How To Become A General Agent: What It Is and Career Path

What is a general agent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Tom Faulconer JD, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, CASL,CFP(r)

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a general agent. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.9 an hour? That's $39,307 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 32,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a general agent?

Tom Faulconer JD, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, CASL,CFP(r)

Clinical Professor, Butler University

That depends on the type of agent the person is. Most of us deal with agents who sell personal lines, such as auto and home and life insurance. Their day is filled with prospecting for new clients, appointments to review current insurance with current clients, service work such as adding autos and changing addresses, and, helping take and resolve claims. Some agents specialize in commercial lines. They spend their days prospecting as well, but also work very closely with their clients on a regular basis to assure their insurance program is appropriate. This is because commercial clients usually have very large insurance policies, make frequent changes, and have lots of service work. Plus, the relationship is the key in commercial lines.

ScoreGeneral AgentUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,307

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 4.87%

Black or African American 9.29%

Hispanic or Latino 15.88%

Unknown 3.55%

White 66.26%

Gender

female 26.48%

male 73.52%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a general agent

Explore general agent education requirements

Most common general agent degrees

Bachelor's

65.0 %

Associate

14.1 %

Master's

8.9 %

Start to develop specific general agent skills

Skills	Percentages
Health Insurance Products	11.24%
Life Insurance Policies	9.85%
Life Insurance	7.62%
Life Insurance Products	7.33%
Long-Term Care	6.62%

Complete relevant general agent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New general agents learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a general agent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real general agent resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed general agent usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed general agent in most of states. 38 states require general agents to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Insurance Producer
Arkansas	Degree required	State exam required	Insurance Sales Producer (Agent)
Colorado	Specific course required	State exam required	Insurance Agent
Connecticut	Specific course required	State exam required	Producer License, Individual
Delaware	-	State exam required	Insurance Agent

Research general agent duties and responsibilities

Increase sales of life, annuities, disability and securities from [] to []
Operate remote telecommunications using applications and secure computer communications to troubleshoot and resolve issues on customer Samsung devices.
Help maintain Primerica as the number one source for insurance needs by directly switching accounts over to the company.

Prepare your general agent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your general agent resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a general agent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable general agent resume templates

Build a professional general agent resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your general agent resume.

Apply for general agent jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a general agent job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do general agents rate their job?

-/5

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1 star

General agent reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Pros

It give me unforgettable memories and experience In additional generating life time skills and excellence of the knowledge of is involved

Cons

It very stressful and so much calculation with the work plus graphical representation of the work experience

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019