Insurance agent vs claims adjuster

The differences between insurance agents and claims adjusters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an insurance agent has an average salary of $51,936, which is higher than the $51,116 average annual salary of a claims adjuster.

The top three skills for an insurance agent include customer service, insurance sales and health insurance. The most important skills for a claims adjuster are insurance carriers, auto claims, and customer service.

Insurance agent vs claims adjuster overview

	Insurance Agent	Claims Adjuster
Yearly salary	$51,936	$51,116
Hourly rate	$24.97	$24.57
Growth rate	6%	-6%
Number of jobs	67,977	13,221
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	-	4

What does an insurance agent do?

An insurance agent is responsible for inviting potential clients to the insurance company by offering different insurance services. Insurance agents must have a comprehensive knowledge of insurance types to provide the clients with the best insurance option in the market. The insurance agents should evaluate a client's long-term needs and financial goals to create individual packages as the insurance company allowed. An insurance agent also handles policy renewals and keeps customers' insurance files for reference.

What does a claims adjuster do?

A claim's adjuster is responsible for the handling of the insurance claims and investigating the extent of property damage and processing the business or a person's liability. Claims adjusters have a broad range of duties such as damage inspection to evaluate incident reports, communicating with property owners and spectators as well as referring to legal documents. They must also have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills to calculate payments and analyze the complexities of multiple sources. Claims adjusters should also provide timely reports for reference and possible disputes.

Insurance agent vs claims adjuster salary

Insurance agents and claims adjusters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Insurance Agent	Claims Adjuster
Average salary	$51,936	$51,116
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $88,000	Between $40,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	New Jersey
Best paying company	Z Capital Group	Merchants Insurance Group
Best paying industry	Finance	Insurance

Differences between insurance agent and claims adjuster education

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

	Insurance Agent	Claims Adjuster
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Insurance agent vs claims adjuster demographics

Here are the differences between insurance agents' and claims adjusters' demographics:

	Insurance Agent	Claims Adjuster
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4%	Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 5.2% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	10%

Differences between insurance agent and claims adjuster duties and responsibilities

Insurance agent example responsibilities.

Used consultative upselling techniques to provide leads
Maintain personal and confidential Medicare & Medicaid customer information following all HIPAA.
Follow all applicable HIPPA and privacy regulations.
Explain medical plans to Medicare / Medicaid eligible clients to ensure best fit.
Identify and solicit sales prospects in agency database and in the general marketplace.
Develop productive business relationships with key marketplace players by identifying the right products and services.

Claims adjuster example responsibilities.

Achieve targeted performance goals to manage costs and support Allstate's industry-leading operational standards.
Maintain a full caseload of WC files for a Louisiana customer, for six months, while managing this team.
Manage California branch operations including supervision of 5 WC adjusting and support staff
Apply strong customer service, organizational and multitasking skills to efficiently manage auto insurance claims.
Manage strict confidentiality of documents and comply with HIPAA regulations stipulate by the facility and government.
Manage file inventory by utilizing CCC pathways diary system documenting claim file activities in accordance with establish procedures

Insurance agent vs claims adjuster skills

Common insurance agent skills

Customer Service, 25%
Insurance Sales, 8%
Health Insurance, 6%
Life Insurance Products, 6%
Financial Resources, 6%
Auto Insurance, 5%

Common claims adjuster skills

Insurance Carriers, 13%
Auto Claims, 8%
Customer Service, 8%
Litigation, 7%
Xactimate, 6%
Claims Handling, 5%

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Insurance Agent vs Claims Adjuster

Updated January 8, 2025

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