How much do life insurance agents make?

No federal wage series isolates life insurance agents; the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts them within insurance sales agents, whose median annual wage was $62,280 in May 2025. Private salary estimates for life agents span a wide range, roughly $51,000 to $89,000, depending on the source and year. Pay varies because commissions dominate: first-year life commissions typically equal a large share of the first-year premium, while renewal commissions drop to a few percent.