Kari Wyman

Account Manager
Gregory & Appel Insurance
Indianapolis

Age: 31
Guilty pleasure TV show: Friends
Favorite beer: Miller Lite
Preferred social media: LinkedIn

Why insurance?

My aunt has always worked in insurance, and throughout high school and college she got me little part-time jobs filing papers and answering phones and tasks like that for the different agencies she worked for. When I went to college, I made insurance my minor, so I figured, “Well, I studied it—I’m going to build a career in insurance.”

Now, I like the constant contact with clients and companies, and I like that it’s a challenge but always changing. We have to come up with new products all the time to cover the new exposures out there.

Motivator?

My daughter—she’s five.

Work/life balance?

It’s just organization. When I’m at work, I try to keep things focused 100% on work, and when I’m done with work it’s time to be with my family. Occasionally I’ll have to work late or maybe a weekend, but I really try to organize and work as hard as I can during the workday and keep family time as family time.

Biggest role model?

My parents. They’ve both always worked while balancing raising four kids, were able to send us to good schools and allowed us to get a college education.

Most annoying millennial stereotype?

I hate when I hear that all millennials are lazy. I think more millennials seem to have a college degree than any other generation. And most of that just has to do with the world we’re living in—you have to have a college degree now. But in reality, that just makes it that much harder to get a job. There are more qualified, educated candidates applying for jobs than in the past. I think millennials have to continue to fight harder to get respected positions that they strive for.

Millennial stereotype that fits you?

I deal every day with technology. Not only do I have to know my agency software system, but I also have to know multiple carriers’ websites. It’s almost demanded now with some carriers that for a certain size business under a certain threshold, they pretty much make you quote that online yourself. It used to be that you would turn in applications and the underwriter would quote everything up themselves. It can be tough to navigate.

But I think millennials, we grew up with technology—it’s been everything for us. We had computer class when we were in grade school and we’ve had cell phones since at least college, if not high school. Everything demands technology, and we embrace it. For older generations, it’s a change, and change can be kind of scary.

Industry’s biggest challenge?

It’s an aging industry and it’s not perceived as a sexy job. People think, “Blech, insurance.” I see agencies and companies now figuring that out and trying to hit it head-on. They’re trying to recruit some younger people. To be part of that, you just have to motivate people. You have to reach out to colleges and go to career fairs and leverage social media to appeal to the younger generation. My company is all about health and wellness and offers stand-up desks, among many other wellness perks. There are a lot of different things you can do to provide a benefit to your employees. We’re creating those benefits and reasons for young people to want to be in the industry.

This article is the last in a series that profiles 10 millennials in independent insurance, based on IA’s July cover story.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.