Those in search of profitable and potentially fulfilling long-term career paths may give pause when they consider becoming an insurance broker in the UK. Why this can be a lucrative profession is because insurance brokers may earn a good profit from commissions and various service fees.
To become one, securing your licence is standard practice. But before you obtain your insurance broker licence, you must take the appropriate insurance broker courses in preparation for the licensing exams.
Hence, this article from Insurance Business. Here, we discuss insurance broker courses you may take in the UK to help you obtain your licence. We will also provide insight into the best insurance broker courses available, including insurance broker training courses for beginners. We will also give you a list of free insurance broker courses online.
To be an effective and successful insurance broker, it’s mandatory to obtain a licence. For this requirement, you must take insurance broker courses that will familiarise you with the concepts, laws, regulations, and industry best practices for insurance broking in the UK.
The insurance broker licensing exams typically cover essential topics that can help you succeed in your career. These topics include insurance broking basics, rules, regulations, and developing skills for maintaining client relationships.
The main role of an insurance broker is to serve as an intermediary between clients and insurance companies. It’s their duty to assist individuals and businesses to get insurance coverage that suits them best. Insurance brokers must also help clients navigate the nuances and complexities of insurance products and their regulations. In this respect, working as a broker means serving as both advisor and advocate for their clients as they search for the right coverage.
To achieve this, insurance brokers must perform several tasks, including:
It’s important to keep in mind that insurance broking is a crucial part of a broker’s role, since many insurance companies would prefer to transact directly with brokers and not with individual clients. In this manner, insurance companies don’t have to worry about clients failing to articulate their needs and mistakenly end up with inadequate or inappropriate policies.
With the rise of technology, you may have noticed there are insurance comparison websites that people can use to compare insurance products and their premiums. Does this mean that living, breathing, brokers are going to become a thing of the past? Not necessarily, as this cheeky video shows:
There may be instances where your potential clients may use the terms insurance broker and insurance agent interchangeably. The main difference to remember is that insurance brokers represent and advocate for their clients, while insurance agents represent the insurance company or companies with whom they contracted to sell their products.
For instance, if an individual was looking for ways to get more affordable car insurance, they could take some steps to ensure that they’d pay lower premiums. However, if the individual contracted the services of an insurance broker, they would scour the market for the best coverage and negotiate lower premiums. Clients with an insurance broker who can negotiate are especially valuable now that UK auto insurance premiums have risen to record levels.
Now, if the individual client consulted an insurance agent, the agent would offer a single insurer and their products or a few other insurers – without the benefit of negotiated rates.
Becoming an insurance broker in the UK is fairly straightforward. Aspiring brokers must pass background checks to ensure they don’t have outstanding offenses or taxes owed.
The background check is a necessary part of a candidate’s licensing process. It is the responsibility of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the financial services industry, including brokers, conducts business in an ethical manner. FCA stewardship of brokers also means that consumer’s rights are protected and that the financial industry remains fair, competitive, and stable.
Given the complexity and seriousness of what an insurance broker does for clients and how they drive business for insurance companies, their training must be comprehensive and relevant. That’s why a licence is necessary and can only be earned by having proper training, which can include securing a higher apprenticeship, diploma of insurance, certificate of insurance, or other titles.
Acquiring the essential skills and knowledge to secure a licence and become an expert insurance broker begins with taking the right insurance broker courses. Here are some courses that can help you get your licence:
Course cost: £189 (members) / £249 (non-members)
Course duration: 2 half-day sessions scheduled on the 11th and 18th of March 2025
This consists of a virtual workshop offered by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). Candidates can expect an overview of broker roles in the UK insurance market and courses in essential skills for successful insurance broking. Students on this course can also reap the benefits of learning useful marketing strategies for their broking practice, as well as getting familiarised with regulatory requirements.
Course cost: £599
Course duration: 40 hours
Offered by Kingston Open College, this course is designed to equip new brokers with the knowledge and skills that will most likely contribute to their success in the industry. Their course is QLS-endorsed and provides comprehensive study modules, dedicated tutors, and flexible learning opportunities.
Insurance Broker Training is tailored for learners to understand the fundamental principles of insurance and help them navigate and become well-versed in the various types of insurance. These include general insurance, personal insurance, and commercial insurance.
Course cost: £599
Course duration: 40 hours (self-paced)
This is a comprehensive online course offered by insurance broker course provider Studyhub. A notable feature of this course is that it’s beneficial for both seasoned insurance professionals and those new to the industry. Aspiring brokers can expect to gain valuable knowledge from this course, including the fundamentals of insurance, types of insurance, and the UK’s regulatory environment. The certificate course focuses on real-world scenarios, so students can have an in-depth understanding of insurance policies and become more adept at managing risks and protecting their clients’ interests.
