How To Become An Insurance Attorney: What It Is and Career Path

What is an insurance attorney and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Jennifer Brobst

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an insurance attorney. For example, did you know that they make an average of $39.17 an hour? That's $81,466 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 80,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for an insurance attorney?

Jennifer Brobst

Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University

Recent graduates who are newly employed will be relieved to learn that there is always some leeway given to the new hire, at least for a little while. Even the harshest supervising attorneys will put together some form of onboarding. If they don't, and a recent graduate working as a deputy prosecuting attorney, for example, is sent to court without instruction, then it will show if they appear lost as to what to do. It's a little humiliating, but the best of attorneys have been through it. Recent graduates need to be willing to be professional and ask court clerks, opposing counsel, judges, and others in the profession basic questions when necessary.

On the other hand, new attorneys in large firms may find the onboarding process frustrating if it is very extensive, as they may want to jump in the deep end and have more responsibility more quickly. If the pandemic continues to impact whether attorneys must work from home, it may be a little lonely at first, working remotely at a new job. However, this will be temporary, and all new attorneys hopefully will remember to appreciate that they have successfully finished law school and passed the bar, a major accomplishment, in itself. During the pandemic, attorneys have been considered essential workers and there is a reason for that. They genuinely are of service to their communities, especially in times of crisis.

ScoreInsurance AttorneyUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $81,466

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.47%

Black or African American 5.65%

Hispanic or Latino 7.88%

Unknown 4.39%

White 75.30%

Gender

female 62.07%

male 37.93%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an insurance attorney

Explore insurance attorney education requirements

Most common insurance attorney degrees

Bachelor's

34.2 %

Doctorate

31.6 %

High School Diploma

13.2 %

Start to develop specific insurance attorney skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	74.85%
Insurance Carriers	13.68%
Commercial Litigation	4.35%
Arbitration	3.65%
Insurance Laws	1.23%

Complete relevant insurance attorney training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New insurance attorneys learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an insurance attorney based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real insurance attorney resumes.

Research insurance attorney duties and responsibilities

Follow up on Medicaid pending patients.
Obtain authorizations for Medicaid pending patients whose Medicaid coverage has becomeeffective for dates of service.
Handle subpoenas, discovery requests, and occasionally legal research to provide counsel to senior attorneys regarding statutory and regulatory issues.
Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.

Apply for insurance attorney jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an insurance attorney job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

What is an insurance attorney and how to become one

What's a day at work look like for an insurance attorney?

Key steps to become an insurance attorney

Explore insurance attorney education requirements

Most common insurance attorney degrees

Start to develop specific insurance attorney skills

Complete relevant insurance attorney training and internships

Research insurance attorney duties and responsibilities

Apply for insurance attorney jobs

How did you land your first insurance attorney job

Average insurance attorney salary

How do insurance attorneys rate their job?