Is Property And Casualty Insurance A Good Career Path? What To Know

If you are an outgoing self-starter with an eye for detail, working as an agent for a property and casualty insurer may be a good career path. Insurance sales agents help customers understand insurance coverage, sift through plans and find the right fit.

Sales agents usually specialize in a certain type of insurance, such as property and casualty, which covers losses to a business, individual or property. Read on to learn how to become a property and casualty insurance sales agent.

Property and casualty insurers, such as Nationwide or Allstate, provide coverage in case of harm to an individual, a business or property. You may be familiar with some specialty insurance types, such as homeowners or renters insurance.

Property and casualty insurance are typically bundled into one policy, but the terms refer to different things:

Property insurance covers your belongings, such as your home.
Casualty insurance covers your expenses if you are found liable for damages to another person or their belongings.

Say someone falls and is injured on your property. You may be responsible for paying their medical bills, but an insurer can help cover that expense. Insurers can also reimburse you for damage from vandalism or natural disasters, depending on your policy.

What Is a Property and Casualty Insurance Agent?

Property and casualty insurance are typically bundled into one policy, but the terms refer to different things:

Property insurance covers your belongings, such as your home.
Casualty insurance covers your expenses if you are found liable for damages to another person or their belongings.

What Is a Property and Casualty Insurance Agent?

Is working for a property and casualty insurer a good career path? It can be—especially for people pivoting in their careers or those without an advanced degree. This field has a low barrier to entry, but there are still some requirements to keep in mind.

Education

Most employers require at least a high school diploma and many require a bachelor’s degree in risk management, business or a relevant field.

Applicants without a bachelor’s degree in a related field can gain skills by taking online classes in business, finance, economics, sales or public speaking.

Work Experience

You don’t need any prior experience to work as an insurance agent. You can learn on the job, and many interpersonal and communication skills are transferable to insurance sales. If you work at an insurance agency or firm, a more experienced agent may train you on policy details and sales tactics.

Licensure

Insurance sales agents must earn state licensure, but requirements vary. Research licensing requirements for the state where you want to practice.

Property and casualty insurance agents are licensed separately from those selling health and life insurance. To become licensed, most states require you to complete courses and pass an exam.

New York, for example, requires applicants to take a state-approved course with at least 90 hours of instruction. The licensure fee is $80, and agents must maintain their license through continued education courses, including ethics and insurance law.

Salary and Job Outlook for Property and Casualty Insurance Agents

Insurance sales agents make reliable salaries that vary depending on specialty. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups salary information for all insurance specialties together, including property and casualty insurance.

Insurance sales agents made a median annual wage of $57,860 in May 2022, according to the BLS. This figure includes commission and bonuses. The top 10% of insurance sales agents made a median annual wage of $130,350, whereas the lowest 10% of earners made $31,530.

Sales agents may have different income structures. Those employed by an agency may earn a salary plus commission or bonuses. Independent agents, however, might only earn a commission.

Job Outlook

The BLS predicts a 6% growth in this field from 2021 to 2031, which is on pace with the 5% expected growth across all occupations.

The BLS expects demand for insurance agents to continue as they ensure profitability for insurance companies. However, independent sales agents should see the strongest employment growth. While insurance information is increasingly available online, customers still depend on agents’ expertise to navigate the market.

Types of Property and Casualty Insurance

Customers can find insurance coverage for almost any situation. These are some of the main specialties:

Car: Covers your vehicle (or another person’s) in case of an accident and medical bills if you injure someone with your car.
Condo: Covers damage to your condo or shared areas of the property.
Homeowners: Covers damage to your home and property and injuries that occur on your property.
Landlord: Covers property you rent out and potential liability issues with tenants.
Marine: Covers losses to shipping vessels and shipyards
Power sports: Covers vehicles such as scooters, ATVs and motorcycles.
Professional liability: Covers businesses and individuals if a customer claims negligence.
Renters: May cover theft and damage to renters’ belongings, injuries to others and living expenses if renters must move.

