Post job

Insurance billing clerk education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an insurance billing clerk. Insurance billing clerks usually study business, health care administration, or accounting. 32% of insurance billing clerks hold a associate degree, and 26% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 1,203 real insurance billing clerk resumes to see exactly what insurance billing clerk education sections show.

The most common colleges for insurance billing clerks are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online insurance billing clerk courses to help get the education required to be an insurance billing clerk.

There are certain insurance billing clerk certifications that you should consider. These insurance billing clerk certifications include Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) and Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM).

What education do you need to become an insurance billing clerk?

What degree do you need to be an insurance billing clerk?

The most common degree for insurance billing clerks is associate degree, with 32% of insurance billing clerks earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 26% and high school diploma degree at 21%.
  • Associate, 32%
  • High School Diploma, 26%
  • Bachelor's, 21%
  • Diploma, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 12%

What should I major in to become an insurance billing clerk?

You should major in business to become an insurance billing clerk. 26% of insurance billing clerks major in business. Other common majors for an insurance billing clerk include health care administration and accounting.

Most common colleges for insurance billing clerks

Insurance billing clerks often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Memphis, and Remington College. Here are the most common colleges for insurance billing clerks in the US based on their resumes.
Insurance billing clerk common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix13.56%
University of Memphis6.78%
Remington College6.78%
Faulkner University6.78%
University of South Alabama6.78%

Best majors for insurance billing clerks

Best colleges for insurance billing clerks

The best colleges for insurance billing clerks are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

An insurance billing clerk with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for insurance billing clerks. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become insurance billing clerks.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

7. Maria College of Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$15,140

Enrollment

876

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

20 best online courses for insurance billing clerks

Advertising disclosure

1. Medical Billing and Coding Fundamentals

coursera

Through this Specialization, students learn the essential skills of an Insurance Billing Specialist. Knowledge of human anatomy and medicine is necessary for any healthcare role, so students are also taught this terminology and structure. Additionally, this Specialization includes skills to stand out to employers by teaching professionalism, communication, and soft skills specific to an allied health environment...

2. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

coursera

Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

3. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing

udemy
4.4
(767)

Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...

4. Xero Bookkeeping & Accounting, w/ Set-up & Reporting

udemy
4.3
(263)

From Set-up to Bookkeeping, Accounting, Reporting, & Financial Statements in Xero with a Certified Xero Advisor...

5. Patient Safety

coursera

Preventable patient harms, including medical errors and healthcare-associated complications, are a global public health threat. Moreover, patients frequently do not receive treatments and interventions known to improve their outcomes. These shortcomings typically result not from individual clinicians’ mistakes, but from systemic problems -- communication breakdowns, poor teamwork, and poorly designed care processes, to name a few.\n\nThe Patient Safety & Quality Leadership Specialization covers...

6. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

coursera

Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

7. Financial Accounting-Adjusting Entries & Financial Statement

udemy
4.6
(930)

Master Adjusting Entries & Financial Statements: A Comprehensive Guide for Accurate Accounting and Reporting...

8. Financial Accounting & Excel-Comprehensive Accounting Course

udemy
4.3
(736)

Comprehensive accounting course to learn the accounting cycle in a practical way and pick up critical Excel fundamentals...

9. A Specialty Approach to Learning Medical Billing and Coding

udemy
4.6
(352)

Volume One: Medical Hematology...

10. Fundamentals of Insurance - 2

udemy
4.4
(5,370)

Part 2...

11. Excel Accounting Problem

udemy
4.3
(348)

Learn How to Create an Accounting Worksheet Using Microsoft Excel from a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)...

12. Fundamentals of Insurance - 1

udemy
4.4
(8,948)

Part 1...

13. Data Science for Healthcare Claims Data

udemy
4.4
(489)

Learn and practice how to transform raw healthcare claims data into valuable knowledge and actionable insights!...

14. Advanced Accounting A Complete Study for CA/CMA/CFA/ACCA/CS

udemy
4.5
(365)

Prepare yourself for Advanced Accountancy Paper on CA / CMA / CS / B.Com Courses as well to acquire practical knowledge...

15. Data Entry Skills: A Complete Data Entry Course from Scratch

udemy
4.7
(533)

A Complete Guide to Data Entry Skills: Learn Data Entry Skills and become a Data Entry Pro & Get a Online Data Entry Job...

16. HIPAA Compliance Complete Course

udemy
4.4
(3,483)

Protecting Patients and Practices...

17. Financial Bookkeeping and Accountancy: Complete Accounting

udemy
4.3
(501)

A Complete Course on Book-keeping & Accounting Course For Level 1 & 2 aspirants...

18. Complete Data Entry Skills Course - Learn Data Entry Skills

udemy
4.4
(399)

Learn Essential Data Entry Skills Now To Enhance Your Career -Word - Excel - Database - Data Entry Jobs...

19. Excel Skills for Insurance Professionals

udemy
4.5
(1,046)

From Vlookups to Pivot Tables: Learn the Excel basics anyone working in the insurance industry needs to know!...

20. Accounting Basics - A Complete Study

udemy
4.5
(971)

A - Z Guide for learning the Basics of Accountancy...

Top 10 most affordable universities for insurance billing clerks

The most affordable schools for insurance billing clerks are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for insurance billing clerks are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for insurance billing clerks.

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

7. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

10. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for insurance billing clerks

The hardest universities for insurance billing clerks to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for insurance billing clerks are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for insurance billing clerks based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

8. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

9. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for insurance billing clerks

The easiest schools for insurance billing clerks to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an insurance billing clerk without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for insurance billing clerks.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

7. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

8. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

9. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

Average insurance billing clerk salary by education level

According to our data, insurance billing clerks with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $36,639 annually. Insurance billing clerks with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $31,887.
Insurance billing clerk education levelInsurance billing clerk salary
Master's Degree$36,639
High School Diploma or Less$28,348
Bachelor's Degree$31,887
Some College/ Associate Degree$28,560

Insurance billing clerk education FAQs

Search for insurance billing clerk jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse office and administrative jobs