Ranking the Highest Paying Insurance Jobs by Salary
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You might want to protect many things in life to the maximum degree, like the house or car you worked so hard for. The truth is that life is unpredictable. That’s why insurance is an industry with many paths to choose a career from. You can go into finance, sales, adjusting, or even investigating. So, if you’re considering starting it, you may be asking yourself, “what are the best paying insurance jobs?”
Check out the best jobs in insurance in terms of salary, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down below!
Best jobs in insurance for high salaries
1. Financial Managers
Median yearly salary: $131,710 per year
Median hourly wage: 63.32 per hour
How good are you with numbers? Financial managers are some of the very best since they’re responsible for weighing the pros and cons of deals that salespeople are thinking of closing. In general, they’re in charge of the financial health of their company or organization, developing investments, keeping reports on how things are going, and making plans for long-term growth.
Financial managers have two roles in the insurance industry: risk managers and insurance managers. Risk managers, as their name implies, try to manage an organization’s risks. This can be either from the financial side or the operational side. Their central role is monitoring, planning, and having regular checkups on their action plans. Insurance managers, in contrast, try to ensure that they’re covered in case any of the failsafes, well, fail.
Think of it this way, the risk managers are the ones that attempt to predict, for example, that a machine may jam or malfunction and hurt an employee; they create a plan for the maintenance of the device and the general safety procedures for workers. Meanwhile, the insurance managers are the ones with a plan for covering the organization if anything fails. Easy to remember, right?
What you need:
- Entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
- Work experience in related occupation: Five or more years of experience
- On-the-job training: None
2. Actuaries
Median yearly salary: $105,900 per year
Median hourly wage: $50.91 per hour
Actuaries are responsible for analyzing financial risk and uncertainty. They try to calculate the risks of insuring someone according to their industry. A health insurance actuary will look at the information a person has provided about their lifestyle, such as family history, occupation, and other factors that can predict the costs of living according to an insurance contract.
Their work is vital for the insurance industry, and their activities vary depending on their specialization. Some of the most common fields of insurance are:
- Health insurance actuaries
- Life insurance actuaries
- Property and casualty insurance actuaries
- Enterprise risk management actuaries
- Pension and retirement benefits actuaries
- Public sector actuaries
This industry has been expanding at an exceptional rate, with a 24% projected growth between 2020 and 2030, much larger than the 7% standard.
What you need:
- Entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
- Work experience in related occupation: A strong background in mathematics, statistics, and business.
- On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training and certifications
3. Financial Analysts
Median yearly salary: $81,410 per year
Median hourly wage: $39.14 per hour
Financial analysts guide individuals and businesses on what to invest in to maximize their profits. They provide highly sought-after insights to insurance companies as buy-side analysts, developing plans and strategies on how to spend their money to make money. They typically focus on specific sectors’ different trends and directions, such as geographic location or industry.
A financial analyst has excellent opportunities for advancing in their career, especially if they obtain Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification. Which they can get with a bachelor’s degree and a couple years of experience. Still, as a starting position, most analysts begin this entry-level job with just their bachelor’s and their employer sponsoring them for a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority license.
What you need:
- Entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
- Work experience in related occupation: None
- On-the-job training: None
4. Accountants and Auditors
Median yearly salary: $77,250 per year
Median hourly wage: $37.14 per hour
Accountants and auditors ensure that the financial portfolios of organizations and individuals are running efficiently and within their means, laws, and regulations. They can work within organizations or privately to help manage assets and investments.
An accounting career is an excellent choice for development. Many accountants rise to the ranks of top executives and financial management thanks to the career’s accounting, auditing, or economic background. Since it has a significant role in business, not only in the insurance sector, there are many paths to start a career in accounting. You must carefully consider other ways, such as certifications, licenses, and registrations.
What you need:
- Entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree, Certified Public Accountants (CPAs)
- Work experience in related occupation: None
- On-the-job training: None
5. Insurance Underwriters
Median yearly salary: $76,390 per year
Median hourly wage: $36.73 per hour
Insurance underwriters are the people who comb over potential clients’ information to determine if providing insurance is a good investment and under what terms would this service be provided. They are the main link between the insurance company and the sales agent.
Underwriters must delicately weigh the pros and cons of insuring someone and offering the maximum protection in case of a crisis while keeping in mind the company’s interests. They make the call whenever there’s a complex case, like a company looking for financial insurance after filing for bankruptcy. This means they need excellent analytical and decision-making skills to solve the complex arrangements they might face.
What you need:
- Entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
- Work experience in related occupation: None
- On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training
If you’re interested in jumpstarting a career in insurance, contact one of our specialized recruiters in this field.
Contributed by Ana Martinez
