Certain skills and characteristics are required to work as an insurance account manager. An insurance account manager must be meticulous and dedicated to providing excellent customer service. Insurance account managers are team players who must interact with coworkers, clients, and insurance carriers on a regular basis. In addition, becoming an insurance account manager usually necessitates special licensing from most insurance companies.
To work as an insurance account manager, you may need to obtain a variety of licenses. A Customer Service Representative license is the most common type of license. This license is required for many people who want to work as an insurance account manager. It indicates that the individual has the bare minimum of knowledge required to service an account, but it does not grant the insurance account manager legal authority to sell or bind insurance coverage.
To become an insurance account manager, most insurance brokers require licenses that allow account managers to sell property and casualty insurance as well as life and health insurance. Account managers may specialize in either property and casualty or life and health insurance, but there is often overlap between the two lines of coverage, and many insurance account managers are asked to sell both. To become licensed, candidates must typically complete a course of study and pass an exam.
Many brokers also require insurance account managers to attend continuing education courses. These classes are frequently required for an account manager to keep his or her license current. In many cases, these classes count toward special industry designations that can aid candidates in their pursuit of a career as an insurance account manager. The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation is an example of a valuable industry designation.
The needs of the insurance broker’s clients are met insurance account managers. They provide insurance certificates, resolve billing issues, and make requested changes to their clients’ policies. They are expected to identify gaps in coverage and cross-sell or up-sell additional coverage within the accounts they manage. Because of the high level of interaction with clients, carriers, and other team members, becoming an insurance account manager necessitates excellent verbal, written, and social skills.
Insurance account managers must also be well-versed in the latest business technology. Word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software are all required. To manage their books of business, most brokers use industry-specific software. To work as an insurance account manager, you must have extensive training in the use of agency management software.
Insurance account managers must also be able to use the specific online client management tools provided each of the insurance carriers whose products they sell. They must be able to send documents electronically in a variety of ways. Account managers must be able to manage their client and vendor communications effectively using email, voice mail, and traditional correspondence.
They’re also heavily involved in client billing and premium collection. As a result, in order to become an insurance account manager, they must be able to handle basic bookkeeping and reconcile billing statements. Most account managers work for brokers who sell products from multiple vendors, so mastering the various programs and billing cycles used the vendors is critical.