Insurance broker

Responsible for:
As an insurance broker or agent, you would act as the link between insurance companies and customers. You would use your knowledge of the insurance market to find the most suitable policies for individual or business clients. You might advise on all types of insurance, or you could specialise in one main area.

Average salary:
Starting salaries can be between £15,000 and £23,000 a year, with experienced brokers usually earning between £20,000 and £40,000 and salaries at senior level range from £50,000 to £100,000 a year. Earnings may include commission and bonuses.

Typical working hours:
In a full-time job you would normally work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, although some high street brokers also open on Saturdays. Part-time work is possible. You would be mainly office-based, although in some jobs you may visit client companies. If you work for a company with overseas business, you may occasionally travel abroad.

Qualifications:
You would often start as an insurance technician, junior account handler or trainee broker, and work your way up to broker as you gain experience and insurance industry qualifications. Entry requirements can vary between employers in the insurance industry. Companies often prefer you to have minimum qualifications of GCSEs (A-C) in English and maths. You may need A levels or similar to get onto management training schemes.

If you have a degree, you could join a large insurance broking firm’s graduate training scheme. Most degree subjects are accepted, but you may have an advantage with a good degree (class 2:2 or above) in a business or maths-related subject.

Whatever your qualifications, you will find it useful to have experience in office work, sales or financial customer service.

General requirements:

• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Confident at negotiating
• Honesty and integrity
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Report writing skills
• Ability to gather and analyse information
• Computer and mathematical skills

Career prospects:
You could work for firms ranging in size from small brokers to large multinational companies. With experience, you could move into account handling, claims broking or new business, or choose to specialise in one area of insurance. You could also progress into management, or into other types of insurance work such as loss adjusting, underwriting or compliance.