Know about personal and business finance and can guide the potential client? An insurance advisor will be a smart move in your career! You can analyze the finance of a client and recommend possible insurance plans. In this article, we will be sharing some of the questions with answers that you might be asked in your interview as an Insurance Advisor.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
I have experience in this field and I believe that I am a right fit for this role. I have already worked in several firms and have a complete understanding of what this role requires. I am sure that your company can benefit from my experience and knowledge in terms of locking new sales and great customer service for existing clients. While researching, I also came across that you have good working culture and I am sure my skills will be utilized here to the maximum.
2. What Are The Roles Of An Insurance Advisor?
The Insurance Advisor has several roles to ace in the career; the following are a few important and basic roles:
- Assessment of Financial portfolios of all clients,
- Understanding of possible risks to all clients,
- Having proper knowledge about the tax investments strategies,
- Able to create customized plans for all clients as per need,
- Analyzing the financial status of the clients,
- Convincing clients to invest in their future to gain more,
- Providing financial guidance and advising accordingly and
- Regular meet-ups with clients to stay updated about their financial status and requirements
3. What Are The Qualities That An Insurance Advisor Needs To Be Successful?
An insurance advisor should have a license to perform in this industry so that he or she can recommend the latest products and benefits to the clients. He or she should also have strong communication skills to discuss with clients.
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Manage Them?
I have come across several clients who were misled by a few Insurance agents and have shaken their trust too or sometimes the policy is not working for them. To deal with such challenges, I respond to them calmly and listen to their anger and frustration. Once they are done, I explain better options available in this situation and also offer a few incentives in the limits of my profession. With this approach, I have been able to tackle a lot of challenges and got a chance to build long-lasting relationships.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As An Insurance Agent?
Once I report to my office, I start my day with a cup of black coffee as I check my calendar and know the plans. While doing this, I check my emails from customers who need my assistance on the plans and products. I call clients to confirm appointments and head out of the office to visit them. Once my meetings are done, I come back to the office and create analysis reports and share them with relevant teams. On days when I do not have long meetings planned, I spend time reaching out to new clients in the market.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience?
It has been my sixth year in this field now. I started my career at XYZ Insurance Company as an intern right after my graduation. I learned about the basics of insurance and marketing techniques from the firm. After my internship ended, I got a chance to work at ABC firm as a lead agent. Here, I was able to win potential clients from several businesses and built great professional relationships with several clients.
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Are Required For This Role?
To excel in this role, one must focus on building trust between a company and a client. In my experience, I believe that organizational skills come in handy by prioritizing all tasks to have a complete grasp on the workload. It is important to provide a pleasant experience to all clients by providing plans that meet their needs. Pro-activeness to seek more clients is also a basic requirement of this role.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Job?
You have launched a new range of products recently which are new to the market itself. One of the challenges I foresee is to understand all new products and make efforts to pitch them to clients. I believe that I will be able to overcome this challenge since I have the knowledge and skills to lock in more clients for your firm.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
I am fond of the insurance industry and I like dealing with clients to help them achieve financial well-being through insurance. My passion for helping people keeps me going in this field. With years of experience, I have been able to build my patience and I do yoga and meditation to remain focused since it helps me clear my mind.
10. Describe A Time You Failed In This Role And The Lesson You Learned?
I once lost a customer due to inconsistent communication between him and me. He renewed a few policies every year but then went mute. A few weeks later, I came to know that he moved to another insurance firm. I did learn that To maintain good relationships with the client, I should be consistent in holding meetings with them and providing them with date information about new offerings and plans. Even after they have purchased plans, I should be in touch with them regularly so that they stick to the firm for a longer period.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For This Role?
I do understand that it is a competitive field where there is tough competition between different agents, brokers, and online insurance firms as well. I have in-depth knowledge of the business and provide a great plan that works for their best interest. I also have good customer service skills and I build good professional relationships with clients. Currently, I have a broad client base that helps me in bringing more revenue.
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
It was not a big contract but it was an achievement of skills in this field. It was one of my clients who required an insurance policy that could cover his home and his vehicle too. The client already has quotes from the biggest competitors in town and in my heart, I knew that I would not be able to match the price. I told the client that I could provide them with a lot of services that the big competitors would not provide. I was able to lock the client based on my services and it led to more policies that he needed for his other properties and businesses. The client also referred me to his circle and I got new clients on board from him.
13. How Do You Get The Attention Of A Client?
To get the attention of a potential client when this whole industry is very concentrated, I make sure that I differentiate myself and what services I can provide against all other advisors. I always have a personal approach while pitching so that the client can trust me and few even up referring me to new clients.
14. How Do You Assess The Need Of The Client?
I learn a lot from the client about his requirements and needs while discussing and questioning them about their assets, personal relations, and other facts that can affect the purchase of the policy. Once I have all the information, I recommend the products or a service that matches their profile and personalize it as well. While assessing their needs, I make sure that I am not harming them personally and how their one wrong decision has led to this frustration, I make sure that I am polite and professional in pitching products in a way that they do not feel attacked at all. It is important to maintain this decorum in this role because one wrong choice of words can damage the whole pitch. I also make sure that I discuss their needs in a positive healthy environment, maybe in my office or at a restaurant with a nice cup of coffee.
