Agents Explained

Understanding and working successfully with agents is a necessity for insurers, but in order to do so, insurers need more information about these agents. CareerBuilder released results of nearly 1,000 agents, as well as a sample of insurance employers, focused on what agents like and dislike most about the job, whether or not employers meet the needs of agents, and how employers can confront key retention and recruitment problems. According to the report, “Maintaining a Talented Workforce: What Insurance Companies Need to Know,” attracting and retaining talent remain two of the most intractable challenges facing the industry. The study dove into what’s contributing to these challenges. In their current positions, agents most dislike heavy cold-calling, no employee benefits, little support in finding customers and inadequate compensation.

In fact, compensation was listed as agents’ top reason for turnover, behind cold-calling, unrealistic production expectations, lack of benefits and links between efforts and outcomes. Meanwhile, two-thirds of employers surveyed say the main cause of agent turnover is poor fit for the job, and only about a quarter of insurance employers identify compensation as a major factor in agent turnover.

CareerBuilder also indicated what agents most like about the job; opportunities to help people and the ability to work independently were the top two answers, followed by opportunities to regularly interact with people, good fit and variety in day-to-day work.

In its report, the firm provided a snapshot of the typical insurance agent based on resumes posted to CareerBuilder. Agents in the sample tend to be in their early- to mid-30s and have been in the workforce for about 10 years. Their mean income is $45,512. About half of those who reported their educational level held a bachelor’s degree, while slightly less than a quarter had only a high school degree. Of those who attended college, the most common area of study was business administration or some type of business-related curriculum. About one-quarter of agents were previously employed in the “finance and insurance” sector.

After analyzing the information from the survey and resumes, CareerBuilder made the following suggestions for insurers employing agents:

• Clearly explain job requirements and expectations to candidates and new hires.

• Dedicate resources to improving the application process.

• Search for people with a college degree and solid tenure in their previous job.

• Seek candidates without former agent experience rather than trying to lure former agents back into the game (about 40 percent of former agents say they would not return to the industry).

• Cast a wide net when recruiting. While experience in financial services, sales or customer relations can be a plus, successful agents come from a variety of industries and backgrounds.

• Beef up—and promote—agent benefits.

• Provide more training and professional development opportunities.

• Increase compensation at least marginally, to reduce training and turnover costs.

• Provide better support and more productive leads.

• Look for ways to price products more competitively.