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Job Description: Insurance Executive
As an insurance executive, you will be responsible for retaining and servicing your employer's insurance business.
Your role will include visiting clients to give guidance and advice on their insurance requirements, establishing client's needs and designing appropriate solutions, maintaining effective credit control procedures, overseeing quality of work, supporting colleagues with technical and market information, ensuring compliance with procedures, keeing up to date with technical, legal and market developments.
Hours and Environment
You'll normally work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may also need to network with clients in the evenings.
Generally, you'll be office-based, although you'll spend much of your time visiting brokers and agents in your sales area.
Skills and Interests
To be a good insurance executive, you'll require:
- Good spoken and written communication skills
- Excellent sales and negotiation skills
- Honesty and integrity
- Organisation and attention to detail
- Drive and motivation, for meeting targets
- The ability to gather and analyse information
- Good business sense
- Confidence in making presentations and networking
- The ability to manage large budgets and contracts.
Entry
Entry requirements can vary between employers in the insurance industry. 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.
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.
If you have a degree, you could join a large insurance 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.
Training
Most of your training will be on the job. Your employer will train you in their products, and may also provide sales and marketing training.
You could improve your career prospects by taking professional insurance industry qualifications.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) provides a clear career structure from trainee to professional level, with qualifications as follows:
- CII Certificate in Insurance
- CII Diploma in Insurance
- CII Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII).
See the CII's website for more details about their qualifications.
There are other qualifications aimed at anyone offering advice on general insurance products, such as the IFS School of Finance Certificate in Regulated General Insurance (CeRGI).
If you work for a company that mainly markets insurance products to independent financial advisers, you may find it helpful to take qualifications in financial advice and planning from the CII or ifs School of Finance.
For more details, see the Financial Adviser profile.
You may also find it useful to take qualifications and short courses in sales, marketing and account management, from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) or the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM). See the CIM or ISMM websites for more information.
Opportunities
With experience and a good track record, you could be promoted to sales manager, area manager or other senior management jobs. Alternatively, you could move into sales, marketing or account handling in other industries.
Annual Income
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
- Starting salaries are usually between £17,000 and £22,000 a year.
- Earnings can range from £25,000 to £35,000 a year with experience.
- Senior managers can earn £40,000 or more.
It is also common to earn commission and bonuses on top of the basic salary. A salary package may also include a company car allowance, insurance and pension benefits.
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