How To Become An Insurance Agent – A Quick Guide
Seeing the way the world is now selling insurance may seem a bit easier, but how to become an insurance agent might take a bit more work than you’d think. Let’s go over the basics of how to become an insurance agent and what to expect in this field of work.
General Requirements For Becoming An Insurance Agent
The first thing is having at least a high school diploma as you really do need to be a high school graduate to apply to any insurance company or broker.
If you can as well, most companies will offer more positions for people with at least a bachelor’s degree, even more so if it’s in finance, accounting, economics, or any other related field.
Now for the insurance-specific requirements, ones that can differ from state to state but the absolute basics that need to be taken is typically a state-mandated license exam. Depending on what kind of insurance you’ll be offering, there are different tests.
Fortunately, there is quite a bit of choice when it comes to preparing for these exams. You can either opt for online and face-to-face courses to get yourself ready for the license test. Preparing for the exam is essential and sticking to a schedule can help you clear your paper quicker than anticipated. There is a fee to take the exam as well, around $40 or more.
For any insurance that has direct relations to the stock market, there is also the FINRA Securities License which has its own separate test that you’ll also have to review.
Beyond these concrete and physical requirements, there are other important aspects of being an insurance agent. One such aspect is flexibility which includes being able to work around and with the clients scheduled for appointments. This does go both ways as long as you’re making progress with closing a deal then you don’t need to worry about much else.
Another is being quite sociable as beyond helping with financing, being able to communicate with whoever your client may be is more important. A person who is sociable can close more deals and expand their network of clients far quicker than a person who is considered an introvert.
Responsibilities Of An Insurance Agent
The general work that you’d have to do besides finding more clients and getting them to sign on insurance policies is managing your relationships with existing clients. You should be good at providing high customer service to let the clients feel valued and taken care of.
Besides client management, risk management is a great part of an insurance agent too. An insurance agent must be able to identify risk when selling policies to individuals ensuring that an individual has the right policy. For example, will you be able to tailor policies to a customer’s specific needs? Do you know the difference between a standard landlord insurance policy and a freeholder insurance policy for a block of flats?
You also need to identify risk for the insurer by examining the medical history of a potential client, their employment status, and other important “know your customer” details.
Taking on matters related to insurance claims is also important. You will be faced with policyholders applying for insurance claims and it would be your job to handle these matters and keep in communication with the client.
Other than closing deals, an insurance agent must be ready to take on new clients and start exploring new territories. Tactics like online networking, cold calling, and maybe working with previous clients should easily get you more potential clients. Devising strategies to keep ahead of the competitors is highly essential in this industry as every insurer is out there to get a piece of the pie.
Check out our blog to read more articles on insurance companies and insurance laws in the US.