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🌍 Join us in revolutionizing the Property and Casualty industry. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or an aspiring talent, reach out today! Send us a DM to schedule a consultation about your succession plan and discover how we can customize your path to success while boosting your bottom line. 📩

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Commercial P&C Insurance

Commercial Office Space Set for a Strong Comeback

The sustained increase in demand for office space across the nation since late 2022 suggests that the market has moved past its lowest point, according to insights from the real estate technology platform, VTS. Demand for office space began to rise in late 2022 and continued into early 2023. Since then, the office market has experienced a period of stability and growth, supported by favorable economic factors, indicating a market rebound. This conclusion is drawn from the VTS Office Demand Index (VODI), which tracks unique new tenant tour requests for office properties in key U.S. markets. The VODI serves as an early indicator of future office leasing activity. According to the index, demand for office space has grown consistently over the past 12 months, closing the second quarter with a 17% year-over-year increase and a 34% rise from the VODI’s lowest point in December 2022. A significant shift in office-based employment patterns further supports the belief that demand for office space has stabilized. After reaching its peak in August 2022, office-based employment declined by 3.9% in early 2024. However, this trend has since stabilized, and employment growth has remained steady. Additionally, a recent decrease in work-from-home rates has fueled the renewed demand for office space. “They say you can only recognize a market bottom after it has passed, and the office space market is no exception. Following what we now see as the bottom, the national demand has gradually increased, though it remains susceptible to economic challenges,” said Nick Romito, CEO of VTS. “However, the growth observed in VODI over the past 18 months, coupled with positive trends in the office-using workforce, suggests that the market has reset, and the worst is behind us.” It’s important to note that this national trend does not impact all local markets equally. Cities like Los Angeles and New York City have seen healthy growth in office space demand, while markets such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have experienced prolonged stagnation. In Los Angeles, office space demand surged in the second quarter, briefly surpassing pre-COVID levels, driven by an increase in the average size of office spaces sought by tenants. New York City followed a similar overall pattern, though with some softness in the second quarter. Conversely, San Francisco’s demand for office space remains unpredictable, largely due to its tech-focused workforce, which continues to favor remote work more than other industries. “Markets heavily dependent on the tech sector, like San Francisco and Seattle, are on a markedly different post-COVID recovery path compared to more diversified markets like Los Angeles and New York City. It may take some time before we see office demand in San Francisco and Seattle return to pre-COVID levels,” added Ryan Masiello, Chief Strategy Officer at VTS.

Cyber Liability

Global IT Outage Puts Business Interruption Insurance in the Spotlight

In July, a global IT outage had a significant impact on business interruption insurance policies, overshadowing the effects on cyber insurance coverages. “This incident wasn’t a result of a malicious attack, which is why typical cyber insurance policies may not have been activated,” explained Peter McMurtrie, a partner in West Monroe’s insurance sector, in an interview with PropertyCasualty360.com. “Where coverage was applicable, factors like deductible amounts, waiting periods, and coverage limits played a critical role in determining the extent of exposure,” McMurtrie noted. “Standard policies for small businesses were less likely to offer coverage, while more complex policies for mid-sized companies and Fortune 500 corporations may have included broader triggers for non-malicious outages caused by third-party software issues.” The outage was triggered by a software update on July 19, 2024, by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which affected organizations worldwide using Microsoft Windows. This interruption had far-reaching consequences, including disrupting hospital systems, media outlets, financial institutions, delaying thousands of flights, and halting daily business operations. McMurtrie emphasized that while the initial impact of the outage was similar for both large and small businesses, the ability to recover operations and whether insurance covered the loss of business income varied. “Larger companies are more likely to have advanced disaster recovery plans that ensure service redundancy following unexpected outages,” he added. “Their insurance programs also tend to cover a wider range of incidents.” According to Microsoft, the CrowdStrike update error affected over 8.5 million Windows devices globally. The incident highlighted the interconnected nature of our global ecosystem, including cloud providers, software platforms, security services, and their clients. “It’s a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing safe deployment and disaster recovery across the tech industry,” the company said in a blog post. McMurtrie pointed out that the outage’s widespread impact was largely due to its effect on organizations that are critical to societal infrastructure—sectors like agriculture, airlines, banking, energy, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. “Insurance companies base their risk appetite on their ability to understand and price risks appropriately. This becomes increasingly challenging with emerging threats,” he said. “However, I anticipate that insurers will respond by clarifying policy language, refining risk selection criteria, and possibly developing new products specifically designed for this evolving exposure.”

Is Property And Casualty Insurance A Good Career Path? What To Know