How to hire an insurance clerk

How to hire an insurance clerk, step by step

Here's a step-by-step insurance clerk hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an insurance clerk job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new insurance clerk
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an insurance clerk do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The insurance clerk hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An insurance clerk's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, insurance clerks from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of insurance clerks.

   Type of Insurance Clerk	Description	Hourly rate
   Insurance Clerk	Financial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. They keep records, help customers, and carry out financial transactions.	$12-18
   Medical Receptionist	Medical receptionists are responsible for manning the front desk at a medical facility such as a clinic or a hospital. They manage schedules and appointments in the clinic or hospital... Show more	$12-18
   Billing Representative	A billing representative assists with the overall operations of the organization's billing department. Billing representatives post payments timely on the database, update account statements, generate financial reports, release invoices, and resolve account discrepancies... Show more	$13-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Insurance Verification
   • Data Entry
   • Customer Service
   • Insurance Coverage
   • Computer System
   • Insurance Carriers
   • Patient Accounts
   • Patient Insurance
   • Medical Terminology
   • Medicare
   • Medicaid
   • Telephone Calls
   • Scheduling Appointments

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
   • Establish and implement procedures for completion of patient super bills with proper diagnostic coding utilizing ICD-9 and CPT code manuals.
   • Maintain patient medical records insuring diagnosis codes (ICD-9) are itemized correctly and name and address of insurance carriers record.
   • Schedule and obtain authorization for outpatient procedures for patients via private insurance, worker's compensation, and Medicare/ Medicaid.
   • Complete several ICD-10 training courses.
   • Perform medical coding with most accurate and descriptive HCPCS code.

   More insurance clerk duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your insurance clerk job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An insurance clerk can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, insurance clerks' average salary in south carolina is 39% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level insurance clerks 31% less than senior-level insurance clerks.
   • Certifications. An insurance clerk with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an insurance clerk's salary.

   Average insurance clerk salary

   $15.91hourly

   $33,089 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level insurance clerk salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average insurance clerk salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Nevada	$39,843	$19
   2	New York	$38,644	$19
   3	Kansas	$38,167	$18
   4	Colorado	$37,649	$18
   5	Maine	$36,107	$17
   6	California	$34,915	$17
   7	Pennsylvania	$33,820	$16
   8	Florida	$33,349	$16
   9	Georgia	$33,329	$16
   10	North Carolina	$33,188	$16
   11	Alabama	$32,731	$16
   12	Arizona	$32,024	$15
   13	Texas	$31,983	$15
   14	New Jersey	$31,952	$15
   15	Missouri	$31,937	$15
   16	Tennessee	$29,661	$14
   17	Louisiana	$28,560	$14

   Average insurance clerk salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Lenoir Memorial Hospital	$33,630	$16.17
   2	Salinas Valley Health	$33,618	$16.16	3
   3	Valley National Bank	$33,439	$16.08
   4	Pacific Dental Services	$32,893	$15.81	6
   5	Methodist Hospital for Surgery	$32,858	$15.80
   6	Brown & Brown	$32,600	$15.67	13
   7	Freeway Funding	$32,580	$15.66
   8	Surgery.com	$32,535	$15.64
   9	HenryCommunityHealth	$32,349	$15.55
   10	Alabama	$32,217	$15.49	2
   11	Kelly Services	$32,184	$15.47	32
   12	Robert Half	$32,103	$15.43	728
   13	Encompass Health	$32,058	$15.41	59
   14	Hutchinson Regional Medical Center	$32,045	$15.41	3
   15	CHRISTUS Health	$32,037	$15.40	62
   16	University of Central Florida	$31,968	$15.37	3
   17	SCA Health	$31,937	$15.35	43
   18	Medix	$31,874	$15.32	10
   19	Randolph Health	$31,851	$15.31	2
   20	NHC	$31,085	$14.94	5

4. Writing an insurance clerk job description

   A job description for an insurance clerk role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an insurance clerk job description:

   Insurance clerk job description example

   • Ensures all insurance, demographic, and eligibility information is obtained and entered into the system in an accurate and timely manner.
   • Ensures that intake information received from the site is accurate, noting any inconsistencies and resolving those by communicating with the sites.
   • Verifies and notes benefits for all third party payers for coverage on each of the following services. Office visits co pays, deductibles, all IV /injectable drugs ( chemo and supportive), and maximum out of pocket. This will be completed for all primary and secondary insurances.
   • Benefits will be noted in the system and returned (via interoffice mail or fax) to the site on a summary of patient liability form. Time allowed for intakes and liability forms shall be no more that two (2) business days.
   • Discrepancies or significant coverage issues that are found will be immediately relayed (via phone and e mail) to the appropriate site and the Patient Financial Counselor.
   • Assist in maintaining manuals, logs and other required documentation.
   • Demonstrates an understanding for patient confidentiality in accordance with HIP AA and BHOA guidelines.
   • Follows policies and procedures to contribute to the efficiency of the front offices.
   • Covers for and assists the Patient Financial Counselors with intakes and other functions at the Business Office as requested.

   
   
   Education and/or Experience:
   

   • High School diploma or equivalent. Three (3) years of medical office experience with insurance procedures and patient interaction
   • All newly hired must provide proof they have received the COVID-19 vaccination, in full, prior to their date of hire as a condition of new employment, unless otherwise exempted from this requirement by an approved accommodation pursuant to the interactive process. As applicable, new employees are required to, at the latest, begin compliance with this Policy during the pre-employment onboarding process. Alabama Oncology does not wish to obtain personal health information during the collection of information on this form or by any other means.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right insurance clerk for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with insurance clerks they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit insurance clerks who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your insurance clerk job on Zippia to find and recruit insurance clerk candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting insurance clerks requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new insurance clerk

   Once you've found the insurance clerk candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new insurance clerk. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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