The main job of a life insurance agent is to guide potential buyers through the process of buying a life insurance policy. This professional is responsible for giving buyers information about the different products and services available with the company and the same is also responsible for the sale of the insurance policies of the company besides guiding policyholders at the time of the claim settlement. Experienced insurance agents are given the task of taking care of the applications whereas new insurance agents are given the task of sales of the insurance policies.
The job of the insurance brokers is to help the policy buyers to get the best policy which will best suit their needs financially and also take care of their beneficiaries. Also, insurance agents act like personal finance advisors to serve the purpose.
Policy buyers are usually confused as to which provider and policy they should go for. Insurance agents or brokers play an important role here by guiding them and helping them to choose the best option possible which will suit their financial needs. Insurance agents are the source that acts as mediators between insurance providers and policy buyers. This gives a better picture of the role of the insurance agents that they play in the whole process of buying an insurance policy.
The process starts as the insurance agents get requirements from policy buyers and business clients to find out what will suit their needs, check out all the insurance policies available in the market at the time and then decide what amount of insurance cover would suit them the best. The job of an insurance agent includes collecting premium, processing accounts, renewing policies, negotiating with the insurance providers to get the best possible rates, etc.
Some other work done by insurance brokers include giving information to policy buyers at the time of settlement of claims, making records and reports for insurance underwriters, correspondence and data processing. All these tasks are also performed by insurance agents.
There are discounts provided by many insurance providers. Also, there is an option for tie-up with other policies. This is done in order to lure people to buy policies from the insurance providers. Like, u can get a Motor insurance or Health insurance with a Life insurance policy at affordable costs. Therefore, many insurance brokers have information about different areas of policies which they might need to sell along with the one they specialize in. But there are many agents who work individually and should provide unbiased advice to the potential policy buyers.
The basic entry to become an insurance broker starts with being an insurance technician, trainee broker or a junior accountant. After getting good experience and qualification, you can go up to the position of an insurance agent.
There are different qualifications required by different companies to become insurance agents. But the entry level in the field of insurance is usually through some training programs or apprenticeship programs offered by many insurance companies. People from Math or Management background should join big insurance companies. To get good jobs in this field, an additional advantage would be experience in the field of sales, financial customer service or office work.