Life / Health Insurance Sales Agent
Career Area: Finance
Occupation Group: Insurance Claims and Sales
Salary
Percentile wages tell how much a certain percentage of an overall population in a geographic area or within a given industry or field makes. The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
An example would be the 25th percentile, 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value. At the 75th percentile, 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
A typical Life / Health Insurance Sales Agent earns the following wages (national and state):
State
The average salary in North Carolina for those pursuing this career is $79,583
National
The average salary in the United States for those pursuing this career is $73,215
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Sells life insurance or health insurance to customers, working on behalf of an insurance company or independent insurance agent or broker. Evaluates the insurance coverage needed by a customer and proposes insurance packages and prices. Life insurance agents may sell policies or annuities, and assist clients or beneficiaries with getting insurance claims processed. Health insurance agents may negotiate rates for employers, explain plans and benefits to employees, and help clients to file or resolve health insurance claims. Life and health insurance sales agents may earn commissions for sales.
Employment Trends
The job demand and job growth statistics shown here were derived from job posts over the past year. Expected job growth projections are extrapolated from year-over-year job post listing history.
Job demand and job growth is expected at the following rates:
| Location | Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 3663 | +13.9% |
| Nationwide | 114878 | +10.2% |
Skills
A professional in this position typically utilizes the following skills in the course of everyday work in this exciting and challenging field:
Baseline Skills
The following are baseline skills every Life / Health Insurance Sales Agent is expected to have in order to experience success in this field:
- Communication Skills: The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.
- Organizational Skills: Experience with a systematic process of structuring, integrating, co-ordinating task goals, and activities to resources in order to attain objectives.
- Time Management: Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities - especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.
- Multi-Tasking: In computing, multitasking is a concept of performing multiple tasks (also known as processes) over a certain period of time by executing them concurrently.
- Analytical Skills: Analytical skill is the ability to visualize, articulate, conceptualize or solve both complex and uncomplicated problems by making decisions that are sensible given the available information.
Specialized Skills
These skills are specific to working in this career:
- Insurance Sales:
- Sales: Experience selling products or services to consumers.
- Life Insurance Sales: Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations), is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money (the benefit) in exchange for a premium, upon the death of an insured person (often the policy holder).
- Health Insurance Sales: In the United States, health insurance is any program that helps pay for medical expenses, whether through privately purchased insurance, social insurance or a social welfare program funded by the government.
- Cold Calling: Working experience with the solicitation of business from potential customers who have had no prior contact with the salesperson conducting the call.
Distinguishing Skills
Any Life / Health Insurance Sales Agent that possesses the following skills will stand out against the competition:
- Outside Sales: The sale of products or services by sales personnel who go out into the field to meet with potential customers.
- Annuities: Working experience of Annuities. An annuity is a financial product that pays out a fixed stream of payments to an individual, primarily used as an income stream for retirees. Annuities are created and sold by financial institutions, which accept and invest funds from individuals and then, upon annuitization, issue a stream of payments at a later point in time.
Experience
This position typically requires the following level of experience. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Experience Required | % |
| 0 to 2 years | 91% |
| 3 to 5 years | 8% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1% |
Many of the programs offered through NC State are designed for working professionals who need additional credentials to enhance existing work experience.
Students who do not have the expected level of experience may wish to look into internship and employment opportunities.
Common Job Titles
It is possible to find work in this field in positions commonly listed as the following job titles:
- Life Insurance Agent
- Sales Representative
- Licensed Health Insurance Agent - Sell Teladoc, , And More
- Licensed Health Insurance Agent - Quick And Easy Daily Payments
- Licensed Health Insurance Agent - On-Demand, Remote, Sales
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