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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Insurance Associate

💰 $45,000 - $65,000

InsuranceOperationsCustomer ServiceUnderwriting

🎯 Role Definition

An Insurance Associate is an operational insurance professional responsible for day-to-day policy administration, client and broker servicing, claims intake and triage, underwriting support, billing and collections, regulatory compliance, and accurate data management. This role supports producers, underwriters, claims adjusters and account managers to ensure timely issuance and maintenance of personal and commercial insurance products while delivering excellent customer experience and minimizing operational risk.

Key keywords: Insurance Associate, policy administration, claims processing, underwriting support, renewals, billing, compliance, customer service, risk management, insurance software (AMS/CRM), personal lines, commercial lines.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Customer Service Representative (insurance industry)
  • Claims Assistant / Claims Intake Specialist
  • Administrative Assistant or Office Coordinator supporting insurance teams

Advancement To:

  • Senior Insurance Associate / Team Lead
  • Underwriter (Assistant or Junior Underwriter)
  • Claims Adjuster / Claims Examiner
  • Account Manager / Producer Support Specialist

Lateral Moves:

  • Renewals Specialist
  • Policyholder Billing & Collections Specialist
  • Broker/Agency Relations Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Process new business submissions and endorsements end-to-end, including data entry into the agency management system (AMS), verifying coverage details, applying rating factors, and issuing policy documents and declarations with accuracy and on SLA timelines.
  • Handle renewals workflow: prepare renewal proposals, communicate premium changes to clients and brokers, obtain necessary signatures or approvals, and ensure uninterrupted coverage by coordinating binder issuance and renewal endorsements.
  • Conduct claims intake and triage: take first notice of loss (FNOL), obtain initial statements and documentation, input claim information into the claims management system, and escalate to claims adjusters or partners as needed.
  • Provide underwriting support by reviewing submissions, ordering loss runs, verifying exposures, obtaining additional underwriting information, performing preliminary risk assessments, and preparing submission packages for underwriters.
  • Manage billing and accounts receivable tasks: generate invoices, reconcile premium accounts, process payments and refunds, follow up on past due accounts, set up payment plans, and coordinate with finance for collections and write-offs.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for insureds, brokers and producers: respond to inbound calls and emails, clarify coverages, resolve policyholder questions, and advise on endorsements, cancellations, and policy terms with a client-first approach.
  • Maintain compliance with state insurance regulations and company procedures by ensuring licensing checks, anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, privacy rules (PII), and timely reporting of required regulatory filings and audits.
  • Prepare and distribute policy documentation, certificates of insurance (COIs), and proof of coverage to clients, vendors and certificate requestors while tracking COI expirations and automatic renewals.
  • Execute endorsements and policy changes such as adding/removing exposures, adjusting limits/deductibles, changing named insureds, and processing cancellations/reinstatements while ensuring documentation trails and proper approvals.
  • Reconcile and audit policy data monthly to ensure accuracy between the AMS, billing system and carrier portals; correct discrepant entries and document root causes to reduce future exceptions.
  • Perform policy audits and mid-term reviews for commercial accounts, coordinate site inspections or loss-control assessments, and work with operations or loss control teams to implement recommended mitigation actions.
  • Manage certificate workflow and issuance, including verifying additional insured wording, tracking certificate holders, and coordinating with brokers and clients to secure required endorsements and evidence of insurance.
  • Coordinate with carriers and third-party administrators (TPAs) to follow up on submission statuses, policy issuance timelines, binder extensions and cancellation notices to ensure service-level adherence.
  • Support renewals marketing and quoting: pull expiring policies, compile submission packets, obtain carrier quotes via rating engines or portals, and analyze quote differentials to recommend the best options to the producer and client.
  • Document and route complex client requests and escalations through internal ticketing or CRM systems, ensuring SLA-driven resolution and follow-up communication with all stakeholders.
  • Maintain detailed records for audits and internal controls, prepare documentation for internal/external audits, compile management reports on operational KPIs such as turn-around-times, error rates, and renewal retention.
  • Assist in developing and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs), training materials, and knowledge articles to scale best practices and reduce onboarding time for new hires.
  • Conduct periodic account reviews with brokers and clients to identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities, recommend appropriate endorsements or coverages and escalate leads to producers.
