How do I Become a Public Liability Insurance Broker?

A public liability insurance broker is an insurance specialist who helps clients find the best insurance product to protect them from third-party lawsuits and other liability risks. Although the public liability insurance broker has very specific expertise, you can become one the in the same way that you would become any other type of insurance salesman. That is, you would train and study to pass the appropriate certification exams in your state, and you would build experience by working at an insurance brokerage firm. Once you are a certified insurance broker, you can explore the public liability insurance broker specialty.

Public liability insurance is a specific kind of casualty insurance. Companies and other organizations purchase it to protect themselves from the high costs of a legal defense and settlement of a lawsuit. If a customer in a grocery store slips, falls and breaks her leg while shopping, public liability insurance will pay for the legal team to represent the grocer if the shopper sues. The insurance would also pay any award the shopper wins from a trial or a settlement.

To specialize in this type of insurance product, you would first need to gain training and certification in the field of insurance. Insurance brokers are not required to have a college degree, but most brokers at many small and large firms now do. In fact, several colleges and universities now offer specific insurance degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Insurance brokerage firms might not demand these degrees, but the degree can help in finding an internship or a job at such a firm.

In many jurisdictions, the next step to becoming a public liability insurance broker is to become certified and licensed. For instance, in the United States, you must be licensed in each of the states where you will be an insurance salesman. The process of becoming certified and licensed differs by jurisdiction. In most locations, however, the process involves taking courses, studying the appropriate materials and passing an exam.

Once you have obtained your general insurance broker license, you have two choices. You can seek employment and build up a resume of actual experience, or you can develop a hands-on specialty working as a public liability insurance broker. In many jurisdictions, however, to be certified as a public liability insurance broker, you may be required to go through a certification and licensing process. This again could require classroom time or other coursework, which would then be followed by an exam.