Education and License renewals paid by Agency
   • Group Health Plan paid by Agency
   • 24/7 TeleDoc paid by Agency
   • Voluntary Ancillary products - Vision, Dental and entire AFLAC suite of products.
   • Costco Membership paid by Agency
   • 401k match up to 3%
   • Hawaii timeshare that rotates thru employees
   • Birthday off every year

   Insurance Brokers of Arizona provides financial protection by presenting insurance products from top-rated carriers while providing superior service, maintaining flexibility, and adapt accordingly with the changing needs of our customers, carriers, and industry.

   • Our vision is to become the trusted insurance experts for individuals and families in the communities that we serve.
   • Our mission is to contribute to the insurance industry with the utmost ethics and integrity, while creating lasting relationships throughout the customer experience.
   • Our agency has won many awards including:
     • Best of Gilbert - 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
     • Insurtech Pioneer Award
     • Expertise.com Award 2021
     • Phoenix 5 Star Home/Auto Insurance Professionals Award 2015, 2016
   • Top Insurance Agency in Arizona with OVER 1500 5-Star Google Reviews

   This is a remote position.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find commercial lines insurance agents for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your commercial lines insurance agent job on Zippia to find and recruit commercial lines insurance agent candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit commercial lines insurance agents, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial lines insurance agent

   Once you've found the commercial lines insurance agent candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new commercial lines insurance agent. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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