Insurance Sales Agents

Median salary

$62,280

Average salary

$81,480

Employment

479,100

Projected growth

3.7% growth

Annual openings

47,000

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

What Insurance Sales Agents Do

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.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training
Self-employed: 12.5%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.7/5
Sales and Marketingimportance 4.6/5
English Languageimportance 4.1/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.6/5
Law and Governmentimportance 3.5/5
Transportationimportance 3.5/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.4/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Telephone Conversations5.0/5
E-Mail5.0/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General5.0/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
Frequency of Decision Making4.8/5
Contact With Others4.7/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Paralegals and Legal Assistants96% skill match
Customer Service Representatives96% skill match
Credit Counselors96% skill match
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks96% skill match
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products96% skill match
Child, Family, and School Social Workers96% skill match
School Psychologists96% skill match
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks96% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Persuasionimportance 3.6/5
Time Managementimportance 3.5/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.4/5
Negotiationimportance 3.3/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.0/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.9/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

AMS Services AMS 360
AMS Services AMS Sagitta
Advantage Information Systems The Agency Advantage
Agency Master
Agency Software AgencyPro
Agency management software
Allied Financial Software Act4Advisors
Allstar Software Systems Kofax

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Social Orientation
Dependability
Perseverance
Achievement Orientation
Integrity
Self-Confidence
Attention to Detail

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

EnterprisingHigh
ConventionalHigh
SocialMedium
InvestigativeLow
ArtisticLow
RealisticLow

Specific Interests

A more detailed breakdown of this occupation’s interest profile, per O*NET.

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.