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Insurance assistant vs insurance agent

The differences between insurance assistants and insurance agents 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 $35,308 average annual salary of an insurance assistant.

The top three skills for an insurance assistant include endorsements, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for an insurance agent are customer service, insurance sales, and health insurance.

Insurance assistant vs insurance agent overview

Insurance AssistantInsurance Agent
Yearly salary$35,308$51,936
Hourly rate$16.98$24.97
Growth rate-3%6%
Number of jobs34,57967,977
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age4446
Years of experience4-

What does an insurance assistant do?

Insurance assistants work alongside insurance agents to gather information from clients, maintain insurance records, prepare documentation, handle mail and correspondence, calculate insurance premiums and awards, and recommend claim actions. Qualifications like good communication and negotiation skills, customer service orientation, research skills, and attention to detail are required for this position.

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 assistant vs insurance agent salary

Insurance assistants and insurance agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

Insurance AssistantInsurance Agent
Average salary$35,308$51,936
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $42,000Between $30,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-Z Capital Group
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between insurance assistant and insurance agent education

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

Insurance AssistantInsurance Agent
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-University of Pennsylvania

Insurance assistant vs insurance agent demographics

Here are the differences between insurance assistants' and insurance agents' demographics:

Insurance AssistantInsurance Agent
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 18.8% Female, 81.2%Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%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%
LGBT Percentage11%7%

Differences between insurance assistant and insurance agent duties and responsibilities

Insurance assistant example responsibilities.

  • Cold-Cal to generate leads for individual life and disability insurance and annuities.
  • Analyze Medicaid models, Medicare and HIPAA transaction documents.
  • Assign ICD-9 and CPT codes to office visit and inpatient and outpatient procedures.
  • Process electronic claims, pre-existing and subrogation investigation, point of service, and PPO and HMO processing.
  • Train staff on billing software in regards to CPT codes and pricing, submission procedures, and industry regulations.
  • Perform verification of Medicare and Medicaid coverage and limits.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Insurance assistant vs insurance agent skills

Common insurance assistant skills
  • Endorsements, 13%
  • Data Entry, 10%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Insurance Policies, 8%
  • Photocopying, 5%
  • Loss Runs, 4%
Common insurance agent skills
  • Customer Service, 25%
  • Insurance Sales, 8%
  • Health Insurance, 6%
  • Life Insurance Products, 6%
  • Financial Resources, 6%
  • Auto Insurance, 5%

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