Sales
Insurance sales agent
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.
Median pay
$62,280
Growth to 2035
+3%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
43,100
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Insurance sales agent
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Insurance sales agent: 82% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
- Confer with clients to obtain and provide information when claims are made on a policy.
- Interview prospective clients to obtain data about their financial resources and needs, the physical condition of the person or property to be insured, and to discuss any existing coverage.
Also called: Insurance Agent · Insurance Broker · Insurance Sales Agent · Sales Agent · Sales Associate · Sales Representative · Underwriting Sales Representative
Outlook and AI
Insurance sales agents held 572,600 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 591,400 by 2035 (+3%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly integrated into workflows, allowing insurance sales agents to focus on direct sales activity.
Compare with
- Insurance sales agent vs. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
- Insurance sales agent vs. Insurance claims and policy processing clerks
- Insurance sales agent vs. Customer service representative
- Insurance sales agent vs. Personal financial advisor
- Insurance sales agent vs. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Insurance sales agent vs. Insurance underwriter
- Insurance sales agent vs. Loan officer
- Insurance sales agent vs. Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks
- Insurance sales agent vs. Credit counselor
- Insurance sales agent vs. Financial analyst