Industry Earnings
Weekly earnings of nonsupervisory workers in the insurance industry averaged $756 in May 2004, considerably higher than the average of $529 for all private industry. Earnings of the largest occupations in insurance in May 2004 appear in table 2.
| Occupation | Insurance | All industries |
|---|---|---|
General and operations managers | $49.65 | $37.22 |
Computer systems analysts | 32.09 | 31.95 |
Accountants and auditors | 24.35 | 24.41 |
Insurance underwriters | 23.37 | 23.34 |
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers | 23.20 | 19.72 |
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators | 21.33 | 21.26 |
Insurance sales agents | 20.14 | 20.06 |
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants | 17.67 | 16.81 |
Customer service representatives | 14.12 | 12.99 |
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks | 14.02 | 14.06 |
Most independent sales agents own their own businesses and are paid a commission only. Sales agents who are employees of an agency may be paid a salary only, a salary plus commission, or a salary plus a bonus. An agent's earnings usually increase rapidly with experience. Many agencies also pay an agent's expenses for automobiles and transportation, travel to conventions, and continuing education.
Insurance carriers offer attractive benefits packages, as is frequently the case with large companies. Yearly bonuses, retirement investment plans, insurance, and paid vacation often are standard. Insurance agencies, which generally are smaller, offer less extensive benefits.
Unionization is not widespread in the insurance industry. In 2004, 3 percent of all insurance workers were union members or were covered by union contracts, compared with 14 percent of workers throughout private industry.