Career Path Chart

The focus is typically on being a ‘sponge’ to begin learning the craft of the insurance business and exposing yourself to as many different facets of the industry and your role as possible.

You may be coming to your role with a sound understanding of sales and relationship management. One key ingredient for success will be to hone your insurance knowledge and expertise so to inform and strengthen your sales relationships with clients.

Depending on the size, structure, and scope of your organization, you may be responsible for aspects of both the sales and service stream within the Broker Role. You may also find that you are interested or well suited to a role in the service stream. So, it may be useful to review the Service Stream Career and Education Map to help benchmark where you are now and where you might like to go over the course of your career as a Broker.

Curious

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Focus on the Customer

Both Formal and Informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may be most beneficial in the areas of solidifying foundational insurance knowledge and drawing on the mentor’s insurance experience and subject matter expertise.

You may have completed or are working towards your Level 1 Licence - this is mandatory and, in most cases, gives you credit towards the first course (C11 – Principles and Practices of Insurance) of the Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation offered through the Insurance Institute of Canada.

Leverage your learning from your studies, internal training programs/seminars or other work experiences to help you get started in your insurance career.

Focus on building your knowledge of Insurance Fundamentals, critical coverages and products in your service area, and continuing with your CIP Designation.

At this stage, you are focused on learning the fundamentals of working with insurance products and the sales framework within your organization.

The risks you are involved with are less complex but are at the core of personal and commercial insurance needs of the clients you serve.

Your focus will be on developing skills in the following areas:

• Sound working knowledge of the products and lines of business available to your clients

• Fostering understanding of coverages, exclusions, and endorsements available to your clients

• Facilitating the process of securing client business and selling them the appropriate insurance products; also, includes extensively supporting the renewal process

• Developing your ability to build rapport with clients, ask clarifying questions to better identify and understand their needs, and providing solutions which reflect a sound insurance strategy based on your client’s needs

• Ensuring completion of required forms and documentation in accordance with regulatory, underwriting and company standards

• Building strong and effective client, service, claims and underwriting relationships

• Demonstrating capacity in managing multiple client needs and priorities, working to tight timelines, and being proactive in responding to emerging issues

• Building on solid business communication (written, verbal and presentation) and interpersonal skills

Subscribe to on-line newsletters and industry publications (ie. Thompsons, CI Top Broker), visit industry websites, and monitor social media channels (ie. Insurance Institute’s LinkedIN Group, Twitter) to broaden your global industry awareness.

Consider joining professional associations (Broker Association, Young Brokers Council, etc.) or becoming involved at your local Institute/Chapter.

Demonstrating leadership as you begin your career as a Broker/Agent with a focus on client service can come in many forms. Likely though, it begins with listening and curiosity. Some of the industry’s most respected leaders are known for hearing what others are saying, synthesizing information, asking the right questions, and recommending a course of action based on what they have heard.

At this stage, you will be in a prime position to ask questions, make connections, and establish your capacity to actively listen to colleagues, managers, underwriters, claims professionals and the industry’s emerging trends and issues. In this process, you will be establishing other solid foundations for leadership competencies including respect, reliability, and engagement in the business.

Continue to focus on growing your knowledge in order to increase your capacity to manage client needs with more independence.

You are becoming increasingly proficient in understanding and responding to your client needs, influencing your clients and colleagues without authority, sales targets/frameworks within your organization, metrics and managing relationships with industry professionals to help you achieve success in your role.

In particular, you may find it beneficial to build your understanding of and focus on maintaining the balance between sales/production and customer relationship management. It is critical that you also focus on building a book of business to facilitate your on-going career advancement

This is also a time where you may become more aware specialties and options available to you– lines of business, products, areas of subject matter expertise, etc.

It is important to try to understand the options available in your organization/the industry and learn as much as you can about them – whether through exposure on the job, learning in the classroom, mentorship, or simply doing some research on-line.

From here, you can decide which ones fits with who you are, what you are good at, and offers possibilities that are in line with what you would like in the next step in your career.

Sales Driven

Team Player

Influencer without Authority

Ethical Decision Making

Relationship Builder

Conflict Manager

Formal and informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may be most beneficial in the areas of understanding how to adapt general knowledge to fit the needs of more complex or specialized risks, sales tools and tactics, ethical decision making, and leveraging the mentor’s insurance experience and subject matter expertise for a particular problem or need on the job

At this stage in your career, you are beginning to require more specialized knowledge of insurance products and lines of business.

Depending on the risks being taken on and insurance solutions being proposed by you to your clients, you may find it helpful to pursue the Mandatory courses which are a major component of the Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation such as C12 – Insurance on Property, C13 – Insurance Against Liability – Part 1, and C14 Automobile Insurance Part 1 to help you build this knowledge base. The order in which you take these courses may be influenced by the products/services you are working with.

