Insurance Industry Resume: Agents, Underwriters and Claims Professionals

Why Insurance Resumes Require a Different Approach

The insurance industry operates by different rules than most sectors. Hiring managers in this field aren't just looking for generic sales skills or administrative experience—they're evaluating your risk assessment capabilities, regulatory knowledge, and production history with the precision of an actuary calculating mortality tables.

I've placed dozens of insurance professionals over my 15 years in executive recruiting, from entry-level claims adjusters to Chief Underwriting Officers. The difference between candidates who get interviews and those who get filtered out often comes down to how well they understand what insurance employers actually value. This guide will show you exactly how to craft a resume that speaks the industry's language, whether you're chasing an agency position, breaking into underwriting, or advancing your claims career.

Before diving into the specifics, it's worth understanding how resumes work in this industry. For comprehensive strategies on optimizing your resume language, our professional impact dictionary covers the exact verbs and metrics for insurance roles.

The Three Pillars of Insurance Hiring

Insurance employers evaluate candidates on three fundamental dimensions that should shape every line of your resume.

Production and Performance Metrics

Numbers dominate insurance hiring decisions. Unlike industries where qualitative descriptions suffice, insurance hiring managers expect concrete metrics. A claims adjuster who processed 150 claims monthly with a 94% customer satisfaction rating tells a vastly different story than one who simply "handled claims efficiently."

For agents and producers, your book of business speaks volumes. Premium volume, policy count, retention rates, and new business production all matter. For those targeting specific insurance roles, check our comprehensive resume examples by role for additional templates and formatting guidance.

Licensing and Credentials

The insurance industry is heavily regulated, and your licensing status can make or break your candidacy. An agent resume without proper license documentation often ends up in the rejection pile regardless of production numbers. Beyond basic licenses, professional designations like CPCU, CIC, ARM, and others signal commitment to the profession and specialized expertise.

Carrier and System Knowledge

Modern insurance operates on complex technology platforms. Familiarity with specific policy administration systems, rating platforms, and claims management software can differentiate you from equally qualified candidates. Knowing whether a company uses Guidewire, Duck Creek, or proprietary systems matters more than you might expect.

Insurance Agent Resume: Selling Yourself to Sell Policies

Agency positions demand a unique blend of sales acumen, product knowledge, and relationship management skills. Your resume must demonstrate that you can generate revenue while maintaining compliance and client satisfaction.

Professional Summary for Insurance Agents

Your summary should immediately establish your production credentials and market focus:

Licensed Property & Casualty insurance agent with 6+ years generating $2.4M annual premium across personal and commercial lines. Consistently ranked in top 15% of 200-agent region. Specialize in small business coverage with 89% client retention rate. Seeking to leverage production track record and book-building expertise with growth-focused independent agency.

Notice how this summary leads with licensure, quantifies production, and specifies market specialization. Generic statements like "motivated sales professional" fail to differentiate in this industry.

Experience Section for Agents

Structure your experience to highlight production metrics and business development achievements:

Senior Insurance Agent | ABC Insurance Agency | 2019-Present

• Generated $2.4M annual written premium across personal auto, homeowners, and small commercial lines
• Built book of 340 active policies from scratch, achieving 89% retention rate vs. agency average of 78%
• Ranked #3 of 45 agents in new business production for consecutive years (2022-2024)
• Developed referral network generating 35% of new business through strategic partnerships with mortgage brokers and real estate agents
• Cross-sold average 2.3 policies per household, increasing household premium by 67%
• Maintained 4.8/5.0 Google review rating with 47 verified client reviews

Skills Section for Agents

Include a dedicated skills section that addresses both technical and sales competencies:

Underwriter Resume: Demonstrating Risk Assessment Expertise

Underwriting positions attract candidates from diverse backgrounds, but successful resumes share common elements: analytical capability, attention to detail, and sound judgment in risk selection.

Breaking Into Underwriting

For those transitioning into underwriting, your resume must translate existing experience into risk assessment terms. If you're coming from agency sales, emphasize your exposure to underwriting guidelines and risk selection decisions. If coming from claims, highlight your understanding of loss causes and risk factors.

The key is demonstrating analytical thinking. Underwriting isn't just about following guidelines—it's about exercising judgment on complex risks. Your resume should show evidence of this capability through previous roles.

