Ibrahim Hosen Somrat: As a profession, insurance agency work may be rewarding for those who are excellent with customers and have a knack for selling. You can get started with a little outlay of cash, and because you have a lot of room for creative freedom, the potential rewards are sky-high.

Similarly, the insurance sector is very resilient to recessions, and it has comparatively easy entry requirements.

While there are insurance agents that work for large corporations, the focus of this essay is on starting and running your own insurance agency.

What does it entail to work as an insurance agent?

The need for insurance plan brokers is at an all-time high. The role has more responsibilities than mere sales alone. While you are aiding your customers with risk assessment and meeting their insurance requirements, you will also have the opportunity to deepen your connection with them over the long term.

There are several potential areas of concentration, including medical, life, and property and casualty (P&C) insurance.

What kinds of qualifications do you need to become an insurance agent?

A license is necessary in every state for an insurance agent, while the specific education and experience requirements vary widely from one jurisdiction to the next. It’s also possible that you’ll need to take and pass a licensure exam to legally sell insurance, but this may vary by state and per policy. Be aware that a four-year degree is not always required to get a license. 

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Even though more and more people are opting to purchase insurance plans via different internet channels, the BLS predicts that demand for insurance brokers will stay strong. Compared to the norm for all occupations, the projected ten-year increase in employment opportunities is above-average at 10%.

Working as an agent in the United States typically yields an annual salary of about over $50,000. This number fluctuates greatly for independent insurance agents since it depends on several factors, including the types of insurance they sell, the area in which they operate, and the clients they take on.

How long of a time commitment is it to become an insurance agent?

Your estimation of the amount of time necessary to become an insurance agent is probably not accurate. To be licensed to sell insurance in your state, you could be required to complete as many as forty hours of training beforehand. 

You may be able to fit furthering your education into your schedule even if you already have a lot going on since so many schools now offer classes online.

The next thing you need to do is register your business, take any tests that are required, and do any background checks that are necessary.

Setting up your insurance business

After you have obtained your license, the next step in setting up your insurance company is to choose a suitable business structure for your enterprise. 

Because the decision you make will have long-term repercussions for your firm, it is in your best interest to seek the advice of an expert in tax law or an attorney specializing in business law.

The following are the three most frequent business structures for insurance agency companies:

Sole Proprietorship

If you’re going into the insurance industry on your own and don’t plan on having any partners, a sole proprietorship is the best legal structure for you. 

Either your Social Security number or an application for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) may be used to file taxes (employer identification number). 

You may use your individual tax return to disclose your business’s deductions, profits, and losses, as well as your portion of the taxes owing by the company. However, you may face personal liability if your business is sued.

LLC

If you are a free agent who is interested in creating a partnership with another agent or protecting yourself from legal obligation, you may want to think about establishing a limited liability company (LLC) (limited liability corporation). 

Earnings and losses “flow-through” to the individual tax returns of the owners of the business with no effort required from any of them. In the event that the company is sued, you will not be held personally liable for the payment of any of the judgments or fees.

S Corporation

An S Corporation must pay its employees a wage and deduct payroll taxes from that compensation. 

Any surplus profits may be distributed to shareholders as dividends, which are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. This might be useful in some situations. 

LLCs may make the choice with the IRS to convert to S corporations, but doing so will result in additional annual reporting obligations. Talk to a tax professional to see whether this election can save money for your business.