What is an Insurance Agent?

Q: Do insurance agents make good money?

Yes, insurance agents make good money. The national average pay for an insurance agent is $79,730 a year. However, it can vary widely, starting as little as $20,000 a year to as much as $174,000 a year.

Well, insurance agents are salespeople, they have a very specific industry that they work in. Sometimes they may only sell one type of insurance, but many sell lots of different insurances. This includes car, rental and health.

While, you can get a job as an insurance agent with just a high school degree, many agents have a bachelor's degree. In addition, you need to be licensed in the state where you'll be working. But the learning doesn't stop there. Insurance agent learn a lot through their on-the-job training. Here's to learning something new every day!

What Does an Insurance Agent Do

There are certain skills that many insurance agents have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and initiative.

Learn more about what an Insurance Agent does

How To Become an Insurance Agent

If you're interested in becoming an insurance agent, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 53.2% of insurance agents have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.9% of insurance agents have master's degrees. Even though most insurance agents have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Insurance Agent

Insurance Agent Job Description

Insurance agents are in charge of generating insurance sales for companies by identifying potential customers, determining the best policy for them, and providing proposals to these customers. They are also in charge of managing existing clients, tracking their portfolios, and recommending additional policies or insurance riders for them.

Learn more about Insurance Agent Job Description

Top Insurance Agent Jobs Near You

Insurance Agent Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of account executive you might progress to a role such as account manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior account manager.

Top Careers Before Insurance Agent

Customer Service Representative (209,515 Jobs)

15.3 %

Cashier (456,110 Jobs)

10.4 %

Sales Associate (579,849 Jobs)

9.6 %

Top Careers After Insurance Agent

Customer Service Representative (209,515 Jobs)

18.2 %

Sales Associate (579,849 Jobs)

7.4 %

Sales Representative (205,456 Jobs)

7.2 %

Average Salary for an Insurance Agent

Insurance Agents in America make an average salary of $51,936 per year or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $88,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $30,000 per year.

Average Insurance Agent Salary

$51,936 Yearly

$24.97 hourly

$30,00010%

$51,000Median

$88,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Insurance Agent

The role of an insurance agent includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general insurance agent responsibilities:

Conduct needs-based, consultative sales presentations to a wide range of individuals
Include the following. Other duties may be assigned. Receives requests on club website for quotes on club insurance agency products (i.e., auto, homeowner’s, flood, personal umbrella, etc. ); responds quickly to e-commerce request via e-mail or telephone contact, using five diamond service skills in all communications. Researches insurers’ underwriting criteria, coverage
Calling, presenting, and selling allstate insurance products

There are several types of insurance agent, including:

Agent

Role:

So long to the days of claiming you don't know where you want to go for lunch because, as an agent, you have a lot of decision-making power in your hands. Be prepared to use it.

Agents help clients by acting as their liasion. They negotiate terms of contracts, particularly on a financial level. The more money you make your client, the more money you'll be able to collect. So you'll want to work on your negotiation and persuasion skills.

Agents work in a variety of industries, so you can have your pick of opportunities. Some work in the entertainment industry, while others are in the financial scene. Wherever you end up, you'll most likely be working a full-time job. Although, some client meetings can be done outside of normal work hours. This means you might want to prepare yourself for some late nights.

Average Salary: $37,864
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Sales Agent

Role:

With an average salary of $41,574 per year and a job growth rate of 4%, entering the career world as a Sales Agent is a good start. Not only will you have a stable job, but you also have the chance to explore other careers related to your professional path. You can be an Agent, an Account Executive, a Regional Sales Manager, and a National Sales Manager.

As a Sales Agent, also known as a sales representative, you will offer clients goods and services. Since you are selling or offering goods to existing and potential clients, you need to be knowledgeable about the product of the company in order to be able to assist the customers when they have concerns.

When it comes to skills and traits, you need to be creative and detail-oriented. You also need to have good math skills since you are doing business. Lastly, excellent customer service skills are needed as a Sales Agent; you need to know what your customer needs and provide them with appropriate goods and services.

Average Salary: $45,217
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Licensed Insurance Agent

Role:

A licensed insurance agent works for an insurance company and sells insurance policies to customers new and old. Licensed insurance agents usually have a caseload of current customers that they assist. They answer any questions that customers may have about their policies and use their customer service skills to resolve problems, such as issues with coverage. Licensed insurance agents also need to generate revenue for their company by finding new clients and selling additional policies to existing ones. They need to have excellent communications skills and an extensive knowledge of their company's policies in order to succeed in this position.

