During the course of a working day, an insurance accountant is responsible for completing a variety of tasks. He or she is in charge of all aspects of an insurance broker’s accounts, including receivables, payroll, investments, pool management, and claims. An insurance accountant may also be in charge of conducting audits of the insurance brokerage’s departments. Quarterly, semi-annually, annually, or on a one-time, as-needed basis, these audits can be performed. An insurance accountant may also be in charge of conducting a basic financial analysis of potential acquisitions for the broker, such as investment opportunities, smaller insurance brokers, or any other source of capital.
An insurance accountant’s main responsibility is to keep track of the accounts assigned to his or her department. This entails maintaining spreadsheets of incoming revenue, such as premiums, investment interest, and payouts from other insurance brokers. An insurance company’s accountant is also in charge of tracking outgoing funds, such as claim payouts, operating expenses and other overhead, payroll, and bonuses.
The scope of an insurance accountant’s responsibilities is determined by the insurance firm’s segment to which the accountant is assigned. One accountant cannot be responsible for conducting an accounting review of every aspect of a larger broker. Instead, the accountant will concentrate solely on insurance claims and premiums, as well as investment income and funds related to the insurance company’s membership pool. In general, an entry-level insurance accountant is responsible for basic spreadsheet compilation and analysis, whereas a mid-manager accountant is responsible for more complex analysis while overseeing a team of entry-level accountants. The senior managing accountant for a department is in charge of delegating tasks, making decisions about problems that arise, and performing audits and reviews of the department’s accountants.
Some insurance brokers set up their businesses so that a specific department of insurance accountants is in charge of performing internal audits on all other departments. This type of insurance accountant should have prior financial investigation experience, which includes reviewing a wide range of data and documentation, thoroughly understanding all internal financial policies, and applying any applicable laws to the insurance company. The auditor must compile all relevant data, review all financial figures, and determine whether funds are properly allocated, the books are kept accurately, and if there are any irregularities or poor performance.