Chance, risk, accident. Those three words are what the insurance industry is all about. They also describe how Abby McDowell got her start as an agent.
"I got into insurance by accident, like everyone else that is in the industry," she says.
As a language major at a local college, McDowell worked summers at an insurance office. Now, more than 20 years later, she owns an insurance agency.
"Sometimes you just wake up and realize you know all about [an industry] and you end up working there."
In the years that it took McDowell to work her way up from secretary to insurance agent to owner, she has learned exactly what she likes about the work.
"It's one of the few jobs where it's not gender-biased. There are lots of successful women. Success is strictly based on your abilities," she says.
Another thing that McDowell likes about insurance is how a number of different people all have to come together to make it happen, including insurance agents.
"Any profession that you can think of is somehow involved in the industry -- doctors, lawyers, actuaries, computer people. The agent may sell insurance to the public, but legal staff, actuaries and doctors are behind the policies," says McDowell.
One aspect of the job that can be difficult is the image of the salesperson.
"A lot of people have negative feelings about insurance because they feel they are throwing their money away unless they use it."
Of course, she doesn't think of it as throwing money away! She saw the aftermath of hurricane Andrew in 1992 that devastated Florida.
"Being an insurance agent in the aftermath of hurricane Andrew was an eye-opener. We had to work with no electricity, no lights and no computers. We saw a lot of people in need of help and we were able to help."
One incident stands out in her mind. "There was a woman who was living in her car with her kids. She had lost her home."
What did McDowell do? Her job.
"We would take their claims. Sometimes we just held their hands," she recalls.
McDowell says that the hurricane changed a lot of people's views of insurance.
"It was a very positive image for us. It was nice to show that you could keep your promises," she says.
Still, selling people on the importance of insurance isn't easy. Just ask David Taylor.
"There are days when you can't give it away and others when you have people lining up at your door," says Taylor. He's the district manager of the insurance division of a foresters association.
Taylor began selling insurance nearly 20 years ago, and he believes there's nothing more lucrative and pleasurable than the insurance business. However, it's not a job without challenges.
"It's a bed of roses, but roses have thorns," says Taylor. "The hardest part about working in insurance is getting started, getting connected with people."
For young people, this is often difficult, but if you're good at talking to people and can survive the first year, you're set.
"Insurance is a funny product," he says. "People won't be without insurance for their cars, yet they don't carry any life insurance."
The greatest challenge of the job is prospecting and calling for appointments with customers, then convincing people that insurance is important.
"This is what you're paid for -- not the mechanical stuff like drawing up policies and figuring out rates. We use computers for a lot of that now."
Once you've managed to build up some customers, the job is to match people with policies. You have to know a lot about your clients to be able to take their needs into account when you are trying to determine the best type of policy for them. Customers put a lot of trust in an agent or broker. Insurance makes people feel secure, so making the policy fit the customer is very important.
For example, say you decide that a $150,000 life insurance policy is the right one for a client. You have to ask yourself these questions: is it going to be enough for the family to live on if something bad happens? Does the client even have a family? What are the family's special needs? An agent or broker must ask these things to be sure the policy is going to fit the customer's needs.
In addition to what Taylor calls the mechanics, there is a great deal of pressure to reach people -- to sell.
"Everyone in the insurance industry is a survivor; they have to be. You've got to develop a bit of a thick skin," says Taylor. "You can't be a shrinking violet because the challenge comes in rolling with the punches."
This is a sales job, to be sure. But it requires lots of advanced knowledge. These requirements are increasing all the time, and the field is getting more professional all the time. The old stereotype of the hard-sell insurance agent is gone.
"I used to avoid telling people what I do. Now I figure that I should be proud of my job, so I tell people straight out. Brokers do a lot of good for the community. We give people a lot of financial help," says insurance agent Brian Fitzpatrick.
If you want to succeed in this field, boost your technical knowledge. Make sure you can use computers. There will be specific insurance industry computer programs you will use, too.
"Take accounting and law. Get to know legal terms. You should also take computer classes," he says.