An administrative assistant in the insurance industry is an assistant to an executive level manager or supervisor, performing clerical duties and answering telephone calls in an office environment with other clerical staff. Although most have a high school diploma and on-the-job-training, the executive level administrative assistant will be a professional communicator with exceptional computer software skills and a college degree.

Function

Administrative assistants in the insurance industry usually work for a manager or executive and perform duties such as scheduling appointments, prepare correspondence, maintaining files and answering telephone calls. In the insurance industry, the administrative assistant does not perform any financial or budget duties.

Work Environment

Administrative assistants work in an office environment in support of executives, managers and rarely to agents who are in the field after a major disaster. They usually share their office space with other staff. Working hours are typically a five-day, 40-hour work week. The executives and managers the administrative assistants directly support often put in more than 40 hours and the assistant may be occasionally asked to work overtime during those times.

Education and Training

Entry-level administrative assistant positions usually require a high school diploma or equivalent. Employers are increasingly seeking employees with college degrees because the administrative assistants work so closely with executive-level managers. The use of word processing, database management and spreadsheet programs, email and other communication skills are essential skills for the administrative assistant.

Types of Employment

Administrative assistants in the insurance agency are limited to assisting with clerical and administrative duties such as correspondence, scheduling, filing and fielding telephone calls. Accounting, bookkeeping, financial transactions, policy processing and customer service are all performed by specific individuals within the organization. The duties of an administrative assistant are highly transferable from one industry to another. If an assistant at an insurance company is looking for more job satisfaction or challenge, seeking employment at a smaller, non-insurance company may be the right decision for him.

Salary Information

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the insurance industry paid non-supervisory employees an average of $44,564 a year in 2008 and paid their executive administrative assistants a median of $41,017, which is slightly higher than the average for executive assistants (all industries) at $40,030.

Outlook

According to the BLS, the administrative assistant field was expected to grow 11 percent from 2008 to 2018, which is slightly better than average for all occupations. The greatest threat to the administrative assistant was the same thing that makes her job easier, technology. As technology improves and office equipment becomes more automated, it takes fewer personnel to do the same amount of work. Many professionals are doing a lot of their own correspondence and data entry or outsource the work. The professional administrative assistant can be more marketable by becoming exceptionally skilled in a profession, become an expert at computer software applications, and obtain a bachelor’s degree.