Given your current role, it is also suggested that you also pursue at least the first course in the Applied Stream - C130 Essentials for the Broker and Agent – of the CIP designation.

Continue to build your insurance knowledge and satisfy your requirement for Continuing Education Credits from your provincial regulatory body by completing your CIP (consider taking elective courses, ie. C40 Business Interruption Insurance or C39 Fraud Awareness & Prevention, that build your capacity as a broker or diversify your understanding of the industry, C43 Specialty Lines or C45 Surety Bonds), through specialized seminars which focus on changes to legislation, critical coverages in your catchment area , or emerging issues, e-learning/webinars, beginning your Risk Management Certificate, taking the Think on Your Feet workshop, and potentially consider pursuing additional Broker accreditations.

Learning more about the process of cultivating sales and prospecting in the insurance sector and negotiations skills may also be beneficial.

At this time in your career the focus is often on building on the fundamentals you have learned to date.

The risks you are involved with are likely to be increasingly complex and depending on your organizational structure and size, may start to lean more towards personal or commercial products.

Typically your focus will be on honing your skills in the following areas:

• Cultivating relationships with clients to secure additional business or make enhancements to existing client accounts; includes facilitating and in some cases leading, the renewal process

• Growing your comfort in providing quotes/proposals, making recommendations for the insurance coverage to be put into place or changes that could be made to policies as required with minimal supervision

• Maintaining and strengthening client, service, underwriting, and claims relationships

• Managing increasingly larger or more complex insurance needs; involves applying and adapting general insurance principles to specialized needs or situations

• Developing a sound understanding of the competitive marketplace an the regulatory/legal framework underpinning the insurance sector

• Continuing to build solid business communication (written, verbal, and presentation) and interpersonal skills

• Cultivating sales leads and potential client relationships – often achieved through prospecting, networking, etc.

• Honing capacity to negotiate with and influence decisions of insurance carriers/colleagues to achieve the best solutions for your clients’ needs

• Building a strong personal and organizational brand with your clients

Attend broker conventions and special events

Connect and network with underwriters at industry functions (eg. Meet the Underwriter Nights, Golf Tournaments)

Volunteer at an organization that resonates with you or at an industry function (ie Institute Convocation, Broker Luncheon)

At this point in your career, you are starting to better understand the nature of the business of insurance. Your knowledge, operational capacity, and experience are all in growth mode. From a leadership perspective, this is an opportunity to continue to hone your business acumen and focus on your skills in sales, building strong working relationships both within your organization and externally (ie other Brokers, Underwriters regulators, claims professionals, etc.). These skills combined with a strong sense of ethics and teamwork will go a long way in demonstrating your capacity for leadership.

You are likely managing the needs of your clients with little supervision and may even be managing relationships with key accounts.

Your capacity for securing new business, enhancing products/coverages of existing clients, and developing relationships with potential clients is ever increasing.

This time in your career may involve a period or periods of questioning what is next – continuing to specialize in a particular product stream, looking at diversifying your product experience, considering whether to look at becoming engaged with lending technical expertise, customer service/account management or even considering people leadership as a team lead or frontline manager.

These decisions are tied to and obviously heavily influenced by the size and scope of the organization you work for.

It is important to consider this and how your skills, values, education, and experiences can best be best utilized within the context of your organization. From here you can take stock about what you are proficient in, what you would like to learn/grow your capacity in, and make decisions about what your next steps might look like.

You may find it helpful to talk to your manager or HR department about these options in more detail and the tools that are available to support your continued development.

Sales Specialist

Critical Thinker

Problem Solver

Negotiator

Trends Seeker

Relationship Manager

Product Expert

Formal and informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may prove to be most valuable in the areas of seeking advice around a tough business question or decision, next steps in your career path, honing your sales expertise, and to validate a course of action in managing a particular client relationship or product need.

The risks and solutions being offered to your clients are becoming more complex. This may require you to continue to enhance your knowledge through completion of the Risk Management Certificate (which includes the opportunity to earn your Certified Risk Management (CRM) designation) or completing your Advanced Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP Adv) Certificate – there is a suggested pathway for Brokers which includes completion of courses in the Applied Professionals Stream (C131 Advanced Skills for the Insurance Broker & Agent) and increasing your industry knowledge in areas like Business Interruption, Automobile Insurance, and Fraud Awareness & Prevention

Depending on your provincial regulatory requirements, you may have completed or are working towards your Level 2 Licence.

You may also find advanced level seminars on changes to the regulatory/legislative environment, emerging trends/issues or critical coverages in your service area, events/webinars offered through the CIP Society, the Management Development Series, and e-learning offerings helpful in continuing to enhance your insurance knowledge and satisfy requirements for your Continuing Education Credits from your provincial regulatory body.

Often, the focus in your career will evolve to enhancing your knowledge and expertise as it pertains to a particular line of business or product within the industry – eg. commercial, personal, liability, property, aviation, marine, error & omissions, specialty line etc.

