Who is a General Insurance Agent?

Are you thinking about a career where you can help people protect their most important assets, like their cars, homes, or health? If that sounds rewarding to you, then you should consider becoming a general insurance agent. This is a job where you will be the expert on helping people choose the right insurance cover for their needs.

In this article, we'll walk you through what it takes to be a general insurance agent, the kinds of insurance you'll deal with, and the real talk about the challenges and rewards of the job.

What does a General Insurance Agent Do?

As a general insurance agent, you won't just be selling insurance policies; you'll be someone's go-to person for making sure they have the right coverage. You'll need to know a lot about different types of insurance and be able to explain them in a way that's easy to understand. It's not just about having the gift of the gab; it's about really listening to what people need and finding the best solution for them.

What Skills do Insurance Agents Need to Have?

Eligibility Criteria for Agents

You’ll need to fulfill the below criteria to be eligible to become an agent:

●       You must be 18 years or older

●       You should have finished education through to at least 10th grade

●       You should possess a valid Aadhaar Card and a valid PAN Card

●       You need to undergo 15 hours of training as mandated by IRDAI.

The above are just eligibility requirements. To actually become an excellent agent, you’ll need to either have or develop the below skills as well:

Communication Skills

You'll be chatting with people every day, so you need to be good at listening and explaining things clearly. It's all about making the complex world of insurance easy for everyone to understand.

Salesmanship

Being an agent also means you're a salesperson. You have to be able to show people why the insurance you're offering is the best choice for them.

Organizational Abilities

With all the paperwork, client information, and policy details, staying organized is crucial. You'll want to keep everything in order so you can find what you need, when you need it.

Math and Analytical Skills

Insurance has a lot to do with numbers. You'll need to be comfortable setting prices for policies and understanding how the financial side of insurance works.

Persistence

Not every client will say yes right away, and that's okay. Being persistent and not getting discouraged is a big part of being successful in this job.

Learning from Experience

When you’re a beginner, you’re bound to make mistakes. But don’t let that discourage you. The important thing is not that you don’t make mistakes. It’s that you learn from them and don’t keep repeating them. Over time, you’ll start learning what works for you and what doesn’t. Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t.

Listening to Feedback

The clients you regularly work with will surely have something to say about you. It’s important that you ask for and also listen to their feedback. You’re getting this valuable input directly from the horse’s mouth, and it’s important that you take it in a constructive manner and act on it to improve your performance.

Find The Right Mentor

FInd a mentor that has been through the phase you are in right now. Ask them what they did and what worked for them. You’ll learn a lot more much faster this way. You’re getting the benefit of learning from their mistakes as well as your own. They’ll also teach you some key skills that they’ve developed over the years, and this will accelerate your progress as well.

It’s not easy to find a mentor. That’s why Bajaj Allianz has launched a Career Agents Academy, which you can choose to join. Thereafter, should you choose to become an agent with Bajaj Allianz, you’ll be assigned an expert mentor who’s been there and done that.

Types of General Insurance Agents

There are two broad types of insurance agents:

Captive Agents

Captive Agents work with a single insurance company. They can sell insurance policies of that company only.

Most reputed general insurance companies let you keep the clients that you work with. This means that you earn a commission when you sell an insurance policy to a new client, and also when a client renews their policy.

Independent Agents

Independent agents are able to sell policies from multiple companies.

However, most companies will not let you keep your clients as an insurance broker. You earn a commission once from each client at the time you sell them their first policy. Thereafter, even if the client renews, you don’t get paid.

On the whole, working as an agent of a single company is better for your reputation and also gives you more stability. It can also help you generate a significant passive income down the road once you’ve built up a sizeable client base.

Conclusion

An insurance agent is a representative of an insurance company that helps customers choose and buy the right insurance coverage for their needs. It is a highly rewarding job, both spiritually and financially if you are willing to give the required time and effort. It’s the right fit for students, housewives, financial advisors and retired persons who want to work on their own schedule and don’t want to invest a lot of money.

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