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Entry-level insurance agent jobs include sales positions for general agents or captive agents. General agents are independent business owners who sell policies to various insurance companies, while captive agents work for a single insurance company. Experienced salespeople can become sales managers, district managers, or insurance agency owners. Independent contractors are responsible for their own taxes and expenses. Captive agents have limited products to sell but receive more resources from the company. Successful managers can earn higher salaries and bonuses. Experienced agents can open their own agencies, but must be able to run a business.
Entry-level insurance agent jobs include sales positions that involve working for a general agent or a captive agent. General agents sell policies to various insurance companies. Captive agents work for a single insurance company. Insurance agent jobs for more experienced salespeople include sales manager, district manager, and insurance agency owner.
General agents, also called independent insurance agents or insurance brokers, are business owners and are not employees of an insurance company. Insurance sales jobs under a general agent are usually independent contractor positions. This means that the seller is not an employee of the insurance agency or insurance company. Insurance sellers are often referred to as producers.
Typically, the general agent pays the producer a small base salary plus a commission for each policy sold. Once the salesperson has a large customer base, the base salary can be discontinued. Due to this, it might take some time to earn a living wage with these types of insurance agent jobs.
Additionally, independent contractors are responsible for paying their own income taxes. In other words, the employer does not withhold tax from the salesperson’s salary. Independent contractors must also pay all of their own expenses. These expenses may include paying for office space, computers, phone service, and Internet connections. Some expenses, such as mileage and business meals, may be reimbursed by the insurance agency.
Other types of insurance agent jobs may involve working for a captive agent. These professionals are usually employees of an insurance company. Captive agents direct their salespeople to sell policies from a single insurance company. This means that a seller working for a captive agent will have a limited number of products to sell.
A disadvantage of this type of arrangement is that selling only a limited number of policies from a single insurance company can make it difficult to find the best policy, at the right price, for every customer. A benefit of working for a single insurance company is that the captive agent and salespeople will receive more resources and marketing support from the company.
Salespeople with a few years of experience have more opportunities to work in insurance agent jobs, as well as other insurance careers. A good salesperson can move into a sales management position. Sales managers often train and monitor the sales team to ensure that sales targets are being met.
Successful managers can move on to a district or area manager insurance career. These managers are responsible for the sales targets of various insurance offices in a specific geographic region. Much higher salaries and bonuses often come with this added responsibility.
Experienced insurance agents and managers may want to open their own insurance agencies. The business owner can decide whether to be a general or captive insurance agent. Salespeople who aspire to these types of insurance agent jobs must be able to run a business. This includes having the resources available to open and run an office, hire staff, and hire managers who can help manage the sales force.
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