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.
Insurance agent responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real insurance agent resumes:
- 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.
- Develop and run basic training classes as well as advanced training classes for new agents.
- Educate borrowers and realtors about the short sale process, deed in lieu process, and other loss mitigation workouts available.
- Recommend appropriate annuities, insurance and investment products to existing and potential customers.
- Consult small business owners and individuals with life insurance, disability income benefits and annuities.
- Discuss legal documentation such as green cards and permanent residence cards for qualification of Medicaid.
- Provide unparallele brokerage services, specifically focusing on a thorough analysis of business risk and comprehensive options for clients.
- Assist clients in the application process and ensure that all require information is accurate for CMS compliance.
- Educate clients on ACA regulations.
- Set up payment arrangements and run credit card information.
Insurance agent skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Insurance Agents are proficient in Customer Service, Insurance Sales, and Health Insurance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Initiative.
We break down the percentage of Insurance Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 25%
Assisted the account executives in resolving customer service situations, assessed and presented applicable recommendations based on customers' needs.
- Insurance Sales, 8%
Created an annual process to manage renewals while building relationships that extended into additional commercial insurance sales.
- Health Insurance, 6%
Promoted and managed insurance needs within individual and business markets for retirement, health insurance, disability and life insurance.
- Life Insurance Products, 6%
Launched, developed and managed an insurance agency focusing on Property/Casualty and Life Insurance products.
- Financial Resources, 6%
Assessed prospective clients by obtaining information about their financial resources and deficiencies.
- Auto Insurance, 5%
Specialized in bringing in new business and providing individual services for personal and commercial auto insurance accounts.
Common skills that an insurance agent uses to do their job include "customer service," "insurance sales," and "health insurance." You can find details on the most important insurance agent responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an insurance agent to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "insurance sales agents must evaluate the needs of each client to determine the appropriate insurance policy." Insurance agents often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "processed new insurance claims as well as analyzed incoming claims from policy makers. "
Communication skills. Many insurance agent duties rely on communication skills. "insurance sales agents must listen to clients and be able to clearly explain suitable policies.," so an insurance agent will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways insurance agent responsibilities rely on communication skills: "demonstrated excellent sales and verbal communication skills by personally handling insurance claims. "
Initiative. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of insurance agents is initiative. This skill is critical to many everyday insurance agent duties, as "insurance sales agents need to actively seek out new clients in order to increase business." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "build professional relationships with clients demonstrate initiative to develop leads. "
Self-confidence. For certain insurance agent responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "self-confidence." The day-to-day duties of an insurance agent rely on this skill, as "insurance sales agents should be confident when contacting prospective clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what insurance agents do: "managed insurance claims for policyholders and handled confidential health information. "
The three companies that hire the most insurance agents are:
- Aflac463 insurance agents jobs
- Lincoln Heritage334 insurance agents jobs
- Bankers Life Insurance Company232 insurance agents jobs
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Compare different insurance agents
Insurance agent vs. Licensed sales producer
A sales producer is responsible for performing sales calls and administering all leads. You will be responsible for preparing the policies aimed at sales procedures and developing the necessary sales documents. Other responsibilities include making sure that all sales personnel adhere to all policies and procedures, coordinating with customers about policy expiration dates, and maintaining strong and long-lasting relationships with customers. As a sales producer, you will be responsible for managing prospective sale campaigns and managing all correspondence with both prospective and existing clients.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between insurance agents and licensed sales producer. For instance, insurance agent responsibilities require skills such as "life insurance products," "auto insurance," "develop contacts," and "house training." Whereas a licensed sales producer is skilled in "life insurance," "customer relationships," "processing payments," and "schedule appointments." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Licensed sales producers earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $39,583. On the other hand, insurance agents are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $49,448.The education levels that licensed sales producers earn slightly differ from insurance agents. In particular, licensed sales producers are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an insurance agent. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Insurance agent vs. Sales producer
A direct sales agent is primarily responsible for introducing and selling products or services to clients in a particular area. Aiming to reach sales quotas, they typically conduct market research and analysis, generate leads, and develop sales strategies to build positive client relationships. They reach out directly to clients through calls or face-to-face interactions, discuss product specifications or promos, negotiate contracts, and demonstrate products when necessary. They are also responsible for processing client orders and payments, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real insurance agent resumes. While insurance agent responsibilities can utilize skills like "life insurance products," "develop contacts," "house training," and "field development," sales producers use skills like "insurance products," "strong work ethic," "business relationships," and "cross-selling."
In general, sales producers achieve similar levels of education than insurance agents. They're 1.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Insurance agent vs. Agent assistant
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from insurance agent resumes include skills like "insurance sales," "life insurance products," "financial resources," and "develop contacts," whereas an agent assistant is more likely to list skills in "life insurance," "insurance policies," "scheduling appointments," and "roadside assistance. "
Agent assistants make a very good living in the real estate industry with an average annual salary of $42,564. On the other hand, insurance agents are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $49,448.When it comes to education, agent assistants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to insurance agents. In fact, they're 2.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Insurance agent vs. Direct sales agent
Even though a few skill sets overlap between insurance agents and direct sales agents, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an insurance agent might have more use for skills like "insurance sales," "life insurance products," "financial resources," and "auto insurance." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of direct sales agents require skills like "medicare," "direct sales," "underwriting process," and "sales tools. "
Direct sales agents reach similar levels of education compared to insurance agents, in general. The difference is that they're 1.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of insurance agent
Updated January 8, 2025
