The Complete Guide on How to Sell Insurance

Have you considered a career as an insurance salesperson? It’s a great career that can help you make a lucrative income and also be of service to your community. Insurance is something that many of us would rather not discuss! But it’s a necessary service that can protect against emergencies. Generally, when an insurance company and an insured party enter into an agreement, the former agrees to give the latter financial protection against loss, damage, and other risks as specified in the contract.

That said, there’s no doubt why insurance plays a crucial role in an individual’s life. Hence, if you become an insurance seller,

You can help save someone’s business or even someone’s life through insurance. So how do you get into this line of business? Here’s what you need to know on how to sell insurance:

What Type of Insurance Do I Sell?

The first step is to figure out the type of insurance that you wish to sell. Typically, there are many types of insurance coverage to choose from. For example, auto insurance is an important type of insurance since it’s designed to safeguard drivers from the financial losses associated with getting involved in a road accident. Another important insurance to sell is life insurance. It aims to pay the beneficiaries in the event of the insured person’s death to help them cope with finances since they can no longer be provided for financially.

Moreover, with the increasing number of people looking for rental properties in the UK or wherever you may be located, selling landlord insurance to rental owners and small businesses could also be an excellent idea. Lastly, health insurance can be a good product to sell since many individuals are looking to protect themselves against hospital bills and other healthcare costs.

Indeed, when deciding to sell insurance products, there are many options available. All you need to do is conduct thorough research and get to know each one better. After you decide this, you’ll have to qualify for a license to sell such insurance. As such, you want to take time to figure out which insurance industry works best for you.

You can get an idea by gaining practical experience in the industry before you learn about the insurance side of the business. For example, you can sell medicare supplements from home as a stepping stone to selling health insurance. You should first develop a passion for the industry before you decide to sell insurance for the industry. That way, you can easily convince consumers to buy insurance products from you. The more you know how your insurance products work, the easier and faster you can sell them on the market.

You can then research the rules to become an insurance agent in your state. Requirements will vary based on each state so you want to research if you can easily meet the qualifications.

As a general rule, if you can sell health insurance in one state you can’t sell it in another. If you’ve ever considered moving to another state, make sure you do it before you obtain your license.

Captive or Independent?

The next step is to decide whether you want to be a captive insurance agent or an independent insurance agent. As a captive agent, you work exclusively for one insurance company. You can only sell to existing clients and to prospects who approach the company. You cannot sell to others who are outside of your insurance company’s network.

As a captive agent, you get many benefits in addition to your salary and your commission. You might also receive continuing education subsidized and your office expenses will get covered.

As an independent agent, you work entirely as a freelancer. This gives you much more freedom to decide how often you wish to work. However, you’ll also have to negotiate your pricing with prospects. You can offer different insurance plans from different carriers. You get a lot more flexibility as an independent agent. But your responsibilities and challenges are far greater.

If you wish to find a stable job, it’s best to work as a captive agent. If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, then the independent agent route is best.

Learn the Skills

Regardless of what route you choose, there are important skills that all insurance agents need to know. You can learn these on the job but you should also learn them on your own time. The first skill is improving your interpersonal communication. You need to practice speaking with clients one-on-one. You’ll have to learn the art of persuasion as well.

Many prospects might be skeptical about buying insurance. Even if they make an appointment, it doesn’t mean that they’ll commit to buying insurance.

You have to learn how to convince prospects that buying insurance is crucial. You can attend sales workshops or take courses at your local university to learn how this works.

It’s also possible that you’ll have to improve your public speaking. There might be occasions where you’ll have to sell insurance to a large group. At times, you might have to speak to a board room on why their company should consider insurance.

A great insurance agent also has to improve their writing and mathematical skills. You’ll have to communicate on a regular basis via email and through other mediums of writing. You’ll also have to help prepare contracts and policies so you must have attention to detail.

You’ll also need to know how to calculate pricing to explain this to your prospects and clients. Good math skills are needed to help consumers understand how much they’ll pay for their policy.

The main skill is to know how to communicate with others. Your transactions with your clients will happen on an ongoing business. You have to learn how to build a long-lasting relationship with them.

Understand the ‘Why’

Finally, you have to understand why you are selling insurance. As simple as this sounds, it can be a tough challenge for beginner insurance agents.

Many professionals decide to pursue a career selling insurance because of the lucrative opportunities available. But pursuing money shouldn’t be the main focus of your career.

You have to fall in love with your industry. For example, if you sell health insurance you should understand everything about the healthcare industry. You should understand why the healthcare industry matters to the public.

You also have to understand the importance of insurance. Life is unstable and we want something that can protect us during hard times. This is why people and companies buy insurance.

You need to get into selling insurance for the right reasons. You’re doing it because you want to provide an important service that brings peace of mind to others.

This will also push you to improve as an insurance salesperson. It’ll motivate you to develop yourself professionally. You’ll also strive to offer the best service to your clients.

Insurance agents who only focus on their earnings end up failing their clients. Your reputation matters immensely in this business, so make sure you get into it for the right reasons!

That’s How to Sell Insurance

Now you know how to sell insurance and enter the industry of your choice. Make sure you share this guide with anyone interested in working as an insurance salesperson.

Start by researching the different industries and gaining practical experience with the industry. Afterward, you can decide to sell insurance and get insured.

Make sure you follow the tips in this guide to become successful in your career as an insurance salesperson.

You can find more great career advice and content on professional development on our website!