TRAINING & ADVANCEMENT

A few jobs in the insurance industry, especially in office and administrative support occupations, require no more than a high school diploma. However, employers prefer to hire workers with a college education for most jobs, including sales, managerial, and professional jobs. When specialized training is required, it usually is obtained on the job or through independent study during work or after-work hours. Many insurance companies expect their employees to take continuing education courses to improve their people skills and their knowledge of the industry. Opportunities for advancement are relatively good in the insurance industry.
Office and administrative support occupations. Graduation from high school or a 2-year postsecondary business program is adequate preparation for most beginning office and administrative support jobs. Courses in word processing and business math are assets, and the ability to operate computers is essential. On-the-job training usually is provided for clerical jobs such as customer service representatives. Because representatives in call centers must be knowledgeable about insurance products in order to provide advice to clients, more States are requiring customer service representatives to become licensed. Several years of experience and training can help beginners advance to higher paying positions. Office and administrative support workers may also advance to higher paying claims adjusting positions and entry-level underwriting jobs.
Management, business, and financial operations occupations. Management, business, and financial jobs require the same college training as similar jobs in other industries. Managerial positions usually are filled by promoting college-educated employees from within the company. However, some companies prefer to hire liberal arts graduates at a lower cost, and many insurers send them to company schools or enroll them in outside institutes for professional training. A master’s degree, particularly in business administration or a related field, is an asset for advancement into higher levels of management.
For beginning underwriting jobs, many insurance companies prefer college graduates who have a degree in business administration or a related field. As an underwriter’s career develops, it becomes beneficial to earn one of the voluntary professional certifications in underwriting. For example, the National Association of Health Underwriters offers two certification programs: the Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) designation and the Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC) designation
The American Institute for Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriters (AICPU) offers the CPCU program, which includes courses covering a broad range of insurance, risk management, and general business topics involving both personal and commercial loss exposures. Earning the CPCU designation requires passing 8 exams, meeting a requirement of at least three years of insurance experience, and abiding by the AICPU’s and CPCU Society’s code of professional ethics. In conjunction with the Insurance Institute of America, the AICPCU offers 22 insurance-related educational programs, including claims, underwriting, risk management, and reinsurance.
In almost every State, those working as a claims examiner or adjuster must obtain a license. Licensing requirements for these workers vary by State and can include prelicensing education or passing a licensing exam. In some cases, professional designations may be substituted for the exam requirement. Separate or additional requirements may apply to public adjusters. For example, some States may require public adjusters to file a surety bond. Often, claims adjusters working for companies can work under the company license and not need to become licensed themselves. Most companies prefer to hire college graduates and those with previous experience or who have obtained licensure for claims adjuster and examiner positions. No specific college major is required, although most workers in these positions have a business, accounting, engineering, legal, or medical background. In addition, many adjusters and examiners choose to pursue certain certifications and designations to distinguish themselves. Many State licenses and professional designations require continuing education for renewal. Continuing education is important because adjusters and examiners must be knowledgeable about changes in the laws, recent court decisions, and new medical procedures.
Auto damage appraisers typically begin as auto body repairers and then are hired by insurance companies or independent adjusting firms. Most companies prefer auto damage appraisers to have formal training, and many vocational colleges offer 2-year programs on how to estimate and repair damaged vehicles. Some States require them to be licensed, and certification may be required or preferred. Computer skills also are an important qualification for many auto damage appraiser positions. As with adjusters and examiners, continuing education is important for appraisers, because many new car models and repair techniques are introduced each year.
Licensing requirements to become an insurance investigator may vary among States. Most insurance companies prefer to hire former law enforcement detectives or private investigators as insurance investigators. Many experienced claims adjusters or examiners also can become investigators. Most employers look for individuals with ingenuity and who are persistent and assertive. Investigators must not be afraid of confrontation, should communicate well, and should be able to think on their feet. Good interviewing and interrogation skills also are important and usually are developed in earlier careers in law enforcement.
Sales and related occupations. Although some employers hire high school graduates with potential or proven sales ability for entry-level sales positions, most prefer to hire college graduates.
All insurance sales agents must obtain licenses in the States in which they plan to sell insurance. In most States, licenses are issued only to applicants who complete specified courses and pass written examinations covering insurance fundamentals and State insurance laws. New agents receive training from their employer, either at work or at the insurance company’s home office. Sometimes, entry-level employees attend company-sponsored classes to prepare for examinations. The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research offers a wide variety of courses in health, life, and property and casualty insurance for independent insurance agents. Others study on their own and, as on-the-job training, accompany experienced agents when they meet with prospective clients. After obtaining a license, agents must earn continuing education credits throughout their careers in order to remain licensed insurance sales agents.