Experienced Underwriter Resume Sample

Commercial Lines Underwriter | Regional Carrier | 2020-Present

• Underwrite $45M commercial property and liability portfolio across middle market accounts
• Maintain combined ratio of 92% against department average of 98%, contributing to profitable book growth
• Evaluate average 25 new submissions weekly with 72-hour turnaround commitment
• Developed streamlined workflow for contractor class risks, reducing quote time by 40%
• Mentor team of 3 junior underwriters on risk selection and pricing discipline
• Collaborate with actuarial team on rate adequacy analysis and guideline refinement

Technical Skills for Underwriters

Your skills section should emphasize analytical tools and industry-specific knowledge:

Claims Adjuster Resume: Balancing Speed and Accuracy

Claims positions require a delicate balance: processing claims efficiently while ensuring fair outcomes and preventing fraud. Your resume must demonstrate both operational efficiency and investigative capability.

Claims Adjuster Experience Format

Senior Claims Adjuster | National Carrier | 2018-Present

• Manage caseload of 175+ active property claims with average 14-day cycle time
• Investigate and settle claims ranging from $500 water damage to $2M+ total losses
• Achieved 96% customer satisfaction score while maintaining expense ratio 12% below target
• Identified $340K in fraudulent claims through investigation and SIU referrals
• Train and mentor new adjusters on coverage determination and settlement procedures
• Certified to handle catastrophe deployment, completing 3 CAT events totaling 200+ inspections

Skills Critical for Claims Professionals

Claims roles demand both soft skills and technical proficiency:

Licensing and Credentials Section

Every insurance resume needs a dedicated section for licenses and professional designations. This isn't buried in your skills section—it deserves prominent placement, typically right after your summary.

Licenses & Designations

Credential	Status	Jurisdiction
Property & Casualty License	Active	CA, AZ, NV
Life & Health License	Active	CA
CPCU Designation	In Progress (5/8 complete)	—
CIC Designation	Earned 2023	—

For candidates pursuing designations, noting progress demonstrates commitment. Hiring managers appreciate candidates investing in professional development, even if credentials aren't yet complete.

Tailoring Your Resume for Different Insurance Sectors

The insurance industry encompasses vastly different business models, and your resume should reflect understanding of these differences.

Personal Lines vs. Commercial Lines

Personal lines positions emphasize volume processing and customer service, while commercial lines demand technical underwriting skill and relationship management. A personal lines resume might highlight:

• Volume metrics (policies quoted, bound, serviced)
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Efficiency improvements
• Cross-sell ratios

Commercial lines resumes should emphasize:

• Account complexity and size
• Industry specialization
• Relationship with wholesale markets
• Custom coverage solutions

Carrier vs. Agency vs. MGA

Different distribution channels value different competencies. Carrier positions often prioritize process adherence and technical skill. Agency positions value entrepreneurial production. MGAs and wholesalers need underwriting judgement combined with distribution relationship management.

Understanding these differences helps you position your experience appropriately. An agent moving to a carrier underwriting role should emphasize guideline familiarity and risk selection instincts rather than pure sales metrics.

Common Insurance Resume Mistakes

After reviewing thousands of insurance resumes, certain mistakes appear repeatedly. Avoiding these pitfalls can significantly improve your candidacy.

Omitting License Information

You'd be surprised how many candidates forget to list their licenses clearly. Some hiring managers won't even read further if licenses aren't immediately visible. Always include license types, states, and active status.

Generic Production Claims

"Generated significant premium" means nothing. "Generated $1.8M annual premium with 87% retention" means everything. Insurance is a numbers business—use them.

Ignoring Systems Experience

Failing to mention specific technology platforms can cost you interviews. Carriers invest heavily in their systems and prefer candidates who won't need extensive training. If you've used industry-standard platforms, say so explicitly.

Overlooking Compliance Experience

Insurance operates under heavy regulation. Experience with compliance audits, market conduct requirements, or regulatory filings adds value that generic resumes miss. If you've managed producer licensing, handled complaints, or participated in examinations, include it.

Resume Templates by Insurance Role

Entry-Level Insurance Position Template

For those breaking into insurance, structure your resume to highlight transferable skills and relevant education:

Summary: Recent finance graduate with completed P&C license coursework, seeking entry-level underwriting or claims position. Strong analytical skills demonstrated through actuarial science coursework and internship experience with risk analysis.

