No matter what the economic state of the country, it seems that there is always a demand for new insurance agents, and that brings up the question of the insurance agent salary. An insurance agent salary can cover a huge range because, as an agent, you need to build up your client list before you make decent money.

Of course, that depends on your definition of “decent money.” The median income for all workers in the United States is around $32,500. That includes folks who work full time and those who work part time.

Interestingly enough, just working part time does not mean that you make less money. This is incentive to insurance agents who can scale back to part time later in their careers and still maintain a similar income level as when they were putting in full time effort.

This is the payback for working more than full time when you begin this career path. (For the sake of this article, we’ll consider full time to be 40 hours per week/2080 hours per year.)

An insurance agent’s salary is dependent on the number of clients they have and the type of policies they have. The median salary for an insurance agent in the United States is $44,519. The bottom ten percent of agents earn less than $37,000, while the top ten percent earn over $55,400.

This does not take into consideration any bonuses which may come with completed levels of sales, since basically an insurance agent is a sales person with insurance being their product. Some companies offer agents a base salary plus commission to start their career, and others continue to offer that base salary throughout employment. Companies like that typically give less of a percentage on commission to cover the cost of the base salary.

Experienced insurance agents may choose to forego a base salary, but most entry level insurance positions would remain open if there wasn’t some base to cover the learning/earning curve.

All agents in the United States are required to have some level of certification/licensure to be able to work as an insurance agent. This is another factor for people considering entering the insurance field and who feel lured by that insurance agent salary. Does the company that has offered you a position or an interview cover the cost of education and licensing, or is that an out-of-pocket expense for the potential employee?

Most insurance companies are looking for well-educated, articulate people to fill these positions and want to have long-term employees. There is plenty of opportunity for advancement, as there are lots of positions in the insurance field including agents, adjusters, actuaries, managers and trainers. Pay for these positions may equal or exceed that of the basic insurance agent salary.

No matter the state of the economy, insurance is a mandated need for citizens of the United States, and there will always be a need for insurance agents.