Insurers keep complaining about rates being too low, but the actions of new entrants and other market share-hungry underwriters means that the soft market seems here to stay for a while yet. In addition, with a weak commercial property market, interest rates likely to stay low for the foreseeable future and stock market returns still looking unpredictable, insurers are finding that investment returns are also under pressure. All the more reason then to focus upon underwriting profit – but claims ratios traditionally come under pressure during a recession. Times for insurers are tough!

One battle which they are starting to get to grips with is reducing distribution costs. The days of broker consolidators earning 40% commission look numbered but there is still much work to be done. Axa and Aviva appear to be spear-heading this fightback but the likes of Towergate and Giles hold a strong position and will not give up their much-needed income easily.

As a result of this, underwriting jobs have been harder to come by than in recent years. However, new entrants to the market such as Arista are creating roles, whilst other forward-focused insurers are seeing this as a great time to strengthen their teams for the inevitable upturn which they hope will be arriving early next year. Good quality commercial underwriters are in still in great demand, particularly those with the ability to trade with brokers, and salary levels are still rising for those who keep an open mind for fresh opportunities.

Brokers have also had a tough year. The soft market has kept their income down and competition remains fierce. However, the concerns of good quality local brokers are nothing compared to those issues facing the consolidators who have borrowed heavily to grow their businesses over the past 5 years. The credit crunch has had a huge effect on these organisations, many of whom are unable to raise fresh funds to continue their expansion, and the re-negotiation of terms for their existing borrowings mean that their debts have become a huge millstone. If they also see their incomes hit by insurers squeezing their commissions then there could be some big names in trouble during 2010.

The good news for brokers looking for alternative career options is that this turbulence has led to many high calibre individuals setting up their own businesses, many of which are proving highly successful as they set themselves up as an attractive alternative to the big boys. Exchange Street is currently acting on behalf of a number of new insurance brokers who have seen initial success lead to a necessity to quickly put together a team and create jobs for experienced commercial account handlers, managers, account executive jobs and technicians.

Insurers and brokers are being even more selective about who they take on, but rest assured that general insurance career opportunities are still out there for good quality insurance professionals! Feel free to get in touch with us at Exchange Street – we have the expertise to guide you through this tricky insurer and broker job market and towards those sectors where you can thrive.

But if, in the other hand, you are proactive, if you need to build a future for your family and yourself, establishing financial stability with a job that takes advantage of all your skills, then you should strongly consider a career in the life insurance world.Why choosing a career in insurance?

Well, one of the main reasons is that you get to help people. Nothing pays more that having someone looking into your eyes and saying “Thank you, you really helped me”. You will be the one who provides trustful care to those who need it. Moreover, as you help them, you will be setting up a safe, stable future for you and all those who depend on you.

If you have good salesperson abilities, patience and good people skills, then success is a piece of cake. Remember, everyone needs life insurance, because nobody wants to leave his family uncovered when the unexpected happens; so it’s just a matter of time: eventually they will seek for an agent to get themselves a policy. That agent could be you!

So, this is your time to make a choice. You are good for many things, there is a number of careers you could choose; but have in mind that the right decision is what separates the successful person from the unsuccessful one. Of course, you do not want to be unsuccessful. Why should you? You have the skills, you have the power, you have all it takes to success in the insurance world. You just need to take one step: get a life insurance career. Choice is yours.

written by Andreea Dinescu.

Medical insurance billing is catching the fancy of a lot of people who are looking to make a

career for themselves, without having to slog in college for four or five years. With some

basic training, you are set for a career in this field. Another plus point is the number of

job opportunities available in the market. That’s because medical insurance billing services

are an integral part of any medical practice, and more and more health care facilities are

choosing to outsource this service to professional companies.

Medical Insurance Billing in a Nutshell

Medical Insurance Billing is the process of filing claims with insurance companies and

insurance providers on behalf of the doctor or the medical facility. This is done so that

the insurance companies can release payments for the services that have been rendered by the

physician or medical facility to the patient. This is usually a back-end job that is carried

out in the billing department of a medical facility or the claims processing office.

Who’s this Job For?

Offering medical insurance billing services is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is usually for

people who like the medical field and health care, but could not get an opportunity to

pursue it whole heartedly. Medical billers should be extremely meticulous, as there is no

room for error in this field. They need to be familiar with medical terms and coding, and be

willing to run circles around the insurance offices. In addition, it’s also important that

they seek to educate themselves by reading up and doing research constantly about the latest

in medical practice and health insurance.

Career Advancement Opportunities

Within a few years of getting into this field, you can think of setting up a home based

business. With the strides in technology and software, you can easily handle a large number

of claims and work for several group and individual practices at the same time. In a while,

you will be able to branch out into consulting and billing services, filing of electronic

claims or join a practice management firm. Other avenues you can explore subsequently could

be coding specialists, claims analyst, representatives for patient accounts, claims

processor and reviewer, and specialists in health insurance.