Insurance sales agents wishing to sell securities and other financial products must meet State licensing requirements in these areas. Specifically, they must pass an additional examination—either the Series 6 or Series 7 licensing exam, both of which are administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The Series 6 exam is for individuals who wish to sell only mutual funds and variable annuities; the Series 7 exam is the main FINRA series license and qualifies agents as general securities representatives. To demonstrate further competency in financial planning, many agents also find it worthwhile to obtain a certified financial planner (CFP) or chartered financial consultant (ChFC) designation.
Sales workers may advance by handling greater numbers of accounts and more complex commercial insurance policies. They may also choose to start an independent insurance agency. Many also obtain related designations such as the CPCU underwriting designation, offered by the AICPCU.
Professional and related occupations. For actuarial jobs, companies prefer candidates to have degrees in actuarial science, mathematics, or statistics. However, candidates with degrees in business, finance, or economics are becoming more common. Actuaries must pass a series of national examinations to become fully qualified. Completion of all the exams takes from 5 to 10 years. Some of the exams may be taken while an individual is in college, but most require extensive home study. Many companies grant study time to their actuarial students to prepare for the exams.
Outlook

Demand for insurance will increase, but employment in the insurance industry will increase more slowly than employment growth across all industries.
Employment change. Wage and salary employment in the insurance industry is projected to grow about 7 percent between 2006 and 2016, compared to the 11 percent growth projected for wage and salary employment in all industries combined. While demand for insurance is expected to rise, job growth will be limited by corporate downsizing, productivity increases due to new technology, and increasing use of direct mail, telephone, and Internet sales. However, some job growth will result from the industry’s expansion into the broader financial services field, new types of insurance entering the market, and growth in demand for medical service and health insurance.
Medical service and health insurance is the fastest growing segment of the insurance industry. Significant growth is expected over the long term, even though increasing health insurance premiums have recently become difficult for some people to afford. As the members of the baby boom generation grow older and a growing share of the Nation’s population moves into the older age groups, more people are expected to buy health insurance and long-term-care insurance, as well as annuities and other types of pension products sold by insurance sales agents. If legislation is enacted that makes health insurance affordable to more people, even greater increases in demand for this type of insurance should result.
Population growth also will stimulate demand for auto insurance and homeowners insurance. Also, population growth will create additional demand for businesses to service the needs of more people, and these businesses will need insurance as well. In addition, growing numbers of individuals and businesses are purchasing liability policies to protect against possible large liability awards from lawsuits brought by people claiming injury or damage from a product.
Many successful insurance companies will recognize the Internet’s potential as a powerful marketing tool, increasing employment growth of some occupations while slowing growth of others. Growing use of the Internet might reduce costs for insurance companies, but it also could enable many clients to turn first to the Internet to get information on their policies, obtain price quotes on possible new policies, or submit claims. As insurance companies begin to offer more information and services on the Internet, employment in some occupations, such as insurance sales agents, could be adversely affected.
Productivity gains caused by the greater use of computer software will continue to limit the growth of certain jobs within the insurance industry. For example, the use of underwriting software that automatically analyzes and rates insurance applications will limit the employment growth of underwriters. Workers in claims now may not have to visit the site of customers’ damage; they may use satellite imagery to inspect the damage from their computers. In addition, the Internet allows insurance investigators to handle an increasing number of cases by drastically reducing the amount of time it takes them to perform background checks, limiting the additional investigators that must be hired to handle a growing workload. Also, computers have made communications easier among sales agents, adjusters, and insurance carriers—making all much more productive—by linking them directly to the databases of insurance carriers and other organizations. Furthermore, insurance carriers contain costs by increasing using customer service representatives to deal with the day-to-day processing of policies and claims.
Job prospects. Workers in property and casualty insurance, particularly in auto insurance, will be most affected by increasing reliance on the Internet. Auto policies are relatively straightforward and can be issued more easily without the involvement of a live agent. Also, auto premiums tend to cost more per year than do other types of policies, so people are more likely to shop around for the best price—and the Internet makes it easier to compare rates among companies.
Insurance companies will continue to face increased competition from banks and securities firms entering the insurance markets. As more of these firms begin to sell insurance policies, they will employ increasing numbers of insurance sales agents. In order to stay competitive, more insurance companies are expanding the range of financial products and services they offer, or are establishing partnerships with banks or brokerage firms.
Although employment in the insurance industry is expected to grow slowly, thousands of openings are expected to arise in this large industry to replace workers who leave the industry, retire, or stop working for other reasons. Despite the fact that the internet allows many people to buy policies online, many sales agents still will be needed to meet face-to-face with clients; some customers prefer to talk directly with an agent, especially regarding complicated policies. Opportunities will be best for sales agents who sell more than one type of insurance or financial service. Opportunities should be good for adjusters because they will still be needed to inspect damage and interview witnesses as the insurance industry, the Nation’s population, and the number of claims all grow. Opportunities likewise should be good for actuaries, even though the number of available jobs will small, because many people are discouraged from following this career path due to the stringent qualifying requirements of the examination system.