Selling Personal and Commercial Insurance Quick Start Sales Career Guide

A career selling
insurance is one of those few genuine opportunities where there is no limit
to what you can do and what you can make.
On top of that, its one of those few professions where your education,
background, and history dont matter all that much.
There are low barriers to entry in selling insurance.  Its all about determination, desire
and hard work if you want to succeed in this business.
This is a quick start guide to selling insurance.  Ill give you a comprehensive overview,
including all the different types of insurance you can sell.  Ill also guide you through how you can
get started in this field.
There are probably thousands of different types of insurance
out there.  But virtually all of
them fall into either personal lines or commercial lines.  Here are some of the more common forms
of each that most insurance agents sell when they start out in their career.
Selling life
insurance is probably the most common way an agent starts out in his or her
career.  Its a relatively simple
product and has the lowest barrier for entry.  Life insurance also has pays out a generous commission.
Getting a state license for life and health insurance is not
difficult.  You do have to take a
class in many cases, but they are generally only a week-long at most.  The exam takes a few hours and most
places give you a license on the spot.
Most start out selling life insurance policies part time for
an agency, for commission only.
This is what makes the barriers low.  The agency isnt risking any of their money at first to test
your skills.  The hardest part of this at the beginning will be getting life insurance leads that you can call on.

The leads are generally of people who have requested life insurance quotes from a website. They are warm because people are already interested.
This is also an opportunity to find out if insurance sales is
something that you want and can do.
Because you will most likely start out part time, you are hedging your
risks too.
There is also a growing field in life insurance settlement that can potentially make the players a lot of money.  It is where you turn life policies into investments and many people are starting to do it.
Generally, health and disability insurance is attached to
life insurance.  Its not the same
things, but in most places, getting a life insurance license qualifies you to
also sell health and disability.
The health insurance that you would be selling is not much
different than the benefit packages that come with most jobs.  Youd be selling policies from
companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA or Kaiser.
Disability insurance pays out benefits to cover most or part
of your income should you become disabled for whatever reason.  This type of insurance is especially
important if you are the sole income earner in your household.
Car insurance is probably the most bought insurance in the
US.  Every State requires you to
have a baseline auto insurance coverage to drive a car.
Selling car insurance
doesnt pay the highest commissions, but you can do a large amount of
volume.  In addition, you can also
use selling car insurance policies as a way to get people through the door to
up sell them on life insurance, which tends to be very lucrative.
Many auto insurance policies also include liability coverage
in case you injure or cause the death of someone from an accident that is
deemed your fault.
Selling commercial
insurance tends to work in lower volumes than personal lines, but usually
with much higher commissions.  But
it also requires more expertise, experience and ability to sell to business
owners and executives.
Technically, property and casualty insurance also applies to
personal lines, it is best expressed in the context of commercial insurance.
This type of business insurance covers losses resulting from
a loss or damage in property.  For
example, if a machine in a factor is damages, many of these policies would
include claim benefits to repair the machine as well as a benefit for the
income lost.
There are commercial insurance policies that also cover for
liability in the event that there is a lawsuits against a business.  It also covers them if they are found
to be at fault and need to pay fines and penalties.
Liability insurance includes things like medical malpractice
and management protection for company executives.  Again, in case there is a lawsuits that involves
professional negligence.
Often times referred to as workers comp, this insurance
covers injuries that are work-related.
This would cover things like if an employee gets hit on the head by a
falling object at work.  And of
course, it would cover things like if a construction worker falls off a ladder.
You can also sell auto insurance to companies for their
fleet of vehicles.  Many businesses
have delivery trucks, work trucks or other cars that employees use for
work.  This is a quick way to sell
multiple auto policies in one shot.
Becoming an insurance agent starts with you getting the appropriate licensing to sell insurance in your state.  You can find information for licensing requirements from your state's insurance department that regulates this business.
You can also get licensing information from the agency or brokerage that you work for when you start with them.  They will generally offer you training as well as information on how to take your state's licensing exam.
Being a professional insurance sales agent involves
selling.  That means you will
probably have to cold call.  If youre
with a good agency, they may provide some warm leads for you.
It also requires you to present your products well, in a way
that is compelling for people and persuade them to buy.  This means that you have to be
knowledgeable about your product lines and be able to communicate its features
and benefits to your clients and prospects.
In addition, you really have to want to help people.  You will be required to step into the
role of an advisor many times.  Which
means you will need to have good listening skills and be able to offer advice
and direction that is helpful to them.
This is relatively simple to do.  Most agencies are always looking for potential rainmakers for
their agency.
You dont have to wait until an insurance agency or
brokerage posts an ad on Monster or Craigslist.  You should job hunt just like you would sell an insurance
policy.
Make a list of prospects, in this case it would be a list of
agencies in your area.  Then start
cold calling them, schedule appointments to see them and sell yourself.
Its relatively easy to find an insurance sales job.  If you can sell yourself for a sales
position, you may not have what it takes to sell insurance.
Selling insurance is a sales job, just like any other.  It requires the same skill sets and
tenacity to be successful.