How to become an insurance adviser
Official title: Insurance adviser
Also called: Insurance agent, Insurance broker
Insurance advisers give advice about insurance and sell life, property, health, automotive and other types of insurance to clients.
Main tasks
- Check clients' insurance needs and goals
- Suggest the right insurance for clients
- Explain insurance options, coverage and costs
- Calculate and negotiate insurance premiums
- Prepare sales and other contracts
- Assess condition of property and products
- Follow industry rules and laws
- Record client information and maintain data security
How to become one
You need a qualification to become an insurance adviser. You need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Required: a New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5). Registration body: Financial Service Providers Register.
Ways in
- Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in banking and finance. TEC links this job to study in banking and finance. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Financial Services, Cert in Financial Advice. Usually 6 to 11 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $75,000 a year one year after study; 81% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
- Registration or licence: Registration body: Financial Service Providers Register (https://fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/).
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $65,000 to $118,000 a year (median $81,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $56,000 a year · Upper: $178,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 4,700 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Personal property valuer
- Insurance underwriter
- Insurance claims officer
- Real estate branch manager
- Plant and machinery valuer
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Questions people ask
How do I become an insurance adviser?
You need a qualification to become an insurance adviser. You need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Required: a New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5). Registration body: Financial Service Providers Register.
How much does an insurance adviser earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $81,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $65,000 to $118,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as an insurance adviser grown in New Zealand?
It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026