Insurance sales agents
SOC Code: 41-3021
Insurance sales agents carries a 40% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $60,370 and +3.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 568,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 40% AI exposure, Insurance sales agents sits 3 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 68% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
50/100
Insurance sales agents, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage C- $60,370
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C+ +3.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 40% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Insurance sales agents in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Insurance sales agents keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Insurance sales agents sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Insurance sales agents sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
40% Around the middle lower than 32% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Insurance sales agents vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Insurance sales agents is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Insurance sales agents's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 41-3021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Insurance sales agents be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Insurance sales agents. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
- 2. Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice.
- 3. Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.
- 4. Perform administrative tasks, such as maintaining records and handling policy renewals.
- 5. Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.
- 6. Call on policyholders to deliver and explain policy, to analyze insurance program and suggest additions or changes, or to change beneficiaries.
- 7. Confer with clients to obtain and provide information when claims are made on a policy.
- 8. Interview prospective clients to obtain data about their financial resources and needs, the physical condition of the person or property to be insured, and to discuss any existing coverage.
- 9. Contact underwriter and submit forms to obtain binder coverage.
- 10. Select company that offers type of coverage requested by client to underwrite policy.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Persuasion
- Time Management
- Service Orientation
- Negotiation
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Law and Government
- Transportation
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Communications and Media
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Insurance sales agents?
Insurance sales agents has an AI exposure score of 40%, indicating a high level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Insurance sales agents?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Insurance sales agents is projected to grow by 3.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 568,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Insurance sales agents?
Key skills for Insurance sales agents include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Insurance sales agents earn?
The median annual wage for Insurance sales agents is $60,370, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Insurance sales agents?
The typical entry-level education for Insurance sales agents is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Insurance sales agents?
Insurance sales agents roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Insurance sales agents: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (40% here).
- Bus drivers, transit and intercity · AI exposure 40%
- Community health workers · AI exposure 40%
- Credit counselors · AI exposure 40%
- Curators · AI exposure 40%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+3.7% here).
- Chemical technicians · growth +3.7%
- First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors · growth +3.7%
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks · growth +3.7%
- Medical appliance technicians · growth +3.7%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 12 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Insurance sales agents' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Insurance sales agents side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).