Licensed insurance agents need a license from their state in order to work. To get licensed, they need to take a short course on insurance then pass an exam.

There are many different paths to getting an insurance license. Some agents have a bachelor's degree, while others only have a high school diploma and experience working in customer service. Once they are licensed, insurance agents can earn an average salary of $70,610 a year.

Average Salary: $54,118
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Insurance Agent Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active insurance agent jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where insurance agents earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Insurance Agent Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	2,764	$55,531
2	Texas	1,821	$61,819
3	Florida	1,785	$58,941
4	Pennsylvania	1,447	$50,690
5	Ohio	1,345	$52,212
6	New York	1,076	$69,722
7	Illinois	1,074	$52,533
8	Massachusetts	951	$63,287
9	Michigan	921	$45,027
10	Arizona	891	$64,714
11	Georgia	811	$50,603
12	Missouri	801	$49,478
13	Colorado	700	$62,615
14	Tennessee	619	$40,957
15	Virginia	610	$51,298
16	Washington	582	$64,337
17	Indiana	575	$53,237
18	New Jersey	550	$62,157
19	Oregon	549	$60,106
20	North Carolina	544	$56,243
21	Wisconsin	528	$53,332
22	Alabama	482	$57,361
23	Minnesota	440	$50,284
24	Maryland	434	$54,357
25	Louisiana	421	$50,679
26	South Carolina	412	$45,634
27	Utah	410	$43,306
28	Iowa	398	$54,587
29	Oklahoma	324	$49,518
30	Arkansas	320	$46,175
31	Nebraska	314	$51,737
32	Connecticut	281	$57,617
33	Mississippi	280	$57,600
34	Kansas	270	$43,871
35	Nevada	252	$52,959
36	Idaho	190	$43,250
37	New Hampshire	185	$54,141
38	New Mexico	176	$50,214
39	Delaware	167	$43,626
40	Kentucky	161	$50,433
41	Montana	145	$41,900
42	Rhode Island	138	$53,048
43	Vermont	133	$39,804
44	South Dakota	123	$52,057
45	West Virginia	115	$41,910
46	Maine	99	$40,933
47	Hawaii	95	$74,219
48	Wyoming	92	$43,253
49	North Dakota	91	$45,646
50	Alaska	65	$45,202

Insurance Agent Education

Insurance Agent Majors

Business

35.1 %

Accounting

5.9 %

Insurance

5.5 %

Insurance Agent Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Education

Biology

Marketing

Finance

Accounting

Top Skills For an Insurance Agent

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 24.8% of insurance agents listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Customer Service, 24.8%

Insurance Sales, 8.2%

Health Insurance, 6.3%

Life Insurance Products, 6.1%

Financial Resources, 5.7%

Other Skills, 48.9%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Insurance Agent Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Insurance Agent templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Insurance Agent resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Insurance Agent Demographics

Insurance Agent Gender Distribution

Male

52%

Female

48%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among insurance agents, 48.4% of them are women, while 51.6% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among insurance agents is White, which makes up 66.4% of all insurance agents.

The most common foreign language among insurance agents is Spanish at 71.4%.

Online Courses For Insurance Agent That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure

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Job type you want

Full Time

Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Best States For an Insurance Agent

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an insurance agent. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, New York, Arizona, and Washington. Insurance agents make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $74,219. Whereas in New York and Arizona, they would average $69,722 and $64,714, respectively. While insurance agents would only make an average of $64,337 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Arizona

Total Insurance Agent Jobs: 891

Highest 10% Earn:

$110,000

Location Quotient:

1.55

$64,714

Avg. Salary

View 891 Insurance Agent Jobs In AZ

2. Mississippi

Total Insurance Agent Jobs: 280

Highest 10% Earn:

$97,000

Location Quotient:

1.34

$57,600

Avg. Salary

View 280 Insurance Agent Jobs In MS

3. Hawaii

Total Insurance Agent Jobs: 95

Highest 10% Earn:

$108,000

Location Quotient:

1.16

$74,219

Avg. Salary

View 95 Insurance Agent Jobs In HI

Full List Of Best States For Insurance Agents

How Do Insurance Agent Rate Their Jobs?

5.0

General Lines 2-20 Agent • October 2019

5.0

General Lines 2-20 Agent • October 2019

What do you like the most about working as Insurance Agent?

The diversity of the work flow and the diverse network of people I work with on the daily. From customers,lenders, realtors, inspectors to underwriters and Sales representatives. I enjoy assisting others, problem solving and analyzing the different needs and products available to the client. Show More

What do you NOT like?

