One of the most commonly asked questions asked by people looking to make a job switch, or students looking for a career path to go down, is how much they can expect to make should they decide to pursue a job as an insurance agent.
How Much Do Insurance Agents Make? 5
The good news? Well, as a whole, insurance agents can expect to make a pretty great income.
So much so, that at the time of writing, insurance agents typically tend to make (on average) a wage that sits high above the average median income for Americans across the country.
Thanks to that, this means that insurance agents can expect to make a comfortable income. Still, if you are wondering how much insurance agents make – rest assured that you have come to the right place!
In this guide, we are going to be giving you a clearer understanding of how much you can expect to make as an insurance agent. So, without further ado, whenever you are ready, just keep on scrolling to discover how much insurance agents make.
How Much Do Insurance Agents Make?
To help give you a better understanding of how much you can expect to make as an insurance agent, we are going to be providing you with some insights using data we have taken from the most recent government statistics, which is from 2021.
So, with that being said, according to the most recent data taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, here are the facts surrounding how much insurance agents make in the country:
The median annual wage for insurance agents is: $49, 840.
The highest paid (that equates to the top 10% of insurance agents in the states) are earning more than $126,510 annually.
The lower paid (this equates to the lower 10% of insurance agents) earn less than $29, 970 annually.
As we can see from the numbers that we have shared above, there is a pretty large scope across the various possible incomes that you might be able to make as an insurance agent.
The reason for this? Well, just like with similar roles, insurance agents typically tend to rely a lot on earning outside of their base salary through bonuses, commissions and more.
Due to this, it means that if you decide to undertake a career as an insurance agent, you can expect to base a big portion of your earnings on your numbers of sales, the commissions you make as well as any bonuses you receive.
With that being said, the number of sales that you are going to be able to make as an insurance agent will greatly impact whether or not you’re going to end up at the higher end of the salary range or the lower.
Along with this, it is also important to note that there are additional factors that can also greatly influence the range of incomes for insurance agents, including the price of the insurance plans they sell, as well as what type of insurance that they choose to specialize within.
How Much Do Insurance Agents Make? 6
So much so, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most common form of compensation (in particular, for the most experienced agents) are commissions.
These typically tend to situate themselves around what the type of insurance has been sold, whether or not the transaction is a new policy or is a renewal as well as what the insurance specializes in.
If you’re interested in learning a little more about what some of the main factors of income potential for insurance agents are, you can simply tap here.
Along with the above, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also notes that, for the most part, bonuses can also be typically awarded to insurance agents that are able to meet a certain number of targets, sales goals or profit expectations.
Although, it is worth noting that bonuses are often given on a far less frequent basis than compensation through commissions and the likes typically are.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also notes that, for the majority of workers, insurance agents will typically opt to work on a full time basis, which is something that you should take into consideration if this career path in insurance is something that you feel you might be potentially interested in pursuing (see also “Is Becoming An Investment Manager A Good Career Path?“).
Of course, while it is certainly possible to work less hours per week (especially if you are considering being self-employed) it is highly likely that you will earn less than the data we have shared with you above reading earning/income potential.
Is the Insurance Industry Growing?
So, now that we’ve taken a closer look at how much you can expect to make as an insurance agent, it’s clear to see that it’s a job that can bring lots of income. But, despite that, is the insurance industry itself worth getting into in the long run?
The good news is that the insurance industry as a whole is set to grow by 6% between 2021-2031, and that figure is only set to continue rising.
Thanks to this, it means that opting to make the jump into insurance can potentially offer you a very fulfilling and fast-paced career throughout your working life, not to mention a great salary to go with it.
The Bottom Line
All in all? We think that it’s pretty safe to say that, when it comes to earning potential, insurance agents have the potential to earn a comfortable living across the entire spectrum of salaries we have discussed today.
However, if you are thinking about making the leap into insurance, you should make sure that you are comfortable working in a target-driven, commission based role, as this is where a big bulk of your earning potential is going to come from.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this guide, and we wish you the best of luck on your career journey!
Hi, I’m Jason Sullivan, and I am a University Career Advisor from Fort Worth, Texas. It is my job to help students, young people, and others find the right career for them. That could include preparing them for interviews, providing insightful information and resources that could help them land their dream job.
Here at HumanWorkplaces.net, I want to help you. Whether you want to learn more about being an esthetician, phlebotomist, midwife, paralegal, firefighter, you name it- you can find it here.
