You might already have the talent and skills needed for embarking on a career in insurance without even knowing it. The insurance industry is -responsible for creating around 2.7 million jobs across the states. Strong people skills, a desire to help others, and an analytical mind can make you well-suited for an insurance career.

5 Common Entry Levels

If you’re not familiar with the work of insurance companies, you can first begin to familiarize yourself with 5 of the most common entry-level insurance career jobs.

1. Risk analyst:A risk analyst determines the risks that clients are exposed to, and by doing that, can determine the type of insurance and coverage needed. They are responsible for creating reports and conducting detailed surveys that are meant to advise clients and underwriters on how to minimize risks.
2. Insurance assistant:An assistant helps the team they work with by providing technical and administrative works. They are responsible for answering client questions, preparing insurance forms, sending out mail, among other office tasks.
3. Underwriter trainee: An underwriter evaluates insurer’s applications to determine what insurance they should have and an appropriate premium that aligns with the level of risk the insurer is exposed to. As a trainee, you will learn how to recommend the right insurance package.
4. Underwriter assistant:The workload of an underwriter is heavy, and as an assistant, you could be expected to do a variety of tasks from inputting data to researching new business clients and leads to reviewing reports.
5. Customer service representative (CSR):Usually a CSR will work in a call center or within an office setting. You’d be expected to have a thorough knowledge of all the company’s policies, products, and services to be able to inform clients and potential clients of the options available.

How to jumpstart your career

Whether you’re fresh out of college or changing careers, you can do things to help you get a head start, so have a look.

Choose a specialty: Supposedly, if you can sell one thing you can sell other things. That might be true when talking about the skills and talents of being able to sell, but in an insurance career, you need to specialize in selling a type of insurance. This could be auto, home or causality insurance, among many other options. In the insurance business, these are known as lines of authority. You need to get licensed to sell in any of the lines of authority open to you.

It’s important to know what products and markets you want to work with. It’s important because one product might appeal to you more than another. You might find that selling life insurance, for instance, better suits your skills and likes than selling car insurance. Some markets are for lower-income people, while others cater to high-income people. So do your homework and know about the different products and markets.

Pre-licensing requirements: Depending on the state, you will be required to finish certain requirements before you can become fully licensed. For instance, according to StateRequirement.com, casualty licensing applicants that live in California are expected to get through 20 hrs of general pre-licensing education, with an additional 12 hrs of education in the state’s insurance and ethics codes. It is recommended to complete all continuing education credits 30 days before the expiration date of the license.

Full-licensing: All insurance agents must pass a licensing exam to sell insurance. Licensing will be according to the state you work in. As for renewal, as long as you are within 90 days of your license expiration, you can renew it online.

Picking an agency: In any other line of work, companies interview candidates, but in the insurance business, it’s alright to interview the agency you’re interested in working for. It’s quite hard not to get employed because insurance workers are in high demand, so you’re going to have a lot of choices. Asking about the kind of training they can provide you, who will be directly responsible for you, what kind of commission would you start with are all valid questions. As long as you tailor your questions in the right way, they are important ones to ask. Of course, you’ll also be asked questions, so brush up on your knowledge about the industry.

Too many people choose an insurance career only because of some of its perks, such as working from home, which lots of people also do. But it is important to choose it for stronger reasons than that if you want to succeed in this career. Being half-committed will not give you all of the benefits this business can offer you. Be fully committed and hone your skills to get the most out of this solid career and enjoy it.