Last Updated on January 9, 2025 by Jacques Wong, B.Sc.
To become an insurance broker and to pass your exams, you need to be able to decipher jargon and memorize policy terms. But becoming a GOOD broker is about more than that. As part of our online insurance exam prep courses, we really want our students to be successful. Not just in their exams, but in their insurance careers.
If you’re new to insurance or just thinking about joining, it can be hard getting started. Since I get asked all the time if I have tips for people entering the insurance industry, I figured it would be more cost-effective for me to just write a series of articles about it.
Tip #1 – Find a Mentor
Even though the knowledge you gain as part of your licensing education is important, it’s not really enough. To fill in those coverage gaps, you need mentorship from someone with experience in the business. When you want to learn to play a sport well, you find a coach. Insurance is exactly the same way. A mentor can help you learn the ropes getting started.
When I got started as an insurance broker, I was fortunate enough to have 2 great mentors around me with decades of insurance experience to guide me through the process. Because of them, I was able to sidestep many pitfalls and was saved from many mistakes and setbacks. It’s also handy to have someone I can call up whenever I had questions.
One great way to find a mentor is to look around you. Each coworker you work with has something to offer: some specialized knowledge or something they can teach you. Some brokerages will even pair you up with a more experienced insurance broker to help you get started. If they do that, you can be assured that you’re with a good company who cares about your success.
If you’re not able to find a mentor out there, I’m more than happy to fill that role and support you before, during and even after your studies. But the main thing here to be proactive in looking for help. Insurance brokers are generally very nice people and always willing to help.