Course cost: £1,499 or £124.92/month for 12 mos.
Course duration: 6 months (self-paced)
This programme provides candidates with comprehensive insights into various aspects of insurance broking. The goal is to ensure they become highly familiar with essential insurance concepts and practical knowledge. Topics covered include policy selection, client management, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. Candidates can expect to join the workforce with confidence that this course equips them with a good mix of theoretical and practical knowledge.
Course cost: Varies; currently discounted to £29 from £425
Course duration: 20 hours, self-paced
This course from One Education aims to equip aspiring brokers with the necessary skills and knowledge to become successful. The course is QLS-compliant and includes essential theoretical concepts and practical information for real-world applications. This is ideal for those looking to develop their expertise in insurance, professionals who want to improve and possibly get promoted, or anyone out to learn a new skill or gain additional knowledge.
Those looking for insurance broker courses for beginners that are available online for free can look at these courses:
Course duration: variable; self-paced
Offered by course provider Allison, this course provides a thorough overview of the insurance brokerage industry, along with its key principles and practices. Fundamentals of Insurance Brokers is designed specifically to assist learners in finding the right insurance policies or pursue insurance broker careers.
One unique feature of this free course is its certificate of completion that may enhance your CV’s visibility among recruiters.
Course duration: 4 weeks (3 hours per week)
Provided by FutureLearn and Coventry University, this free course provides insight into the role of brokers in the broader sense within the insurance ecosystem. Learners can expect to gain practical skills and knowledge which they can apply to real-world scenarios. The course also provides valuable lessons on client relationship management and market analysis.
Course duration: 3 weeks, 3-hour per week sessions
Another course from FutureLearn, this introductory free course to personal lines insurance can offer helpful insights into why and how individual clients take out insurance policies. This is an engaging introduction for those new to the insurance sector. The online insurance broker course focuses on the required skills for successful customer interaction and client relationship management. Seasoned professionals looking to refresh their knowledge and new brokers who want to develop their interpersonal skills will benefit from this course.
To become a successful insurance broker, you must have the essential skills. These are the skills that can help you become a top performer in the industry:
This is the top skill that many insurance professionals say is the key to success as a broker. Your skill in listening to your clients’ needs and concerns invariably dictates how well you deliver your services. Effective and successful insurance brokers should possess strong interpersonal skills, along with a strong desire to help clients and practice a high degree of empathy. It’s these skills that come together and help build trust and good relationships with your clients.
Numeracy, or being exceptionally good at reading numbers and interpreting their hidden meanings, is another valuable skill. You will need to be adept at looking at policy premiums, deductibles, coverage limits, claims calculations and budgets to succeed at insurance broking. It’s also essential to be able to interpret these numbers and explain them in simple terms for your clients to understand.
A successful broker’s time management and organisational skills must be impeccable. Your weekly schedule will involve a lot of meetings with different clients and keeping track of each client’s policies and their renewal dates. You must be adept at prioritising tasks, meeting deadlines, and keeping accurate and timely records.
Insurance broking entails a lot of paperwork and attention to the fine print on insurance policies. You have to constantly be meticulous and mindful of even the minutest of details. As a broker, you must fully understand the terms and conditions of each policy and help your client avoid any misunderstandings.
This skill is indispensable for comparing and evaluating different insurance products from various insurers, then choosing which suits your clients’ needs best.
Last but not least is having good communication skills. This is linked to having good interpersonal skills and being tactful and patient with clients and insurance companies. Good communication can make or break deals and can affect how effective you are at negotiating premiums or rates for your clients’ benefit. Some brokers credit being transparent, honest, and determined as key factors to success.
Here's a snapshot of how a day in the life of an insurance broker in the UK goes:
While there are no formal educational requirements to become an insurance broker in the UK, a degree in a course that touches on insurance-related topics can be helpful. A solid academic foundation can also enhance your job prospects.
Thanks to the Internet, those who wish to become insurance brokers have many more options for learning the skills and knowledge needed to get their insurance broker’s licence. While there are some free options, combining these with fully paid insurance broker courses can result in a better learning experience as free courses are rarely very comprehensive.
If a paid course or university degree is not feasible for you, do not discount the value of having the right work experience. Working at a brokerage firm, even in a minor role, can open opportunities for you to secure a scholarship or sponsorship for your brokerage licence, if not more advanced education.
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