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Job description: Insurance Broker
As an insurance broker or agent, you'll act as a link between insurance companies and your customers. You will use your knowledge of the insurance market to find the most suitable policies for your clients. As you'll be offering products from more than one insurer, your advice must be impartial.
Your typical tasks will include:
- Gathering information from clients to assess their insurance needs
- Researching policies from a number of insurance companies
- Arranging insurance cover for clients
- Negotiating with insurers for the best terms
- Renewing or changing existing policies
- Collecting premiums and processing accounts
- Advising people making a claim
- Inputting data to a computer system, sending letters and keeping detailed records
- Preparing reports for insurance underwriters and surveyors
You might advise on all types of insurance, or you could specialise in one main area, such as motor insurance. If you were a Lloyd's broker you would deal with complex and specialist risks in the London Insurance Market.
Hours and Environment
You'll normally work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, although some high street brokers also open on Saturdays. You could also work part-time.
You'll be mainly office-based, but may travel for networking with clients. If you work for a company with overseas business, you may occasionally travel abroad.
Skills and Interests
To be an insurance broker you'll need:
- Good spoken and written communication skills
- Confident negotiating skills
- Honesty and integrity
- An organised approach
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Report writing skills
- The ability to gather and analyse information
- Good business sense
- Computer and mathematical skills.
Entry
You'll probably start as an insurance technician, junior account handler or trainee broker, then work your way up to broker as you gain experience and insurance industry qualifications.
Entry requirements can vary between employers. Companies often prefer you to have minimum qualifications of GCSEs (A-C) in English and maths. You may need A levels or similar to get onto management training schemes.
If you have a degree, you could join a large insurance broking firm's graduate training scheme. Most degree subjects are accepted, but you may have an advantage with a good degree (class 2:2 or above) in a business or maths-related subject.
Whatever your qualifications, you will find it useful to have experience in office work, sales or financial customer service.
You may be able to get into the insurance industry through an Apprenticeship scheme. The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. For more information on Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
Training
Your training would be a mixture of on-the-job learning and study for insurance industry qualifications, possibly through your company's structured training scheme.
Many insurance brokers study for qualifications from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). The CII provides a clear career structure from trainee to professional level, with qualifications as follows:
- CII Certificate in Insurance - for trainee brokers
- CII Diploma in Insurance
- CII Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII).
If you deal with the London Insurance Market, you should pass the CII's Lloyd's and London Market Introductory Test (LLMIT). LLMIT also counts towards the CII's other insurance qualifications.
You can achieve Chartered Insurance Broker status when you hold ACII and have at least five years' experience in the industry. See the CII's website for more details on their qualifications and membership.
Some employers offer other entry-level insurance qualifications, such as the IFS School of Finance Certificate of Regulated General Insurance (CeRGI).
You should keep up to date with new products and financial regulations throughout your career. The CII and the British Insurance Brokers' Association both run a range of short courses at training centres throughout the UK.
Opportunities
You could work for firms ranging from small brokers to large multinationals. Jobs may be advertised in the local and national press, in industry magazines and by financial services recruitment agencies.
With experience, you could move into account handling, claims broking or new business, or choose to specialise in one area of insurance. You could also progress into management, or into other types of insurance work such as loss adjusting, underwriting or compliance.
Annual Income
Figures are a guide only.
- Starting salaries can be between £15,000 and £23,000 a year.
- Experienced brokers usually earn between £20,000 and £40,000.
- Salaries at senior level can be £50,000 to £100,000 a year.
Earnings may include commission and bonuses. A salary package may also include a company car, insurance and pension benefits.
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