Education
Fact-checked

At WiseGEEK, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

Which Skills are Needed for Insurance Employment?

Jodee Redmond
Jodee Redmond

A person who is conducting a job search for insurance employment needs to have a specific skill set. This type of work requires them to have good communication skills, be well organized, and have the ability to analyze clients' needs to recommend the product that will meet them effectively. People interested in this industry will also need to get training in insurance laws and regulations.

Good communication skills are an important consideration when looking for insurance employment. You will need to demonstrate that you can listen carefully to what your co-workers and clients are trying to tell you so that you can respond appropriately. If you are interested in working as an insurance agent, being able to understand what your clients are saying is an important part of the service that you will be offering them.

A person who is looking for insurance employment must demonstrate that he or she can listen carefully to what co-workers and clients are saying.
A person who is looking for insurance employment must demonstrate that he or she can listen carefully to what co-workers and clients are saying.

You will also want to be able to show a potential employer that you have the necessary skills to be well organized when looking for insurance employment. This type of work will likely have you juggling demands from several individuals at once, and you need to be able to keep all of them straight. Be prepared to answer questions or give specific examples of ways that you can deal with multiple projects at once.

A good level of analytical ability is something else that you must have when looking for insurance employment. Taking a large chunk of information given to you by a client or from an existing file and digesting it relatively quickly is an important skill. From there, you can make recommendations about product purchases or whether to agree to insure someone, depending on whether your interests are in sales or in underwriting.

A good knowledge of insurance laws and regulations is a must when looking for insurance employment. You will also need to be able to understand and retain information about your employer's policies. Since these will be updated from time to time, you will need to be able to keep up with changes relatively quickly.

Being able to take complicated information and translate it into language that a lay person can understand is another skill that is essential to have when looking for insurance employment. Insurance policy language can be difficult to understand and the company's customers want to understand exactly what coverage they are buying when they decide to apply for coverage. The people you are dealing with will appreciate the fact that someone is making sure their needs are well looked after.

Discussion Comments

Mor

@umbra21 - I think one of the things that people don't realize when they look into this kind of job is the amount of stress that is involved. The ability to deal with stress, as you say, is really crucial in insurance, and not just because you are dealing with people all the time.

Often people who are claiming their insurance are upset from a disaster or maybe are upset because they aren't going to get the money they expected. Dealing with that kind of emotion over the course of years can take its toll if you don't know how to push it aside and leave it out of your life outside your job.

umbra21

I hate to say it, but often you need a different set of skills in order to get hired, than you actually do on the job you are being hired for.

I think with insurance company employment though, they are usually the same skill set.

I'd say to find any kind of job you need to be good at presentation (both yourself and your resume), excellent at communication and dealing with people, good with organization, and good at dealing with stress.

Insurance is generally the kind of thing you can pick up on the job if you have those skills and those skills are what will get you through the job interview as well.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • A person who is looking for insurance employment must demonstrate that he or she can listen carefully to what co-workers and clients are saying.
      By: Jeanette Dietl
      A person who is looking for insurance employment must demonstrate that he or she can listen carefully to what co-workers and clients are saying.