Which makes the best job and are you right for this type of career?
If you’ve been looking at the demand for insurance jobs and are wondering if a careers as insurance brokers or exclusive agents are as appealing as they sound, then it may be a good idea for you to have a closer look at each of these positions to see what they entail and whether or not they are a good match for your skills and expectations.
The first thing that you should do is understand what is involved in each.
Although these insurance jobs are quite similar, there are some differences between them. For example, while insurance brokers are appointed with several different insurers, an exclusive agent is hired by a specific provider in order to sell their products. Said differently, the main alliance of the agent is with the carrier, whereas the broker is a representative of the policyholder, usually without having any contractual agreements with any specific provider.
Once you know the difference between insurance brokers and exclusive agents, find out if you’re qualified.
If you enjoy working with other people and have a personality that you would call persuasive, then you’re off on the right foot. You will also need to have a skill for crunching numbers along with a simultaneous desire to help people – both in protecting themselves and in assisting them through challenging situations. These characteristics mean that you could enjoy insurance jobs selling products and supporting policyholders.
Now it’s time for you to decide if you would rather represent one insurer or if you’d prefer to represent multiple carriers. Both broker and agent jobs earn the majority of their incomes by way of commissions based on having made sales. While agents enjoy greater stability through a single compensation plan because they work for one insurer, a broker can experience variances in their income based on the compensation structure related to the company whose products they actually sell. That said, they also enjoy greater flexibility for writing business for insurers that offer the most appealing commissions.
In terms of complexity, insurance agent jobs offer greater support through their associated carrier. Moreover, these employees are required to know the products of only one company. This can also help to provide better support to customers in terms of keeping everyone on top of the latest updates and opportunities. As insurance brokers sell for many companies, they need to know many products and services and must take it upon themselves to remain current so that their customers will always have the latest opportunities and information.
Insurance jobs such as this – particularly when it comes to the point of agency ownership – are highly appealing to many people throughout the United States. Regardless of whether you are an exclusive agent or broker, this is a very stable form of small business, particularly due to renewal commissions. While building new customers is important, great focus is placed on retaining those you already have, allowing you to maintain a steady and building income.
