How much does a insurance sales agent make?

The median pay is $29.94 per hour — roughly $62,500 a year, with the real range running from about $17.95/hr (10th percentile) to $66.41/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a insurance sales agent?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).

What does a insurance sales agent actually do all day?

Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks. Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice. Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.

Sales

Insurance Sales Agents

Sell life, property, casualty, health, automotive, or other types of insurance. May refer clients to independent brokers, work as an independent broker, or be employed by an insurance company.

What it pays
Insurance Sales Agents earn a median of $29.94/hr — about $62,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $17.95/hr; the top 10% earn $66.41/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice.
Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.
Perform administrative tasks, such as maintaining records and handling policy renewals.
Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.
Call on policyholders to deliver and explain policy, to analyze insurance program and suggest additions or changes, or to change beneficiaries.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).

The feel of the work

You're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 12.5% of insurance sales agents are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are take-charge, organized and detail-focused and people-focused.

Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.

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Quick questions

How much does a insurance sales agent make?: The median pay is $29.94 per hour — roughly $62,500 a year, with the real range running from about $17.95/hr (10th percentile) to $66.41/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a insurance sales agent?: The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
What does a insurance sales agent actually do all day?: Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks. Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice. Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.