Insurance account manager : Job description

Insurance account managers promote their company’s insurance products to those who will be directly selling them, such as brokers and independent financial advisers (IFAs). It is an account manager’s role to develop sales of the products and business accounts and they will usually specialise in one particular area of insurance such as corporate insurance, life assurance or reinsurance.

Insurance account managers work with a caseload of several clients, building up long-term relationships with them. They play a central role in introducing new insurance products to the market, while also seeking to maintain the commercial performance of existing products. Insurance account managers have a detailed knowledge of their employer’s portfolio of products and can target policies to their clients to supply the most appropriate product.

Typical work activities

Insurance account managers usually work to sales targets. Work is mainly with commercial insurance, although the tasks are similar in all sectors.

Work activities typically include:

• gaining new business by identifying and exploiting opportunities in the local market;
• developing and maintaining good working relationships with clients, primarily insurance brokers and independent financial advisers (IFAs);
• introducing new products and promoting them through regular visits and frequent communication with intermediaries;
• increasing profitability of existing product lines by encouraging clients to use added value services wherever possible;
• consulting on the most effective cover for a particular need, while taking a number of factors into account;
• delivering good customer service by responding swiftly to queries and concerns from clients;
• maintaining detailed knowledge of new and existing products by liaising with colleagues;
• ensuring credibility with clients by maintaining detailed knowledge of current market conditions and competitors' products;
• monitoring and reporting on performance against agreed sales targets, sometimes including monitoring the performance of other sales staff;
• ensuring compliance with regulations and procedures as laid down by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)  by keeping up to date with all changes in the regulatory framework;
• working with underwriters to amend policies where necessary in order to meet client demand;
• producing marketing literature and website content to support marketing campaigns.