Insurance Broker
Insurance Broker
Career Overview
Insurance brokers help individuals and businesses choose insurance coverage that fits their needs. They assess clients’ risks, compare insurance policies and coverage options, explain terms and costs, prepare quotes, and help clients purchase and maintain insurance policies.
Education
A high school diploma or equivalent is typically a starting requirement, followed by industry training and the licensing or registration required in the jurisdiction where the broker works. Post-secondary education in business, finance, insurance, or a related field can also be valuable. Strong communication, mathematics, sales, negotiation, and customer-service skills are important.
Future Outlook
Insurance brokers should continue to be needed as individuals and businesses seek advice about managing risks and choosing appropriate insurance coverage. Online insurance services may automate some routine transactions, but brokers can continue to add value by comparing options, explaining complex coverage, and helping clients make informed decisions. Employment prospects vary by market, with current labour-market projections indicating continued opportunities in the occupation
Work Environment
Insurance brokers generally work in professional office environments and spend much of their time communicating with clients, insurance companies, and other professionals. Some brokers meet clients in person or travel for appointments. Most work full time, and the role combines computer-based work with customer service, sales, and problem-solving.
Recommended High School Courses
- Business
- Writing
- Communication
- Economics
- Public Relations
- Accounting
- Computer Applications
- Mathematics
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Customize financial products or services to meet customer needs.
- Sell products or services.
- Explain financial information to customers.
- Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.
- Take product orders from customers.
- Develop professional relationships or networks.
- Identify potential customers.
- Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
- Prepare sales or other contracts.
- Develop marketing plans or strategies.
- Review accuracy of sales or other transactions.
- Calculate costs of goods or services.
- Process sales or other transactions.
- Examine condition of property or products.
- Attend events to develop professional knowledge.
- Study product information to acquire professional knowledge.
Schools
Potential Scholarships
Approx Salary Expectation
References
PayScale, Inc., https://www.payscale.com/.
WorkBC's Career Trek, http://www.careertrekbc.ca/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.