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The differences between licensed insurance agents and insurance sales agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a licensed insurance agent has an average salary of $54,118, which is higher than the $49,587 average annual salary of an insurance sales agent.
The top three skills for a licensed insurance agent include excellent time management, work ethic and strong customer service. The most important skills for an insurance sales agent are customer service, casualty insurance, and work ethic.
| Licensed Insurance Agent | Insurance Sales Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $54,118 | $49,587 |
| Hourly rate | $26.02 | $23.84 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 78,016 | 73,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A licensed insurance agent is primarily responsible for finding and utilizing opportunities to secure insurance sales. Moreover, a licensed insurance agent must reach out to potential clients, discuss and negotiate terms, respond to inquiries, and perform various assessments to determine their ability to uphold financial obligations. Besides building a client base, they also need to handle current policies, process renewals, monitor claims, maintain an accurate record of transactions, prepare progress reports and strategies, and distribute policy proceeds according to the company rules and regulations.
An insurance sales agent is an individual who helps an insurance company generate new business by contacting customers and selling one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents conduct interviews of prospective clients to get data about their financial resources and explain the features of the various insurance policies. They analyze the clients' existing insurance policies and customize insurance programs to suit their needs. Insurance sales agents also do other administrative tasks, such as keeping records and handling policy renewals.
Licensed insurance agents and insurance sales agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Licensed Insurance Agent | Insurance Sales Agent | |
| Average salary | $54,118 | $49,587 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $88,000 | Between $30,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Torchmark | Torchmark |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a licensed insurance agent and an insurance sales agent in terms of educational background:
| Licensed Insurance Agent | Insurance Sales Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between licensed insurance agents' and insurance sales agents' demographics:
| Licensed Insurance Agent | Insurance Sales Agent | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0% | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |