Considering a job in insurance or looking for helpful talking points when recruiting new agents to your office? It’s a great time to become an insurance agent for many reasons! Working as an insurance agent means joining a growing and dynamic industry with plenty of opportunities for growth.
Read on to learn more about how to become an insurance agent — and why you should think about this exciting career!
How to Become an Insurance Agent
Working as an insurance agent is a rewarding career, but it does take some effort to become an agent. Many people find a four-year college degree helpful as they begin their insurance career. But many agencies and insurers will hire individuals with a high school diploma to begin training for an insurance agent career.
You’ll also need a license in your state to sell the type of insurance products you want to sell. Once you’re licensed, you will need to take continuing education classes each year to keep your skills current and your license up to date.
You can enroll in pre-licensing courses to help you learn the material you need for the state licensing exam. Some exams can be quite difficult especially if you are new to insurance. Take the exam seriously so you pass the first time around.
Many people join professional networking and resource groups to find support as they begin their insurance careers. The American Agents Alliance has been empowering independent agents and brokers to thrive since 1962 and we can help you, too! Become a member today for access to member discounts and exclusive lead generation programs. Plus, you’ll gain a vast network of insurance professionals to learn from and grow with once you become a member.
Why you Should Consider Working as an Insurance Agent
Insurance is a stable field that offers many career opportunities. You can start off as an insurance agent and decide later to go into underwriting, claims, agency ownership, marketing, policy service, or many other exciting insurance jobs.
Insurance agents have a unique role in the world. They help people find the right coverage to protect their families and their property. And by making sure people have the right amount of insurance coverage, agents help keep the world running smoothly. Insurance is critical for both businesses and individuals, so insurance agents are also necessary.
Working as an insurance agent means spending time meeting with people and learning about their needs. But you will also work with insurance companies, vendors, and others in the industry. You will spend part of your day selling new policies and another part servicing and renewing existing policies.
Insurance is a dynamic and growing field with lots of opportunities, which makes it exciting. People will always need to have insurance to protect their investments, which gives agents job security. And it is a well-respected position since insurance agents help people find the right coverage at the best rate.
Working as an Insurance Agent in a Digital World
People sometimes think back to the old image of a door-to-door salesman when they think of insurance agents. But the truth is, insurance has come a long way in recent years. Living in a digital world means modern insurance agents conduct business much differently than their predecessors did.
Like in many other industries, insurance companies handle many parts of the insurance process digitally. Customers often prefer to read their policy, make a payment, and communicate with their insurance company online. Most insurance companies are investing in their technology to make this easier.
This means agents have to be technologically savvy and embrace change to continue adapting to new technologies. If you work for many different carriers, you’ll need to learn various proprietary systems to submit policies and help your customers.
Social media instead of in-person connections
Social media has quickly become a selling ground for just about everything, including insurance. The numbers support this — with 3.96 billion social media users around the world if you’re not on social media you’re missing out.
Instead of going door to door like in the past, you will advertise digitally using social media and other digital means. You might start a YouTube channel or host a podcast to educate customers about various aspects of insurance. You could post long-form content to LinkedIn to position yourself as an expert while also growing your digital brand. And you can use Twitter to connect with other insurance-related accounts and engage with their content while sharing your own.
And don’t rule out TikTok! The platform is the fastest growing social media channel in the US currently, boasting a 105% growth rate over the last two years. This kind of growth represents many diverse users, not just the teens who were perhaps the first adopters of the network. While TikTok is best known for its short-form video content, you can easily link to your longer content like YouTube, your podcast, or your blog.
The Bottom Line
Working as an insurance agent is a great career choice. With many dynamic opportunities for growth, it’s a good time to become an agent. Check out the American Agents Alliance for more support as you begin your journey. Consider becoming a member to take advantage of networking and educational opportunities today.
