Fueling the Future

Agency owners across the country face a demographic tidal wave. Baby boomers, a major segment of the country’s population, are quickly approaching their retirement years and predictions are that the U.S. insurance industry, which employs more than 2.3 million people, may lose more than 50% of its existing workforce in the next 10 to 15 years. With such a mass exodus, the remaining 50% of the industry is wondering—where will new talent come from?

The answer is simple, but it will be a challenge. The next crop of insurance professionals will be picked from the millennial generation—with the help of programs like InVEST, which is designed to introduce future young professionals to the industry. At the age of 54, Pat Moore, principal of Antalek & Moore Insurance Agency is nearing retirement, however, the effect his impending departure will have on the industry is not lost on him.

“We sense at every level, from manager to CSR, our agencies need new talent to survive. Some owners are not waiting to catch the last train out,” he says. “They are turning to the millennial generation, more than 100 million strong, to find new recruits.”While Moore is a member of the boomer generation, he is helping to lead the charge in attracting new talent to the industry as the chairman of the not-for-profit organization, InVEST. The organization, which was initially designed to educate high school students on insurance, has evolved over the years and is now used as recruiting tool.

“InVEST began as an altruistic effort to make high school students better insurance consumers, and to introduce them to agencies there. It has now shifted its emphasis to workforce development, with programs in 74 high schools in 18 states,” Moore explains. “Today, the InVEST organization, administered by a national staff based in Alexandria, Va., has a ‘big tent’ mentality towards any individual or organization with an interest in insurance workforce development.”

Moore recognizes that even with programs like InVEST, the industry will compete for millennials not only against other financial sector industries, but also against non-financial organizations. He likens the demographic challenge to a high school biology experiment.

“If you put a frog in a pot of water and slowly raise the temperature, the frog will be lulled by the rising temperature and not jump out to save himself,” he says. “However, put the frog immediately into very hot water, and he will jump to save himself.” Moore worries that too many agencies are ignoring the rising temperature of demographic change and won’t be prepared when employees start to retire.

Dryden Mutual Insurance Company in Dryden, N.Y., is not one of those companies. Dryden’s CEO Bob Baxter recognizes the reality of the industry’s changing workforce, but he’s not concerned about an employee drought at his company.

“Thirteen of my 52 (person) staff are recruited from Dryden and Groton High Schools, where I helped put together InVEST teams and provided company internships at Dryden,” Baxter says.

Today, company and agency personnel recruited by Baxter visit Dryden High’s InVEST classroom and talk about their work in the insurance industry. It’s Baxter’s and his staff’s way of showing their appreciation for the program. He is also a big advocate of perpetuating the program in other high schools and colleges, and encourages anyone considering starting a program not to hesitate.

“While the Dryden High program has been running smoothly for some years, those wanting to start new programs should not be intimidated,” he says. “The InVEST national staff is there to help and several universities, such as St. John’s, have programs to help train high schoolteachers in insurance basics.”

Baxter’s call-to-action is echoed across the country by many in the industry, but not everyone is listening. There is considerable room for the growth in InVEST nationally and independent agents of all ages need to do their part to ensure a solid future for the industry that has given them their livelihood.

“The InVEST program, when implemented on a local level, dovetails with the millennials’ desire to balance work and lifestyle issues, which is a big plus for the program” says Bill Pierson, executive director of InVEST.

There are thousands of InVEST graduates in the workforce today and InVEST aims to continue fueling agencies’ demand for talent by building grassroots programs throughout the United States—but that will require help. If your city or school district is without an InVEST program, take the first step and find out more information by visiting www.investprogram.org. The future of the industry is in your hands.

Larry Pistell (pistelll@stjohns.edu) is senior associate director at the Center for Professional Education at St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management in New York City and serves on InVEST’s Board of Directors.