Insurance adviser vs licensed agent

The differences between insurance advisers and licensed agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an insurance adviser has an average salary of $66,816, which is higher than the $42,315 average annual salary of a licensed agent.

The top three skills for an insurance adviser include insurance sales, insurance options and annuities. The most important skills for a licensed agent are HIPAA, customer service, and inbound calls.

Insurance adviser vs licensed agent overview

	Insurance Adviser	Licensed Agent
Yearly salary	$66,816	$42,315
Hourly rate	$32.12	$20.34
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	47,713	68,666
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

What does an insurance adviser do?

Insurance advisers are professionals who represent an insurance company to sell insurance products to clients and earn commission on each policy that they sell. These advisers are required to align the company's insurance policies to the financial needs of each individual so that they can sell the maximum number of policies. They must oversee whether correct information is provided by their clients while explaining to them the relevance of the different parts of the proposal form. Insurance advisers must also help their clients get their claim settlements by showing them the correct process and completing the required documents.

What does a licensed agent do?

Licensed Agents act as authorized brokers acting on behalf of an individual owner or organization in selling a product, service, or property. There are many different pathways a licensed agent can delve into, such as in real estate, insurance, and banking. For instance, a real estate agent uses its license to be able to sell and rent properties. Their duties include gathering property information, evaluating property estimates, marketing properties, and represent sellers in the process of negotiation. They seek prospective buyers, monitor the sale process between stakeholders, and reach a mutually agreed price.

Insurance adviser vs licensed agent salary

Insurance advisers and licensed agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Insurance Adviser	Licensed Agent
Average salary	$66,816	$42,315
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $103,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Madison, WI	Kirkland, WA
Highest paying state	Wisconsin	Alaska
Best paying company	Salesforce	HPOne
Best paying industry	-	Insurance

Differences between insurance adviser and licensed agent education

There are a few differences between an insurance adviser and a licensed agent in terms of educational background:

	Insurance Adviser	Licensed Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Insurance adviser vs licensed agent demographics

Here are the differences between insurance advisers' and licensed agents' demographics:

	Insurance Adviser	Licensed Agent
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4%	Male, 41.3% Female, 58.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between insurance adviser and licensed agent duties and responsibilities

Insurance adviser example responsibilities.

Manage civil litigation matters such as general and complex litigation.
Present appropriate annuities for clients to purchase that meet their specific needs, time frame, and risk tolerance
Direct the sale of life insurance policies, medical disability programs and annuities to military personnel and civilian members.
General resource to partnership on property and casualty matters, insurance policy contract review allowing partners to successfully negotiate litigation matters.
Revive AFLAC accounts previously close due to non-pay or dissatisfy customers.
Generate new business for Aflac by contacting potential customers and marketing one or more types of insurance.

Licensed agent example responsibilities.

Train and manage employees and achieve significant improvements in their productivity & maintain sales go9als consistently.
Educate and advise in different investment products, such as life insurance and fix annuities.
Work with clients to satisfy financial needs offering products such as life insurance, annuities, and Medicare supplements.
Provide education on Medicare/ Medicaid coverage, rights and responsibilities.
Provide objective information pertaining to coverage and how to obtain Medicaid coverage.
Generate referral business and cultivate individual lead sources, using networking and prospecting techniques to grow potential sales opportunities.

Insurance adviser vs licensed agent skills

Common insurance adviser skills

Insurance Sales, 54%
Insurance Options, 6%
Annuities, 6%
Insurance Solutions, 6%
Insurance Coverage, 3%
Administrative Tasks, 3%

Common licensed agent skills

HIPAA, 31%
Customer Service, 11%
Inbound Calls, 9%
Casualty Insurance, 6%
Life Insurance Products, 6%
Financial Services, 5%

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Insurance Adviser
Insurance Adviser vs Licensed Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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