15. What Is Your Strength For This Role?
For my strengths, I am good at negotiating and communication skills. I use these strengths in locking best deals with the clients and helping them in sticking to the company. I make time to check with them even after they subscribed to inform and remind them that I am here to assist them for the longest period.
I am also always trying to attend a few training at least once a month to stay updated about the current economic situation in this field. The finance and economic understanding always assist in this role and it is important to have that edge. I like attending seminars and training conducted by my professionals in this industry because it gives me a chance to connect with a lot of experts in the field.
16. What Is Your Weakness?
Time management is one of my weaknesses and I am already trying to turn this into my strength. I sometimes face problems in completing a project on a time constraint. Now I have started using benchmarking goals and that helps me in aligning the objectives of the given job to perform in my best capacity.
17. How Do You Deal With Unprofitable Terms With A Client?
I know the maximum professional capacity that I can offer in my roles and only offer bargains that is possible for me to provide. I do not overcommit what I am unable to deliver because it creates mistrust between a company and a client and it never works for anyone.
18. How Do You Make A Client Understand The Complex Aspects Of An Insurance Policy?
This is one of the common issues faced due to technical stuff in any insurance policy. I know that if I am unable to explain the technical part, the client will end up being confused. While talking to any client, I use clear terms and languages that are easy for them to understand. I do not use technical terminologies or any such information that would be hard for them to digest. While talking to the client, I listen to them carefully and answer their concerns with maximum knowledge. Once I am done with my pitch, I make sure that they have understood my pitch and I do not hesitate in correcting them if I have misunderstood something.
19. How Do You Handle Rejection And How Do You Move Forward?
Since the initial days, I make sure that I do not take any criticism or rejection to my heart at all. One has to face a lot of No’s to get a Yes from a client and that’s the beauty of this job. A rejection of my plan is a not No to me but a plan. I make sure that I incorporate all sorts of feedback in my next pitch so that it improves my technique too. I take it as a lesson moving forward and do not hesitate to re-doing my pitch.
20. In A Scenario Where You Are About To Close A Deal With A Client And He Asks A Question Which Answers You Do Not Know. What Would Be Your Approach?
Locking a client is surely an achievement but I would not be carried away in the excitement. I will not give out any wrong information that would hurt the client’s trust in me and the company. First, I would praise them for asking such questions about me and how it is good to make a sound decision. I will politely tell the client that I would love to research the question and get back to them with the right and updated information regarding their question. I do not hesitate in researching the highlighted concern because it is going to come in handy in the next client’s pitch too.
21. How Do You Identify The Needs Of A Potential Client? How Do You Address Them?
First of all, I ask a few basic questions like what sort of insurance plans they already have and what has benefitted them so far. Once I know their answers, I share my knowledge about the few major drawbacks their current insurance plan has and how beneficial is the current plan that I am recommending to them. I also highlight the major benefits of considering the insurance plan that I am offering.
22. What Sort Of Sales Promotion And Advertising Can You Handle? What Are Your Techniques?
I do not hesitate from taking initiative in all pitches that come across. I also understand the balance requirement while selling a policy. I do not sound pushy to my clients while pitching them so that it does not turn them off. To promote a company, I highlight positive aspects with a strategic approach.
23. Few Clients Do Bargaining On Insurance Plans. How Do You Deal With Such Situations?
As you can see on my resume I have taken a course related to negotiation and sales tactics, which helps me a lot in this situation. I do understand the basic techniques clients use for bargaining in the plans. Before pitching a client, I make sure that I have studied the company’s policies, and then I can change a few terms in a policy as per the appropriate guidelines.
24. How Do You Share Complete Knowledge With A Client To Make Them Understand A Product Or Policy?
With my experience in this field, I am well aware of all basic insurance plans that help me share proper information with the client. I don’t hesitate in meeting the client several times before locking the plan with them as I enjoy helping people in understanding insurance policies and how beneficial it is for them. For any technical details, I make sure I put the easiest words in front of them to assist them in a manner.
25. How Do You Rate Your Persuasion Skills To Convince A Buyer To Purchase?
I always make sure that I understand where they are coming from. I analyze their refusal in feeling in their shoes and why they are unsure about the product I am offering. I professionally remind them that I am here to help them and reduce their chances of risk in their role. I also highlight the importance of products and plans that I am offering with facts and figures. I believe 2 to 3 personal meetings with clients help me in persuasion.
Conclusion
Dress well for your interview and take your updated resume in a hard copy with you. Smile as you greet the interviewer and be confident as you answer their questions. These 25 questions are surely going to help in acing the first round of interviews as an Insurance Advisor. Good luck!