Education: B.S. Finance, Minor in Statistics | State University | GPA 3.6

Relevant Coursework: Risk Management, Insurance Principles, Financial Modeling, Business Statistics

Internship Experience: [Highlight any insurance-adjacent experience]

Skills: Excel modeling, SQL basics, Statistical analysis, Customer service

Career Changer Template

If transitioning from another industry, bridge your experience to insurance requirements. For professionals explaining career transitions, the key is connecting previous skills to insurance needs. A former loan officer entering underwriting might emphasize:

• Financial analysis and credit evaluation experience
• Risk-based decision making
• Regulatory compliance background
• Customer relationship management

Interview Preparation for Insurance Roles

Your resume gets you the interview, but preparation determines the outcome. For insurance-specific interview preparation, review our guide on behavioral interview techniques. Insurance interviews often include scenario-based questions testing your judgment:

• "Describe a time you had to deny coverage or a claim. How did you handle it?"
• "Tell me about a complex risk you underwrote and your decision process."
• "How have you handled a situation where a client disagreed with your assessment?"

Prepare specific examples that demonstrate sound judgment, customer focus, and technical competence. The STAR method works particularly well for these behavioral questions.

Leveraging AI Tools for Insurance Resumes

Modern job search increasingly involves AI at multiple stages. Understanding how AI screening works helps you optimize your resume for automated systems while maintaining readability for human reviewers.

For insurance resumes specifically, AI tools can help with:

• Identifying keywords from job descriptions
• Ensuring proper formatting for ATS compatibility
• Quantifying achievements you might overlook
• Suggesting industry-specific terminology

However, human review remains essential. Insurance hiring managers have finely tuned BS detectors—AI-generated content often sounds generic and misses industry nuances that experienced reviewers catch immediately.

Building Your Insurance Career Long-Term

A strong resume opens doors, but career progression requires strategic planning. The insurance industry rewards specialization and professional development. Consider:

Designations Worth Pursuing

• CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter): The gold standard for P&C professionals
• CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor): Excellent for agency professionals
• ARM (Associate in Risk Management): Valuable for commercial lines and risk management roles
• AINS (Associate in Insurance): Strong entry-level credential

Specialization Paths

Generalists plateau; specialists advance. Whether you focus on specific industries (construction, healthcare, technology), coverage lines (professional liability, cyber, workers' comp), or functions (pricing, product development, distribution), developing deep expertise creates value that commands premium compensation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I put on an insurance agent resume?

Focus on sales metrics (policies sold, premium volume, retention rates), licensing credentials, product knowledge, and client relationship achievements. Quantify your production numbers wherever possible.

How do I become an underwriter with no experience?

Highlight analytical skills, attention to detail, and any relevant coursework in risk management, finance, or statistics. Entry-level commercial lines assistant positions often accept candidates with transferable skills from banking, accounting, or claims.

What skills do claims adjusters need on their resume?

Include investigation skills, negotiation abilities, knowledge of claims software like Xactimate, regulatory compliance, and customer service expertise. Metrics like claims processed per month and settlement ratios are valuable differentiators.

Should I list my insurance licenses on my resume?

Absolutely. List all active licenses with states and expiration dates in a dedicated section near the top of your resume. This is often the first thing hiring managers check before reading further.

How do I transition from sales to underwriting?

Emphasize your product knowledge, risk assessment instincts developed from quoting policies, and analytical abilities. Highlight any exposure to underwriting guidelines, rating systems, or file documentation. Consider pursuing associate-level designations to demonstrate technical commitment.

What's the best resume format for insurance jobs?

Use a reverse-chronological format with a clear summary, prominent licensing section, quantified achievements, and technical skills. Avoid creative designs that may confuse ATS systems used by carriers and larger agencies.

Final Thoughts

The insurance industry offers stable, well-compensated careers for those who understand its unique requirements. Your resume is your first underwriting submission—it needs to demonstrate that you understand the business, can quantify your value, and possess the credentials that this heavily regulated industry demands.

Focus on production metrics, licensing status, and technical capabilities. Tailor your approach to the specific sector and role you're targeting. And remember that insurance hiring managers have seen thousands of resumes—generic applications don't make it past their desk.

Build a resume that speaks their language, demonstrates your production capability, and positions you for the insurance career you want. The industry needs talented professionals, and the right resume ensures you get the opportunity to prove your value.