Having an insurance license opens you up to a whole new world of careers. You can choose from just about anything that you want to learn about insurance, regardless of what type it is. As long as you can find a need for your skills in the career world, you’ll be just fine. Some people prefer to sell life and health insurance, while others want to sell property and casualty insurance (home and auto). There are even some people who want to get all of the licenses that they can so that they can make the most of their insurance careers by being able to sell it all.

The choice is yours to make in the end, so make sure that you choose wisely. Remember that every state has different regulations and guidelines for getting an insurance license, because you will need to know these things. Also, you might want to check into your options for reciprocity, so that you can sell in other states. Reciprocity basically means that your insurance license is approved for use in a different state because they recognize the training and licensing process of your own state and accept it as a means of licensure.

It doesn’t matter why you’ve chosen to get an insurance license or which state you live in. Even though the economy isn’t that great right now, people will always need insurance. Home insurance and auto insurance are required by law in most states, so as long as people are buying houses and driving cars, they will need insurance services. Make sure that you take the time to check out your options and get the insurance license that suits your career goals and abilities.

General Course Description

This course will teach you the Educational Objectives that the California Department of Insurance has determined you need to know and thus prepare you to pass the State exam. This includes 40 hours of Life, Health & Disability as well as the 12 hours of Codes & Ethics.

Package Includes:

1. Online study manual as well as a hardcopy shipped directly to you.

2. Lesson Quizzes

3. E-mail & Phones Support

4. Certificate of Completion

5. Reporting directly to the California Department of Insurance

6. Online Review Questions Available for 90 Days | Excellent educational tool for students to study & prepare to pass the state exam | Students score 65% higher on the California state exam after using these online review questions.

Effective January 1st, 2007 the California Department of Insurance has amended the California Code to allow online Insurance pre-license training. No more long commutes, high costs or waiting until a lecture class starts. With over five years of insurance pre-license training experience in California, ISSC is at the forefront of the changing insurance training marketplace. Look at the press release text below:

Assembly Bill 2387 (Vargas, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2006) was signed into law on September 28, 2006 and

will take effect on January 1, 2007. This law amends Section 1749 of the California Insurance Code to remove

the word “classroom” from the prelicensing requirement and will add Section 1749 (g) to ensure that safeguards

are in place to maintain the integrity of prelicensing education. As a result of this change, prelicensing

education providers approved by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) can now submit online

prelicensing education courses to the Commissioner for approval.

Although regulations will be required to implement this legislative change, the CDI will review these courses

prior to the Office of Administrative Law’s approval of the regulations. Courses approved by the CDI will be

given “provisional approval,” which means that the course may be offered immediately as with the case of any

CDI approved course. However, these courses are subject to further review once the regulations are approved

which could potentially result in required changes to the course.

Until such time as the California Code of Regulations can be amended to reflect the change in the statute, the

reviews of online prelicensing education courses will be accomplished by ensuring that they meet the

requirements set forth in Section 1749 of the California Insurance Code. Section 1749 states, in part, the

following:

?? Applicants for a license as a fire and casualty broker-agent, life agent, and

personal lines broker-agent are to complete the minimum prelicensing education

hours required (i.e. 20 or 40 hours of product training, whichever is applicable,

and 12 hours of code and ethics training);

?? Review and approval of prelicensing courses not conducted in a classroom shall

include an evaluation of the safeguards that are in place to ensure that the student

completing the course is the person enrolled in the course; methods used to

monitor the students’ attendance are adequate; methods for the student to interact

with the entity providing the training exist; and, the methods used to record the

times spent completing the course are adequate.

Assembly Bill 2387 also added Section 1749 (h) which will become effective on January 1, 2007. This section

states that all prelicensing certificates of completion will now expire three years after the completion of the

prelicensing course, whether or not a license is issued to the student.

You can feel certain you are studying the right material when you study at ISSC. All of our CA Insurance course materials were completely revised in January of 2007 to better follow the California Educational Objectives. Our courses include a Flash Paper study manual, hundreds of online exam questions with explanations and online video instruction led by highly qualified insurance professionals to give you the edge you need to pass your exam. Click Available courses above to view further information about our innovative programs, or click register now above if you are ready to start your insurance career!

- Penalties for unethical behavior.

- Ethics for an understanding of business.

- Price of a tarnished reputation.

Penalties for Unethical Behavior

First and foremost, any unethical behavior that is discovered will probably cost far more than any potential gain.

Ethical breaches end careers much more than any other reason.  In the past few years, newspaper headlines have screamed of business malpractice in the insurance industry. Not many of these individuals, if any at all, still work in the industry.  On an agency level, those agents who made it a practice to “fudge” and made material misstatements on applications, in order to make a commission, are probably no longer in the industry.  These are severe penalties for such behavior; however such actions are not only unethical, but also illegal.

