Insurance

Types of Degrees Insurance Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many insurance graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,505
Basic Certificate	145
Master’s Degree	90
Graduate Certificate	53
Associate Degree	12
Undergraduate Certificate	4

What Insurance Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to insurance were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Insurance Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in insurance should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Insurance Majors

insurance majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Insurance Majors

A major in insurance will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Insurance Major?

People with a insurance degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage	5.1%	$62,520
Insurance Sales Agents	9.9%	$50,600

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance?

Insurance runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #21 out of all the business majors we track. In 2021, about 1,505 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. This major tends to be male dominated. About 65% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of insurance majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	80
Black or African American	68
Hispanic or Latino	88
White	1,142
International Students	68
Other Races/Ethnicities	59

Geographic Diversity

Insurance appeals to people across the globe. About 4.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Bermuda
• Cote-D’Ivoire

How Much Do Insurance Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that insurance students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $52,997 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $49,275 (25th percentile) and $54,941 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to insurance.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $67,540 to $76,880 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to insurance. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Insurance

Some degrees associated with insurance may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to insurance have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	10.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.5%
Some College Courses	7.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	4.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	16.8%

Online Insurance Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 101 schools offered some type of insurance program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	22	8
Bachelor’s Degree	6	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	13	6
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Insurance Worth It?

The median salary for a insurance grad is $67,890 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 70% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $559,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Insurance

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to insurance.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	416,590
Accounting	99,265
Finance & Financial Management	57,778
General Business/Commerce	56,042
Marketing	52,916
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	43,382
Human Resource Management	28,787
Business Support & Assistant Services	19,119
Hospitality Management	17,689
Management Information Systems	13,680
Entrepreneurial Studies	11,319
International Business	9,101
Real Estate	6,547
General Sales & Marketing	5,923
Business/Managerial Economics	5,667
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	5,191
Other Business, Management & Marketing	4,822
Construction Management	3,846
Taxation	1,547
Business/Corporate Communications	1,029
Telecommunications Management	55

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Nick Youngson under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.