An Insurance agent is an individual person who acts as a middle-man between the Insurance Company he is representing and the persons who need help in selecting the best possible Insurance plans, among those that are available for their lives, health, motor vehicles, property, pets etc. The Insurance Agent helps his client by providing the best quotes and also with their financial management.

Insurance Agents are commonly referred to as “Producers” in the Insurance industry, as they are the key persons who bring in business.

The working conditions of most insurance sales agents are very small offices, from where they contact their clients and provide all the necessary information on the policies they sell. However, much of their time will be spent in running around to meet the clients, provide the best quotes, close the sales or investigate claims. They usually determine their own working hours and work overtime to meet some clients and keep the weekend appointments for their prospective clients or group meetings. Early mornings and late nights are filled with their paperwork or preparing presentations. They almost work for more than sixty or eighty hours a week.

For insurance sales agent jobs, most companies and independent agencies prefer to hire college graduates, especially those who have majored in business or economics. High school graduates are occasionally hired if they have proven sales ability or have been successful in other types of work. In fact, many entrants to insurance

Sales agent jobs transfer from other occupations. In selling commercial insurance, technical experience in a particular field can help sell policies to those in the same profession. As a result, new agents tend to be older than entrants in many other occupations.

Insurance sales agents must obtain a license in the United States of America, where they plan to do their selling. Separate licenses are required for agents to sell life and health insurance and property and casualty insurance. In most States, licenses are issued only to applicants who complete specified pre-licensing courses and who pass State examinations covering insurance fundamentals and State insurance laws. The insurance industry is increasingly moving toward uniform State licensing standards and reciprocal licensing, allowing agents who earn a license in one State to become licensed in other States upon passing the appropriate courses and examination.

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.

Many clients tend to become great friends of efficient Insurance Agents, as they seek help in their personal financial management. It becomes a never ending bondage between the two.