Ethics for Understanding Business

Successful insurance professionals understand that their personal ethics are transformed into a successful insurance career.  They realize that although business and personal responsibilities can be separated physically, they never will be able to separate their code of ethics.  There is no door which automatically admits them into reality at the end of a business day.  The ethical code of behavior is part of them and transformed into daily activities, whether it is business or personal pursuits.  Thus, it becomes obvious, that the study of ethics by   the   insurance   professional is indeed  important.

Since we are called upon to make value judgments every day, how we act, both in our business and personal lives, becomes paramount.  A study of ethics enables us to become aware of our thought process and helps us to make sound and ethical decisions.

Price of a Tarnished Reputation

Not every ethical breach is subject to the public spotlight.  In many cases, the individual involved keeps his/her job.  What does occur is that a reputation is established which is a tarnished one at best!  We all have known individuals who established stellar reputations in the business community.  Unfortunately, we all know individuals that have questionable reputations and no matter what is ever said to diminish these tarnished reputations, a lingering doubt remains.  Interestingly, the individual may not even realize that their behavior has been detected.  However, career paths and   promotions become  blocked  and  mediocrity  sets in.  In summary, unethical behavior is a prescription for business disaster.

California Insurance Continuing Education

Insurance Continuing Education

The average insurance agents’ income in our industry is around $34,000 per year. Most insurance agents will never build up enough renewal income to retire on. 80%-90% who start an insurance career in insurance sales will not make it in the insurance business beyond five years. Mastering prospecting and marketing, not necessarily selling (although selling skills are very important) is the key to succeeding long term in insurance sales. Most Career or Captive contracts take years to become 100% vested on your own sales. Many agents sign up under contracts that never offer vesting rights. Independent Insurance Agent contracts can provide immediate 100% vesting rights and usually pay higher commissions. Having the ability to pick and choose the companies you would like to sell products for allows you to be more flexible and offer more solutions to your prospective clients.

Had I searched out the advice and wisdom of someone who had been down the road I was heading first, it would have had a significant impact with the time it took to become successful in insurance sales. If I only knew then in 1981 when I started my career in insurance sales what I know now after many years of trial and error, learning things the hard way, testing many different sales, prospecting and marketing techniques, some that worked and many that didn’t, I would have been able to eliminate ten plus years of frustration and slower growth.

Let me emphasize that insurance sales can be one of the most rewarding, exciting, challenging and fulfilling careers for anyone who is self motivated, goal oriented, has good work habits, loves challenges and wants to be in control of their own destiny. The most important lesson I’ve learned over and over is that there is no new formula to becoming successful. Although there have been some great advancements in technology and the internet has created some exciting new ways to find prospects and market your products. Success in the insurance industry still requires the development of certain traits and habits that continually propel you forward towards your goals. Some of the tools we use to get there have changed but the personal ingredients needed have remained the same.

Many insurance agents excel well beyond our industries average income mentioned above. However, the chances of becoming one of the industries failing statistics are much higher, especially if you are not starting from a position of knowledge and available resources. Seek out the knowledge of someone who has traveled the road before you. Understand the differences between what an Independent Insurance Agent contract offers and a Career or Captive contract offers. Get a feel for the type of support and resources you will need to have the best chance for success as you move forward. There are many good quality Agency support systems you can plug into. You will want to find an agency system that provides a good size product portfolio, product training, lead and prospecting support as well as growth opportunities that allow you to reach General Agent commission levels.

If you’re someone who has a willingness to learn and the desire to succeed, if you enjoy working with and helping others, I truly believe an insurance sales career can be all you dream it could be. My reality has grown much larger than what my dreams were when I started my insurance sales career. So I encourage you to dream big dreams, step out and move forward to make them a reality too.

If you are interested in a agent support system that provides all the tools, support, and resources you will need to either become successful in insurance sales and/or build your own agency, visit the links or call 1-800-359-0980 (ask for Dan or Scott) to help you decide what’s best for you!

Thank you and make it a great career,

Daniel B. Hagy
President

If you already have a position with a company or are getting hired into that company once your licensing is completed, you will also want to determine if they have any special insurance school requirements for you to follow. Some companies will want you to take company-specific training courses so that you can provide their insurance services properly. Others will be more laid back and simply want to see your state licensing to ensure that you’re able to do the job. Regardless of what type of training is required, you might want to look at online insurance school options to get a more convenient and practical training.

Online insurance school programs aren’t hard to find. Depending on the training and education that you need, you can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to find exactly what you need online to get the best insurance education that you can possibly get. There are so many different options for education these days, and thanks to the internet you can now get all of the training that you need from the convenience and comfort of home. If online training isn’t your style, there are still plenty of traditional classroom courses that you can take.

Insurance school is not always the same in every state or region. Some states have different courses and requirements that students have to meet, so it is critical that you know what you need. In order to have the best chances of career success, you should attend insurance school before you get licensed whether it is a requirement or not. Just take the time to check out all of the different options that you have and find the one that works best for you. There really is no limit to what you can do if you put forth the effort, and completing insurance school to get your insurance license is a great career move for anyone.