The insurance industry is both highly competitive, and constantly evolving. In order to be successful in such a fast-growing industry, you must perform to the best of your ability. The best way to thrive in the sector, is investing in your education. You can do this by constantly growing your skill set and knowledge. Decades ago, insurance agents were simply people who sold policies. In today’s day in age, agents are expected to go above and beyond. This means doing everything you can to pair clients with personalized services depending on their needs. This shift makes the average person value insurance agents far more than ever before. With over 800,000 licensed agents in the United States alone, there’s never been a better time to brush up on your skills.
The most successful agents view their career as a lifelong journey. This involves a commitment to constantly taking in new material and information to better yourself. By making the decision to continue your education, you’ll stay ahead of the curve and you’ll be more effective in your role. Before you dive in, you should learn about some helpful resources. This mainly includes online tools and continuing education programs.
Reasons to Invest in Your Future
By utilizing some of the following resources, your insurance expertise will improve in many different ways. If you’re on the fence about investing your time, here are some ways that you can benefit:
1.Industry Trends
Like so many other industries, the insurance industry is always changing. Whether it be new regulations, technology, products, or anything else, being aware of what is on the horizon gives you a competitive edge. For example, if you know that major regulatory changes are coming up, you can have all your ducks in a row ahead of time. Taking the time to learn the newest trends and insights will allow you to be proactive instead of reactive.
2.Client Trust
When it comes to your clients, being knowledgeable is the name of the game. There are hundreds of thousands of insurance agents in the field. With that said, it’s your job to make your clients feel confident that they chose you. The best way to showcase your expertise and build relationships based on trust is by investing in your education. When a client sees firsthand that you have in-depth knowledge about products and policy details, they will likely leave satisfied and continue to come back for renewals. Not to mention that these long-term relationships can foster valuable referrals as well.
3.Sales, Marketing and Customer Service
As an insurance agent you have a role that is all encompassing. This means being proficient at selling, marketing, and interacting with customers are all equally important. One of the main reasons agents are investing in continued education is to brush up on these skills. Being effective in all three of these areas will not only help you build a strong reputation, but it can also directly impact the amount of money that you bring in.
Continued Education Resources
If you were previously unsure, hopefully you now realize why it is so valuable to be investing in your knowledge and continue your journey of learning. Keeping these reasons in mind, we will now dive into a variety of resources that will help support your development in the field.
1.Continuing Education Programs
Continuing education programs are hugely popular in the insurance industry. In fact, in some states, you may be required to take these courses every few years in order to maintain your license. Some companies will even pay for continuing education courses for their employees as investing benefits both the agent and the organization. While these courses can cover a wide range of topics, they tend to focus on recent trends, best practices and regulatory changes.
When researching these programs, you first should look at the requirements for your own state. Even if they are not required they are well worth investing in. With that said, knowing your state’s rules will make sure that you remain compliant. You should also keep in mind that many of these courses are specialized, meaning that they focus on a particular type of insurance, so be sure that the one you sign up for is relevant to your career. Another aspect that you should pay attention to is any certifications that you can earn along the way by taking courses. Certifications are great ways to showcase your skills and credibility to both your employer and clients.
2.Online Platforms
It has never been easier to continue your education than it is currently in our digital world. Online learning platforms are widely available and offer helpful tools including courses, webinars, articles and more. Not to mention that accessing these tools is as easy as opening up your smartphone. When deciding on which platform to use, it’s important that you do your own research and look into the specifics of each, so you can make sure it aligns with your focus. Some popular online platforms include LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udacity, edX, and many others. Additionally, many insurance associations such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offer online resources for their members.
3.Seminars and Conferences
A fun way to learn new skills and insights is to attend insurance related conferences or seminars. These events will also allow you to network and make connections with other professionals that could be valuable to you in the future. While the format of these events can vary, they generally include highly-esteemed guest speakers, Q&A sessions, workshops, and booths where you can meet individuals from other organizations. A good way to choose which of these events to attend is by paying attention to the one’s hosted by insurance associations or other reputable organizations.
4.Literature
When in doubt, you can always look to books, journals, blogs, and online industry publications. The truth is, there is literature available on any insurance-related topic you can think of. Whether you want to read about sales tactics, insuretech, risk management, regulations or anything else, reading will never let you down. Just be sure that what you decide to read is credible and comes recommended from other industry professionals.
5.Mentorship
There’s nothing like personal experience, and who has more personal experience than industry veterans. This is especially true if they have worked in a similar role as you for a long time. Professional mentorship provides insight that you oftentimes can’t get from a book or educational course. When looking for a mentor, find someone who you look up to in a professional sense. An ideal mentor is also someone who’s regularly available, and not afraid to push you to your limits.
Forming Your Own Learning Plan
When thinking about restarting your own educational journey, it’s important you have a strategic approach. This will ensure that your sources are credible, and what you are learning is truly relevant to you. Here are some steps to consider when creating your own plan:
- Defined Your Goals: Determine what it is that you want to achieve or get out of your learning experience. Be as specific as possible. Also, center these goals around your career objectives and the skills necessary to reach these goals.
- Look at Your Current Skills: Take a look at yourself and identify your strengths and weaknesses. In turn this will help you to get a better idea of where you need to improve.
- Research a Variety of Resources: Look into a number of the resources that we talked about. Depending on your preferences, needs and goals, you’ll be able to identify which one(s) is best for you.
- Plan Accordingly: Since your continued education will be in addition to your current work and personal-life schedules, it will benefit you to plan out your time accordingly. Mark your calendar with alerts for study sessions, or dates for industry conferences that you wish to attend.
- Talk with Industry Peers: Many of your work peers may already be investing in some of the resources that you’re interested in already in the past. By talking to people that you value, they can provide you with feedback and tips to make adjustments when needed.
- Adapt to Changes and Never Stop Learning: As mentioned, the industry today looks far different than it did twenty years ago, and in another twenty years it will look different than today. This is why it’s so crucial to adapt your methods of learning as you go. Additionally, remember that there is always more to learn, so get creative and keep striving for excellence!
Final Thoughts
Investing in your continued education is necessary for all agents who wish to be successful in an ever changing industry. By forming a detailed learning plan and taking advantage of resources such as continued education programs, online platforms, literature, conferences, and other professionals, you will always be up-to-date and can stay ahead of your competition. While you don’t want to overload yourself with information, you must remember that learning is a lifelong process. Investing in your education takes a lot of time and effort, but eventually you’ll see your hard work pay off. This could come in the form of more satisfied clients, more sales, or more confidence in your abilities. So make a plan specific to your goals and get after it! And who knows… one day you might be the person who unexperienced agents look to for advice.
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