How can i train as an insurance agent ?

Question

I want to start marketing and selling insurance products in the uk, please tell me where i can start from.

Answer 1

In UK insurance sales, there are direct methods, independent methods, and tied methods as well as bankassurance sales.  An insurance agent is not a general term.  There are qualifications which you will need to sit, I think the Chartered Insurance Institute might be able to help you there.

I believe the most highly qualified and best quality advice tends to come from independent financial advisors, probably with a large chain (due to the ability to keep up to date on changes and research sharing internally).

Your start point is really determined by your ultimate ambitions, and your current qualifications and aptitudes.  

I would also suggest you look at the UK actuarial profession website, as they tend to give very top level insurance sales advice.  The real big ticket deals tend to be done by firms of actuaries, although not all people who work there are actuaries.

As a sole trader, you will need to consider if you want to sell one companies products or a variety of companies.  If you start using this route, it is probably best to tie with one company.  Your best bet then would be to choose which company to tie with.  I would say that this is a declining method of selling insurance, due to internet sales and other direct sales methods, although it is not completely without its niche areas.

You will need to be authorised by the FSA for most products.  This means sitting exams. (see earlier comment) It also means paying a fee to the FSA.  

I have never sold any insurance products, I suspect the best place to start would be to look up some local IFAs in the yellow pages.  Go and talk to them about your aspirations, as well as perhaps finding which products you might be interested in.

Sales requires you to believe in the product. If you would not buy, then why would you sell?

Answer 2

y dont you have a look in the call centres at least that way you get to know the basics

or try a bank as long as you have experience in customer service you will be fine

that way you can work your way up

take care

Answer 3

To be honest it would be extremely difficult and unwise for anyone with no experience to try and set up a sole trader operation from scratch.

The only real practical way to gain the necessary knowledge is to work for an established outfit. Since you seem to have the ambition to have your own business one day (for which I applaud you) I would suggest you avoid working for a bank or insurer where you will  only sell their products and try and gain employment with an established broker or firm of independent financial advisors (IFA’s). That way you will learn much more about the business whilst operating with a safety net of an organisation which will ensure you don’t fall foul of the regulations. Please don’t underestimate these, if you printed out the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) handbook (the regulations you have to comply with) it would stand 9 feet tall !

Just so you can get your own idea of what the requirements are for setting up your own business, I’ve attached a link to the FSA’s small business ‘brochure’, it’s a fairly easy read.

You will also need to get some exams under your belt, exactly which ones depends on what you want to sell and to whom. The Chartered Insurance Institute is the place to go for these, (link below).

I’m afraid whilst the previous answer was obviously well meaning, it is totally incorrect when it comes to actuaries, now I’ve nothing against actuaries… some of my best friends are actuaries, so I’ll leave aside the joke that “actuaries are people who found accountancy too exciting” and just say “THEY DO NOT DO SALES ! “  The comment that “The real big ticket deals tend to be done by firms of actuaries…” is so wrong it hurts. They don’t do ANY deals, let alone the big ticket ones. Brokers do deals, actuaries do numbers. If you want to be an actuary great, it certainly pays well, but the exams are ferocious and they have nothing to do with selling. Out of balance I’ve attached a link to the Institutes website, you’ll see nothing about sales there, but just so you know I’m not talking tosh.

Good luck to you whatever you decide to do, if you want any more advice on where to look, you can always drop me a line.