Viewpoints

Emily McGinn is general manager of the MGA and wholesale business unit at Vertafore, overseeing product development, professional services and customer service.

Jamie Behymer, director of diversity, inclusion and young agents at the Big “I,” leads initiatives that empower emerging leaders and help independent insurance agencies become more inclusive.

“It’s all about embracing artificial intelligence (AI),” says young agent Audriana Misic. “Not to replace people but to make what we do more efficient and effective.”

“We need to encourage other young professionals to get into the industry and understand that it has a lot of opportunities,” says young agent Lucas Anderson. “I had the privilege of being born into it, there are a lot of people who fall backwards into it, but we need to turn it into an industry…

“My favorite part about being an agent is empowering people and letting them know that they don’t have to do this alone,” says young agent Kendra Garrett. “That empowers me when I know I’ve positively affected somebody’s life, especially when it comes to their finances.”

“Spanish is my first language,” says young agent Deuel Romero. “I got into the industry when I saw a huge opportunity with the underserved demographic of the Hispanic business owner community.”

“It takes a lot of work to do this job,” says young agent Yuliya Karpov. “This profession provides an opportunity to find harmony, to learn about yourself and what you need, then reflect and adjust accordingly.”

“It’s on us to understand what opportunities technology provides our industry to be more efficient and grow at a faster rate than generations before us,” says young agent Ryder Roberts.

“Previous generations bring vast amounts of knowledge and experience and new generations have great new ideas, new life and new outlooks,” says young agent Brooke Stout. “There are many ways to integrate the old ways with the new ways and make the best workflows possible.”

“The core value of lending a helping hand and never being too busy to help a producer … is everything I want in a mentor, especially as a guy that didn’t go to school for insurance,” says young agent Jackson Doyle.