The risks you are managing are increasingly focused within this area of expertise.

More often than not, at this point in your career you may be enhancing your skills like:

• Management and oversight of key accounts within a particular business line or product steam; includes managing/delegating the renewal process

• Developing sales prospects, managing key account relationships, and providing quotes/proposals with increased independence and authority; emerging as a trusted advisor to your clients

• Providing direction and support to account management and customer service representatives in your organization to meet the needs of your clients

• Applying specialized insurance knowledge and expertise to an array of insurance needs within a particular niche or product area

• Leveraging relationships with account management, underwriting and claims professionals to enhance products and coverages available to clients in your areas of specializations

• Enhancing knowledge of the competitive market place and regulatory/legal framework underpinning the insurance sector

• Developing and delivering presentations to key client groups to maintain existing and build new business

Increase your engagement with your broker association or local Institute/Chapter. You may be interested in joining a committee or working group

Continue to think about expanding your insurance network – eg. connecting with other professionals working in your area of specialty – and attending events focused on your emerging areas of interest.

Consider becoming an industry Ambassador through the Insurance Institute’s Career Connections Program

At this stage, you are likely to be comfortable in your role and demonstrate a high degree of business acumen as your scope of authority continues to increase.

In looking at leadership, you may be thinking about your future roles and whether you would like to be a technical consultant or manager of people. Either require the capacity to work more autonomously, sound problem solving and decision making skills, and an ability to think critically about a situation and its potential impact on your area/organization.

This stage in your career may also provide opportunities for ‘stretch’ assignments, serving as part of project teams/internal committees, or engaging in process improvements within your functional area

At this stage in your career it is often fair to state that you have deep knowledge and expertise of the product areas you have worked in.

Your knowledge of and proficiency with the approach to sales/production within the industry is at an expert level.

There may be mechanisms for you to share your expertise with those with less industry knowledge and experience within your organization either as a technical specialist or operational leader.

You will want to evaluate which ‘track’ feels more in keeping with who you are, what you want to do, and what you can offer your organization.

There might also be opportunity for you to move into practice leadership roles or even into the account management/service stream.

Sales Expert

Consultant

Technical Specialist

Operational Leader

Relationship Expert

Given the level of knowledge and experience you likely have amassed at this point in your career, you may be thinking about becoming a mentor yourself. There are lots of great tools on the Mentoring Advantage website that can assist you in your transition from mentee to mentor.

Keep in mind, even senior leaders talk about the importance and value they place on being mentored throughout their career.
Your time with a mentor may be most beneficial if the discussion has a focus on best practices in decision making, sales and prospecting, business planning, and/or growing your capacity as a leader

Continue to hone your operational and insurance knowledge as the risks and solutions you are offering to your clients are continuing to grow in scope and your work often has reach which impacts the organization as a whole.

This knowledge can often be developed an attained through pursuing the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation, advanced level seminars and broker accreditations, CIP Society offerings, Management Development Series, and/or workshops/special events targeted to your area of focus within the industry.

As you continue to hone your subject matter expertise and grow your experience, it is not uncommon to experience an increase in autonomy and decision making power.

The decisions you are making at this stage in your career can often impact the overall health of the organizations you represent and their approach to business.

Often, at this stage in your career your skills and experiences will be focused on:

• Effective leadership and relationship management on key accounts• Leading the prospecting, sales and ‘production’ within particular specialty or product areas

• Transitioning to and serving as a technical consultant to a team

• Providing expert advice to clients, sales mentorship to newer producers/brokers, account managers, underwriters, risk managers, and claims professionals on products and services

• Developing capacity to transfer knowledge, provide counsel, and/or lead teams effectively

• Honing expertise in shaping organizational policy and procedure

• Ensuring internal and external risks are mitigated or controlled appropriately through both insurance coverages and continuity planning

• Influencing decisions/decision makers around the competitive marketplace, and regulatory/ legal framework underpinning the insurance sector to your organization’s strategic advantage

You may be interested in volunteering as a member of a local council, becoming an Institute Instructor, or working on a national task force

There may also be opportunities to participate in research being conducted within the industry, roundtable/panel discussions, or to present on a topic at an industry conference or event.

Continue to engage your insurance network through participation in industry events, conferences, and functions

This stage of your career allows for you to offer your deep knowledge of the Broker/service function to the benefit of others. This can come in the form of being a technical expert of moving into a capacity where you are managing people.

Both facets will require you to ensure you have capacity or experience in building cross functional relationships, managing conflict effectively, and have a high degree of comfort in taking complex principles and communicating them in an accessible way (both verbally and written) to colleagues, clients, senior management, and external stakeholders.

If you are on a people management track, you may be looking to expand your experience in building effective teams, fostering a climate of engagement, and building your management skills.

This stage may also provide an opportunity for ‘stretch’ assignments with a leadership focus, leading project teams/internal committees, or managing day-to-day functions within your department.