  • Handle bound policies and binder management, including issuing temporary proof of insurance, tracking binder expirations, and ensuring binders are replaced with fully executed policies within company timelines.
  • Investigate and resolve billing disputes, underwriting inquiries, and coverage interpretation questions by liaising between clients, brokers and underwriters to arrive at timely, documented resolutions.
  • Participate in product implementation, system conversions, or migrations (AMS/CRM upgrades), provide user acceptance testing, and assist with data validation and cleanup before and after go-live.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests and prepare analysis for leadership on policy volumes, claims intake trends, and renewal retention metrics.
  • Assist in training new associates and cross-training across personal lines and commercial lines functions to ensure full team coverage.
  • Participate in continuous improvement initiatives, identify process bottlenecks, propose automation opportunities, and collaborate with IT or business intelligence teams to implement solutions.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of changes in carrier rules, state regulations, and product endorsements and communicate impacts to the team and clients.
  • Coordinate vendor relationships such as inspection services, loss control consultants, and claim adjusters to ensure timely completion of required tasks.
  • Support special projects such as implementing new products, entering affinity partnerships, or expanding into new lines of business by compiling operational requirements and testing workflows.
  • Escalate complex or high-severity compliance or fraud concerns to the appropriate internal teams (compliance, legal, fraud unit) and assist with initial documentation and evidence collection.
  • Contribute to quarterly performance reviews by tracking personal SLA adherence, error rates and professional development progress with managers.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient with agency management systems (AMS) such as Applied Epic, Vertafore AMS360, HawkSoft, EZLynx, or Duck Creek for policy administration and document generation.
  • Experience with carrier portals and rating engines for personal and commercial lines quoting and binding.
  • Strong Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel (VLOOKUP, PivotTables) for reconciliation, reporting and data validation.
  • Familiarity with claims management systems (Guidewire, ClaimCenter, or similar) and FNOL processing workflows.
  • Knowledge of billing platforms and accounts receivable processes, including invoicing, reconciliation and payment posting.
  • Working knowledge of state insurance regulations, licensing requirements and producer appointments.
  • Ability to prepare and issue Certificates of Insurance (COIs) and understand contractual certificate requirements and additional insured endorsements.
  • Basic data analysis skills and comfort with CRM or BI tools (Salesforce, Power BI, Tableau) to produce operational and performance reports.
  • Experience with document management and e-signature tools (DocuSign, Adobe Sign) for policy issuance and endorsement approvals.
  • Understanding of underwriting concepts, exposures, loss runs, policy forms and common endorsements in personal and commercial lines.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills with an emphasis on clear, client-facing correspondence and professional broker interaction.
  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy in data entry, policy wording and financial reconciliation to minimize operational risk.
  • Customer-service orientation with empathy, active listening and the ability to manage difficult conversations about coverage and billing.
  • Time management and organizational skills to prioritize high-volume workflows and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Problem-solving and analytical thinking to research coverage issues, reconcile account discrepancies, and propose practical solutions.
  • Team player mentality with ability to collaborate across underwriting, claims, sales, finance and IT teams.
  • Adaptability and resilience to manage change during system migrations, product launches or regulatory updates.
  • Ethical judgment and integrity when handling confidential client information and escalations involving potential fraud or compliance breaches.
  • Initiative and continuous improvement mindset to suggest process efficiencies and assist with implementation of automation.
  • Negotiation and persuasion skills when working with carriers, brokers, and clients to resolve disputes or obtain necessary documentation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with proven on-the-job insurance experience (preferred minimum 1–2 years in insurance operations, customer service, or claims).

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's degree or Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, Insurance, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Risk Management and Insurance
  • Business Administration
  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Legal Studies (Insurance/Compliance emphasis)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–4 years of relevant experience in insurance operations, policy administration, claims intake, underwriting support, or agency/brokerage environments.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of progressive insurance experience with demonstrated competency in personal and/or commercial lines, familiarity with AMS platforms, and a track record of meeting SLAs and accuracy targets.
  • Professional designations or progress toward AINS, AIC, CPCU, or ARM is a plus.
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