Insurance sales advisor

Insurance sales advisors sell insurance packages to the public. They usually work in a sales office or call centre and sell by telephone. They organise the collection of premium payments and deal with any enquiries.

Work activities

Insurance cover is available to help customers who have suffered losses caused by events such as theft, accident or illness. The customer pays a regular amount of money (called a premium) and receives a written policy. This sets out the conditions under which the insurance company will provide a settlement by way of repairs, replacement or reinstatement of items. Insurance sales advisors sell insurance packages directly to the public. They operate as direct selling representatives, financial advisors or, less and less often, home service agents. They sell only the products of the company or companies they work for. Some insurance sales advisors sell general insurance products such as motor, travel, home or accident insurance. The sales advisor identifies the client’s insurance needs, explains policy terms and conditions and tries to sell a policy. The sales advisor sets up the collection of premium payments and deals with any queries.

Financial advisors must be registered by their companies with the Financial Conduct Authority to sell life assurance or other financial packages, for example, long-term care insurance. Direct selling representatives sell packages by telephone or post or, increasingly, through contact centre operations or advertising on social media. An insurance sales advisor might also act as a new business or agency inspector, linking an insurance company with brokers, estate agents and building societies that also promote and sell their policies.

Personal qualities and skills

As an insurance sales advisor, you’ll need to:

Enjoy talking to people.
Be confident.
Enjoy working as part of a team but should also be able to use your own initiative.

You should have:

A bright, outgoing personality.
Skills of persuasion; most sales advisors depend on commission to supplement their salaries.
Listening skills.
Good written communication skills.
Number skills.
IT skills.
The ability to explain information in a clear way.

Pay and opportunities

Salaries vary widely and some sales advisors work on commission only or basic pay plus commission. Sales advisors may start on around £20,000 per year, rising to as much as £52,000. Salaries might include performance-related pay, profit share or company bonuses.

Working hours may be during the day, in the evening and at weekends to meet clients’ needs. Typically, you will work 38-40 hours per week.

Employers are insurance companies and agencies. Opportunities for insurance sales advisors occur in towns and cities throughout the UK.

Self-employment opportunities occur for sales advisors to work as independent self-employed advisors.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in local/national newspapers, on employers’ websites, through the Chartered Insurance Institute careers website, on the Government’s Find a Job service, and on job boards.

Entry routes and training

Some people enter trainee posts with GCSEs. Others enter with A-levels or as graduates. Some business studies degree or HND courses offer options in insurance. There are some degree courses in financial or insurance services. New entrants often have some insurance-related or other sales or customer service experience.

A number of apprenticeships are relevant to this line of work and offer a good way into the profession:

Customer service practitioner (level 2 / intermediate)
Sales executive (level 4 / higher)

On-the-job training might be supplemented by study for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Advanced Diploma exams. Some degrees could give exemptions from certain of the CII exams. Contact the CII for further details.

Insurance sales advisors can progress to become supervisors or managers, independent financial advisors or brokers.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: Working in a regulated occupation in insurance is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to. Regulated occupations include advising customers on long-term care insurance.

Qualifications

A good standard of literacy and numeracy is needed for this career. GCSEs in English and maths are usually required. For direct entry to the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) advanced diploma exams, the recommended prior learning requirement is either three A-levels or equivalent, or the diploma in insurance.

Some people enter with a higher education (HE) qualification such as an HND or a degree. For entry to a degree course in any subject, the usual minimum requirement is:

Two to three A-levels.
GCSEs at grades 9-4 in two to three other subjects.

Alternatives to A-levels include:

Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualifications
International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

However, course requirements vary, so check prospectuses carefully.

If you wish to enter this career through an intermediate apprenticeship, you will need GCSEs in English and maths, although you may be able to work towards these alongside your programme. For a higher apprenticeship, you’ll usually need two A-levels plus GCSEs in English and maths.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Some new entrants have developed relevant skills by working in office-based insurance administration. Others have retail or sales skills, gained by working in a shop, by telephone, door-to-door, or in other customer service work, especially dealing with financial products.

Distance learning is available from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Related careers

Call centre agent
Customer service advisor (banking)
Field sales executive
Independent financial advisor
Insurance administration assistant
Insurance broker
Insurance claims handler
Sales executive
Telephone salesperson
Travel advisor