Insurance agents are the cog that keeps the insurance industry moving – all 1.1 million of them.
Selling insurance, be it auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, or a combination of insurance policies, can be a richly rewarding career. There are agents who’re pulling in over $100,000 annually, largely due to the commissions.
However, being an insurance agent isn’t without its fair share of challenges. You’ve probably heard that as many as 50 percent of all new agents fail and quit the profession.
Why is that the case?
If you’re an insurance agent or you’re simply considering joining the profession, it’s important to be familiar with the challenges that lie ahead.
Read on to learn more!
Finding New Leads
The primary responsibility of an insurance agent is straightforward: sell insurance policies.
As a whole, the consumer market for insurance is massive. So, finding customers shouldn’t be that hard, right? On paper, it looks easy. But when you start to subdivide the insurance market into smaller segments, the market starts to shrink significantly. This means finding customers to buy specific insurance policies can be difficult.
Picture this: almost every adult needs health insurance. Even organizations purchase group health insurance for their employees. But then narrow down to Medicare supplement insurance and the market shrinks to older adults. Thus, selling Medicare supplement products becomes a lot more challenging.
Unable to find a steady stream of new leads, an insurance agent is at risk of burning out. Indeed, this is the top reason most new agents resolve to quit the profession.
Feeling Cut Out of the Process
Although insurance agents are a key part of the insurance industry, things are changing. In the past, people buying any type of insurance would need to go through an insurance agent or broker. This might still be the case today, but as technology advances, insurance agents are starting to look more like middlemen.
Today, a consumer can simply go online, look up various insurance companies, and purchase an insurance policy directly from the preferred insurance company’s website. Although the insurance companies still have insurance agents on staff to handle any queries that the consumer might have, it’s now entirely possible for someone to buy insurance without interacting with an agent.
As such, more and more insurance agents are starting to feel left out of the process. This directly translates to a loss of commission income. If people are buying insurance online without the help of agents, finding leads is only going to get tougher.
The Salesperson Stereotype
Salespeople aren’t the good guys – at least that’s what most consumers think.
The average consumer considers a salesperson someone who cares about nothing beyond making a sale. That a salesperson will do whatever it takes, including using deceptive practices, to get a customer to buy their product or service.
Insurance agents are salespeople at the end of the day, so this salesperson stereotype doesn’t escape them.
Well, there are certainly some bad apples among salespeople. But there are lost lots of honest people trying to do everything by the book and make a living. However, it can be difficult to change this stereotyping among some consumers.
Know How to Navigate the Challenges of Being an Insurance Agent
Being an insurance agent is a smart career decision. You have the potential to earn a high income if you become a top-selling agent, and you can also become an independent agent or even establish your own insurance agency.
To get there, though, there are a couple of challenges you’ll need to overcome. This article has fleshed out some of the most common challenges. Find ways to tackle them as you pursue the profession.
Explore our blog for more helpful career tips and advice.