Scripts, depending on who you work for. Show More

Top Insurance Agent Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ insurance agents and discovered their number of insurance agent opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Aflac was the best, especially with an average salary of $78,524. Farmers Insurance Group follows up with an average salary of $37,835, and then comes American Income Life Insurance with an average of $55,264. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as an insurance agent. The employers include Liberty Mutual Insurance, State Auto Insurance, and Allstate

Most Common Employers For Insurance Agent

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Aflac	$78,524	$37.75	2,620
2	Mutual of Omaha	$74,843	$35.98	294
3	Combined Insurance	$73,835	$35.50	647
4	New York Life Insurance	$67,507	$32.46	819
5	National Agents Alliance	$56,457	$27.14	196
6	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$55,762	$26.81	352
7	American Income Life Insurance	$55,264	$26.57	1,620
8	Lincoln Heritage	$52,853	$25.41	205
9	American Family Insurance	$47,921	$23.04	291
10	United Insurance Agencies	$47,306	$22.74	185

Insurance Agent Videos

Insurance Information : How to Become an Insurance Agent

Insurance Agents : How Much Money Does an Insurance Agent Earn?

Insurance Agent, This Is My Life

Becoming an Insurance Agent FAQs

Do Insurance Agents Make Good Money?

Yes, insurance agents make good money. The national average pay for an insurance agent is $79,730 a year. However, it can vary widely, starting as little as $20,000 a year to as much as $174,000 a year.

How Long Does It Take To Become A Licensed Insurance Agent?

It takes about three to six weeks to become a licensed insurance agent. This timeline includes the time it takes to study and pass the insurance exam.

To become a certified insurance agent requires getting an insurance license. Each state has different processes and requirements for insurance licensing, but the same general guidelines are followed in most states.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Being An Insurance Agent?

The pros and cons of being an insurance agent relate to job growth, flexible work schedules, and commissions.

Here are the top pros and cons of being an insurance agent:

Pros:

What Are The Roles Of An Insurance Agent?

The roles of an insurance agent are to sell and manage insurance policies on behalf of an insurance company. Their role may include attracting new clients and answering their questions, helping clients choose the best approach, and making sure all legal requirements are met.

What Skills Do You Need To Be An Insurance Agent?

The skills you need to be an insurance agent include the right mixture of product knowledge, sales abilities, and people skills. To be successful as an insurance agent is all about your ability to sell policies. There are specific skills that every successful insurance agent should have.

Insurance Agent Vs. Broker

An insurance agent is an insurance professional who sells insurance plans to buyers, while a broker is an independent insurance specialist who legally represents buyers.

An insurance agent works for an insurance company and sells that company's insurance products to customers. Insurance agents provide information about available policies from the insurance company to insurance buyers. They have contractual agreements with their company specifying policies they can sell and the compensation the agent receives.

Have more questions? See all answers to common sales questions.

Search For Insurance Agent Jobs

Updated February 6, 2023

What is an Insurance Agent?

What Does an Insurance Agent Do

How To Become an Insurance Agent

Insurance Agent Job Description

Insurance Agent Career Paths

Top Careers Before Insurance Agent

Top Careers After Insurance Agent

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for an Insurance Agent

Roles and Types of Insurance Agent

Agent

Sales Agent

Licensed Insurance Agent

States With The Most Insurance Agent Jobs

Number Of Insurance Agent Jobs By State

Insurance Agent Education

Insurance Agent Majors

Insurance Agent Degrees

Top Colleges for Insurance Agents

1. University of Pennsylvania

2. Boston University

3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

4. Howard University

5. SUNY College at Oswego

6. Stanford University

7. Baylor University

8. University of Louisiana at Lafayette

9. Ball State University

10. Butler University

Top Skills For an Insurance Agent

Choose From 10+ Customizable Insurance Agent Resume templates

Insurance Agent Demographics

Insurance Agent Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Insurance Agent That You May Like

Best States For an Insurance Agent

How Do Insurance Agent Rate Their Jobs?

What do you like the most about working as Insurance Agent?

What do you NOT like?

Top Insurance Agent Employers

Most Common Employers For Insurance Agent

Insurance Agent Videos

Becoming an Insurance Agent FAQs

Do Insurance Agents Make Good Money?

How Long Does It Take To Become A Licensed Insurance Agent?

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Being An Insurance Agent?

What Are The Roles Of An Insurance Agent?

What Skills Do You Need To Be An Insurance Agent?

Insurance Agent Vs. Broker

Search For Insurance Agent Jobs

Insurance Agent Related Careers

Insurance Agent Related Jobs

Insurance Agent Jobs By Location

Insurance Agent Jobs By Company