Insurance Agent

Insurance agents are life savers as they have a very significant role when it comes to protecting the lives, assets, properties and finances of an individual. They are the people who have a very positive impact on the financial security of an individual. Insurance agents work for insurance companies that offer a wide range of insurance products right from medical to property insurance. They are the people who convince the customers into buying an insurance policy and sign on the dotted lines.

There are a few apprehensions that dog the customers when they are contacted by an insurance agent. The very first perception about an insurance agent is that they are hard sellers and try every possible trick in the book to convince the customers about the policies they are selling. Now, this has some truth because there are a few insurance agents who hide a lot of things about the policies and are concerned with only the sales rather than the welfare of the customers. It is also a fact that there are a few agents who wants to give the best insurance advice to their customers and do not coax and cajole the customers into buying policies for which they are going to earn a healthy commission.

Given below are some attributes that restores the reputation of an insurance agent being the most trusted financial advisor of an individual:

a) Insurance agents are experts in insurance and not sales – It is a known fact that insurance agents should be experts in the field of insurance. They should have in-depth knowledge about the product they are selling as well as the financial needs of the customer. Hard selling a particular insurance product just for the sake of sales figures should never be a priority of a good insurance agent. They should advice the customers based on their insurance requirements and provide only the best possible solution.

b) Insurance agents must be qualified – There are a various institutions from where agents can enroll for various professional insurance, risk management and financial advisor courses. The ones with professional degree (apart from the mandatory license) stand a better chance of providing valuable advice to their customers.

c) People Skills: This is probably the most important skill that every agent must possess. It is of no use if the customers are not convinced by what an agent says or when there is a communication gap between the agent and the customer. An insurance agent must be an amiable person with good communication skills.