It’s obvious from its name that property and casualty insurance involves two different kinds of insurance: property and casualty. Property insurance covers damage or loss related to physical property such as automobiles, homes, electronic devices, and jewelry. Casualty insurance protects policyholders from financial loss if they cause someone to suffer bodily injury or property damage.
Just like property and casualty insurance involves two kinds of coverage, each type of insurance falls into two categories: commercial and personal. Commercial property and casualty insurance is purchased by entities such as hospitals, governments, and businesses while individuals buy personal insurance policies.
Having just earned your property and casualty license, you already know who buys what kind of insurance. What you may not know, however, is what you should do next. While some agents sell property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals, others specialize in serving one market instead of both. Given the complexity of some property and casualty coverage, some agencies narrow their focus even further and specialize in coverage for businesses competing in a specific industry or people who hold certain kinds of jobs.
So, one of the first things you should consider now that you have your P&C license is the kinds of insurance you want to sell.
Career Paths P&C Licensees Should Consider
If you’re worried you don’t have the sales skills necessary to succeed as an agent or you’re concerned about your ability to handle the repeated rejection that’s often part of daily life for salespeople, don’t worry. As the holder of a P&C license, you can consider a number of different career paths. Some of the career paths you should consider if you don’t want to be an agent include:
- Claims Adjuster: As a claims adjuster, you’ll work for an insurance company and determine if claims filed against your employer’s insurance policies are actually covered by them. You’ll investigate the occurrences that lead people to file claims, as well. Once your investigation of an incident is complete, you’ll determine the amount of your employer’s possible liability.
- Insurance Examiner: The role of an insurance examiner is quite similar to that of an adjuster. An insurance examiner normally has more on-the-job experience than adjusters do and they typically handle the most potentially expensive and challenging claims.
- Insurance Investigator: While insurance adjusters and examiners are employed directly by insurance companies, insurance investigators are either employed in the same manner or they’re hired as sub-contractors. An insurance investigator’s work is similar to the work done by adjustors and examiners, but they normally look into claims which may involve criminal activity or insurance fraud.
- Underwriter: Underwriters work for insurance carriers and price commercial and casualty insurance policies. Underwriters use computer programs and actuarial data to identify the likelihood that a policy will have to cover an injurious or damaging event and how much the policy might have to pay over the course of its lifetime. One of an underwriter’s most important responsibilities is to estimate their employer’s risk before the company enters into an insurance contract with an individual or commercial entity and when the policy is due to be renewed.
What P&C Licensees Should Do
No matter what career path you choose to follow, there’s one thing you’ll need to do to keep your P&C license: continue your education. In order to renew your insurance license, you’ll have to complete a certain number of continuing education hours in a period of time that’s dictated by the state which issued your license.
At StateCE, we make getting the CE credits you need to keep your license active easy. You can complete our online classes at your own pace where and when it’s convenient for you. Once you’ve satisfied a course’s requirements, we’ll even submit the CE credits to your state for you within 24 hours.
To learn more about our P&C insurance CE courses, contact us online or call StateCE at 877-603-4073 now.