Insurance sales agentsMost people have their first contact with an insurance company through an insurance sales agent. These workers help individuals, families, and businesses select insurance policies that provide the best protection for their lives, health, and property. Insurance sales agents who work exclusively for one insurance company are referred to as captive agents. Independent insurance agents, or brokers, represent several companies and place insurance policies for their clients with the company that offers the best rate and coverage. In either case, agents prepare reports, maintain records, seek out new clients, and, in the event of a loss, help policyholders settle their insurance claims. Increasingly, some are also offering their clients financial analysis or advice on ways the clients can minimize risk. Insurance sales agents, commonly referred to as �producers� in the insurance industry, sell one or more types of insurance, such as property and casualty, life, health, disability, and long-term care. Property and casualty insurance agents sell policies that protect individuals and businesses from financial loss resulting from automobile accidents, fire, theft, storms, and other events that can damage property. For businesses, property and casualty insurance can also cover injured workers� compensation, product liability claims, or medical malpractice claims. Life insurance agents specialize in selling policies that pay beneficiaries when a policyholder dies. Depending on the policyholder�s circumstances, a cash-value policy can be designed to provide retirement income, funds for the education of children, or other benefits. Life insurance agents also sell annuities that promise a retirement income. Health insurance agents sell health insurance policies that cover the costs of medical care and loss of income due to illness or injury. They also may sell dental insurance and short- and long-term-disability insurance policies. An increasing number of insurance sales agents are offering comprehensive financial planning services to their clients, such as retirement planning, estate planning, or assistance in setting up pension plans for businesses. As a result, many insurance agents are involved in �cross-selling� or �total account development.� Besides offering insurance, these agents may become licensed to sell mutual funds, variable annuities, and other securities. This practice is most common with life insurance agents who already sell annuities; however, property and casualty agents also sell financial products. (See the statement on securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents elsewhere in the Handbook.) Technology has greatly affected the insurance agency, making it much more efficient and giving the agent the ability to take on more clients. Agents� computers are now linked directly to the insurance carriers via the Internet, making the tasks of obtaining price quotes and processing applications and service requests faster and easier. Computers also allow agents to be better informed about new products that the insurance carriers may be offering. The growth of the Internet in the insurance industry is gradually altering the relationship between agent and client. In the past, agents devoted much of their time to marketing and selling products to new clients, a practice that is now changing. Increasingly, clients are obtaining insurance quotes from a company�s Web site and then contacting the company directly to purchase policies. This interaction gives the client a more active role in selecting a policy at the best price, while reducing the amount of time agents spend actively seeking new clients. Because insurance sales agents also obtain many new accounts through referrals, it is important that they maintain regular contact with their clients to ensure that the clients� financial needs are being met. Developing a satisfied clientele that will recommend an agent�s services to other potential customers is a key to success in this field. Increasing competition in the insurance industry has spurred carriers and agents to find new ways to keep their clients satisfied. One solution is to increase the use of call centers, which usually are accessible to clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Insurance carriers and sales agents also are hiring customer service representatives to handle routine tasks such as answering questions, making changes in policies, processing claims, and selling more products to clients. The opportunity to cross-sell new products to clients will help agents� businesses grow. The use of call centers also allows agents to concentrate their efforts on seeking out new clients and maintaining relationships with old ones. (See separate Handbook statements on customer service representatives and on claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators.) Related news articles Five more states targeting lead generators for advisers - Sep 18, 2006 InvestmentNews,...on the postcard, she said, agents tried to get financial information about them to determine if they were qualified prospects for an insurance sales agent. ... More information on Insurance sales agents from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of Insurance sales agents occupation Number of Insurance sales agents in the U.S. Salary and earnings for Insurance sales agents Working conditions for Insurance sales agents Significant points for Insurance sales agents Training requirements for Insurance sales agents Labor Information Home | Occupational data by city | Search Rainforests | Madagascar | What's new |