Data entry representative vs insurance clerk

The differences between data entry representatives and insurance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a data entry representative, becoming an insurance clerk takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a data entry representative has an average salary of $33,173, which is higher than the $33,089 average annual salary of an insurance clerk.

The top three skills for a data entry representative include customer service, outbound calls and inbound calls. The most important skills for an insurance clerk are patients, insurance verification, and data entry.

Data entry representative vs insurance clerk overview

	Data Entry Representative	Insurance Clerk
Yearly salary	$33,173	$33,089
Hourly rate	$15.95	$15.91
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	147,777	147,755
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 28%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	4

What does a data entry representative do?

Data entry representatives are professionals who are responsible for entering data from different documents into the computer systems for storage, processing, and data management. These representatives must prepare documents for data entry and check the accuracy of the data that has been inputted into the database software. They must resolve the discrepancies in information as well as create data backups as part of their contingency plan. Data entry representatives must also test the new database systems so that information can be used by other people for reference or reports.

What does an insurance clerk do?

An insurance clerk usually works to process insurance, reinstatement, changes, or cancellations for a company or an individual account. They are responsible for monitoring, processing, and organizing different insurance claims for a client. They usually work closely with the company's insurance agent to provide necessary information to process the clients' application. This career requires a broad knowledge of local and state insurance policies, good attention to detail, excellent communication skills, customer service skills, and administrative skills.

Data entry representative vs insurance clerk salary

Data entry representatives and insurance clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Entry Representative	Insurance Clerk
Average salary	$33,173	$33,089
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Urban Honolulu, HI	Henderson, NV
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Hampshire
Best paying company	Alere	Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Best paying industry	Automotive	Finance

Differences between data entry representative and insurance clerk education

There are a few differences between a data entry representative and an insurance clerk in terms of educational background:

	Data Entry Representative	Insurance Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 28%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Data entry representative vs insurance clerk demographics

Here are the differences between data entry representatives' and insurance clerks' demographics:

	Data Entry Representative	Insurance Clerk
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2%	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 7.6% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	11%

Differences between data entry representative and insurance clerk duties and responsibilities

Data entry representative example responsibilities.

Facilitate entry of customer data and payment information for Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance billing according to HIPAA guidelines.
Enter payroll information into EasyPay system AS400.
Update and add patient information into AS400 system.
Follow all HIPPA guidelines to help protect patients, clients and company information.
Obtain correct diagnosis from doctors and apply correct ICD-9 codes to expedite billing/payment process.
Correct Medicare and Medicaid claims prior to billing to limit delay due to administrative error.

Insurance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Establish and implement procedures for completion of patient super bills with proper diagnostic coding utilizing ICD-9 and CPT code manuals.
Maintain patient medical records insuring diagnosis codes (ICD-9) are itemized correctly and name and address of insurance carriers record.
Schedule and obtain authorization for outpatient procedures for patients via private insurance, worker's compensation, and Medicare/ Medicaid.
Complete several ICD-10 training courses.
Perform medical coding with most accurate and descriptive HCPCS code.

Data entry representative vs insurance clerk skills

Common data entry representative skills

Customer Service, 13%
Outbound Calls, 8%
Inbound Calls, 7%
Company Database, 7%
Patient Demographics, 6%
Computer System, 6%

Common insurance clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Insurance Coverage, 5%
Computer System, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Data Entry Representative
Data Entry Representative vs Insurance Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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