Insurance Sales Agents
Sell life, property, casualty, health, automotive, or other types of insurance. May refer clients to independent brokers, work as an independent broker, or be employed by an insurance company.
- Median pay
- $62,280
- Doing it now
- 572,600
- By 2035
- Up 3.3%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
43,100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Call on policyholders to deliver and explain policy, to analyze insurance program and suggest additions or changes, or to change beneficiaries.
- Calculate premiums and establish payment method.
- Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
- Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice.
- Interview prospective clients to obtain data about their financial resources and needs, the physical condition of the person or property to be insured, and to discuss any existing coverage.
- Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.
- Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- InsuranceSee 60 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
- Compensation and Benefits Managers$149,230
- Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists$78,210
- Human Resources Specialists$75,940
- Project Management Specialists$102,320
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$69,990
- Administrative Services Managers$114,130
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $62,280 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.