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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.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • 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.
    • Develop marketing strategies to compete with other individuals or companies who sell insurance.
    • Calculate premiums and establish payment method.
    • Attend meetings, seminars, and programs to learn about new products and services, learn new skills, and receive technical assistance in developing new accounts.
    • Attend meetings, seminars, and programs to learn about new products and services, learn new skills, and receive technical assistance in developing new accounts.
    • Plan and oversee incorporation of insurance program into bookkeeping system of company.
    • Call on policyholders to deliver and explain policy, to analyze insurance program and suggest additions or changes, or to change beneficiaries.
    • Install bookkeeping systems and resolve system problems.
    • Confer with clients to obtain and provide information when claims are made on a policy.
    • Confer with clients to obtain and provide information when claims are made on a policy.
    • 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.
    • Contact underwriter and submit forms to obtain binder coverage.
    • Select company that offers type of coverage requested by client to underwrite policy.
    • Inspect property, examining its general condition, type of construction, age, and other characteristics, to decide if it is a good insurance risk.
    • Install bookkeeping systems and resolve system problems.
    • Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.
    • Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.
    • Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
    • Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.
    • Ensure that policy requirements are fulfilled, including any necessary medical examinations and the completion of appropriate forms.
    • Calculate premiums and establish payment method.
    • Monitor insurance claims to ensure they are settled equitably for both the client and the insurer.
    • Call on policyholders to deliver and explain policy, to analyze insurance program and suggest additions or changes, or to change beneficiaries.
    • Perform administrative tasks, such as maintaining records and handling policy renewals.
    • Explain necessary bookkeeping requirements for customer to implement and provide group insurance program.
    • Perform administrative tasks, such as maintaining records and handling policy renewals.

    Skills

    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    Abilities

    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    Knowledge

    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    58660/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    28.2/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    15,060
    Yearly Projected Openings
    1390

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Initiative
    • Self-Confidence
    • Perseverance
    • Social Orientation
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Integrity

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Digital cameras
    • Franking or postage machines
    • Laser fax machine
    • Laser printers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Wearable computing devices

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software