The insurance industry over the last decade or so has been making a concerted effort to attract young professionals to the sector in order to bridge the talent gap occurring as Baby Boomers retire. The insurance industry offers many benefits to bright young individuals who are looking for a lifelong career, such as work-life balance, financial stability, and growth and fulfillment.
The specialty insurance field is one of the areas within the industry that taps into the career desires of the younger generation (Millennials and eventually Generation Z) to become tomorrow’s savvy agents and brokers. Specialty programs are often designed to go beyond what traditional property and casualty insurance solutions can offer to address the risks of a growing sector, hard-to-place classes of business, and/or a niche that requires specialized expertise and experience. Specialty insurance programs also often leverage advanced analytics and technology to offer in-depth underwriting insight and speed to market, important to younger generations who value advanced technology in making decisions, performing everyday tasks and communicating.
Additionally, a focus in specialty insurance programs opens up an unlimited opportunity for young producers to really learn about certain industries, become an expert, and grow a book of business, bringing in significant revenue for both the agency and the individual producer. This obviously provides financial reward and stability but also a sense of independence and entrepreneurship in being given the opportunity to be responsible for the success of a business unit, or a division, within a larger entity. In addition, oftentimes the insurance industry is misconstrued as boring, but this isn’t the case at all when given the chance to dig deep and learn about the “ins and outs” of other business sectors and how to protect their employees, customers and assets.
Another attractive benefit of working within the specialty insurance programs area is how dynamic the field is. Typically, no day is the same, no client is the same and there are always challenges to meet, particularly as emerging trends and exposures develop. Additionally, producers get to travel and network with prospects and insureds at industry-specific association-related conferences and events.
Young producers working with specialty insurance programs also get the flexibility and the work/life balance they desire. They can focus on their career and have a family, as the insurance industry inherently enables this. Indeed, flexibility, freedom and work/life balance are key benefits that young agents cite every year in the Young Agents Survey performed by Insurance Journal. According to the 2018 survey, a large majority of respondents rate their own agency’s telecommuting, flexibility and work/life balance as either “excellent” (39.5%) or “good” (29.6%).
At Manchester Specialty Programs, we enjoy working with our agency/broker force, and staff of all ages. We specialize in insuring Home Health Care, Allied Health and Human/Social Services organizations – all growth industries with unique risks that our programs and products address. For more information about how we can help you protect your insureds, please contact us at 855.972.9399.