Insurance company jobs are mainly white collar positions that typically focus on sales, claims, accounting, investigations, and management. Often, those pursuing an insurance career may decide to try multiple positions in the field before settling on one. Insurance company jobs may be offered with insurance carriers themselves, or with independent agencies. In both cases, the goal is to provide a complete list of insurance products desired by clients at an affordable price that keeps the company profitable.
Those involved in insurance sales include both the insurance agent and the insurance broker. An insurance sales agent may work for a particular company and sell only insurance lines offered by the company, or may work for an independent agency. Those who work as independent agents are sometimes also referred to as insurance brokers. The difference is that a broker is not tied down to offering insurance products from only one company. Therefore, more shopping around can be done by the customer.
An insurance claims adjuster will look at claims coming into the company, and compare them against policy coverage. If the claim is a valid protection under the policy, the claim will be paid according to the stipulations laid out in the policy. If the claim is not covered by the policy, or is only covered to a partial extent, the adjuster may only approve part of the cost. The adjuster may also be called upon to visit the site of the claim, such as a home, in order to determine how much the claim is worth.
If the claims adjuster feels a claim may have been submitted under false pretenses, an insurance investigator may be called into to take a closer look at the claim. This person will try to pull in all supporting documentation, may conduct interviews, and even do surveillance to determine if claims are valid or are not valid. The most common insurance products that are subjected to fraud are disability claims and auto insurance claims.
An insurance manager may run an office, region or an entire division. These individuals have likely worked their way up through the ranks, and almost always hold a graduate degree in business administration or a similar field. They are responsible for making sure income and profitability goals are reached. These types of insurance company jobs are highly competitive, and depend a great deal on accumulated experience.
Most insurance company jobs will require some sort of college degree, but there are a few exceptions. A Bachelor's degree is usually considered an entry-level qualification. In some cases, insurance company jobs involving sales may be obtained simply by becoming licensed in the state of employment. Those who want to move forward in their careers, however, will eventually need that college degree.
