Insurance Career Description

Insurance Career Description

An insurance career, whether in health, travel, pet, life and non-life, encompasses the whole range of corporate functions, from sales and claims processing to back-office support like actuaries, marketing, accounting and HR.

• Insurance agents and brokers comprise the basic sales force.  An agent sells the insurance products of one insurance firm while an insurance broker sells on behalf of a number of insurance companies, often concentrating on either life or non-life.
• Actuaries analysis specific data on the economy, population lifespan and health trends along with individual applicant data to determine the risks that that company can reasonably cover.
• Claims adjusters and investigators determine the circumstances in a claim and determine the fair settlement in any claim in accordance with the policy terms.
• Claims Processor handles insurance applications to ensure that relevant data to allow the underwriter to determine risk and insurability
• The underwriter determines an applicant’s risk and insurability along the lines of company requirements as determined by the actuaries.

Education

Outside of actuaries, an insurance career has no specific educational requirement.  Even a high school diploma is fine for sales agents and brokers provided they undergo the necessary training to learn about the insurance products and policies of the insurance company they work with.   Needless to say, a college degree helps to open opportunities for career advancement to management positions.

Employment

An insurance career inevitably brings you to employment in insurance companies. Lately, banks and lending companies have joined in to provide security to their clients on whom they have large credit exposures.   Sales agents can earn around $34,000 annually or higher with more commissions.  An underwriter can earn around $50,000 while actuaries up to $110,000 annually.