Here is an article I wrote in 2016 for the career Center at The University of Connecticut. I hope you like it.
Having trouble picking an industry to start your career? Don’t forget Insurance.
Insurance? That is right, I said insurance is a great industry for millennials to look at starting their career. Just like death and taxes everyone has to buy insurance. For that reason, the industry is not going anywhere and it will be relatively stable. If a recent graduate wants to stay in one industry for 10 or 20 years, insurance is the industry to look to. If developing skills that can transfer to several different industries is a priority, then insurance can provide that too. Insurance has a reputation as a boring dying industry, but technological advances are moving it in to the twenty first century at a dramatic pace. Here are four reasons why insurance is a great industry for a recent graduate to look to start their career.
The workforce in the insurance industry is aging.
According to the Insurance Journal, “The average age of an insurance industry professional is 54, and 60 percent of insurance industry professionals are older than 45.” That is a lot of people who will need to be replaced in the next 5-15 years. This makes insurance an industry where millennials can really find their place in an industry that needs them desperately. The industry is changing with many customers wanting online and mobile options and successful insurance companies need help accommodating their customers in these new ways. There are lots of opportunities for recent graduates to find a good mentor. If they find the right mentor, that relationship can position millennials for a highly lucrative job in the not so distant future.
People will always have to purchase insurance in some form or fashion.
As stated previously, insurance is kind of like death and taxes. Everyone has to purchase insurance in some form or fashion. On the personal side of the industry, people are required to carry car insurance if they want to legally drive a car. Health insurance is now a requirement as well and the market for this coverage should only grow over time. On the business side of the industry, Workers’ Compensation is required by law in 48 out of 50 states. General liability insurance is also a requirement in most states and for most industries. Because of the requirement to purchase coverage, this industry provides recent graduates with an industry that will stay relatively stable for the foreseeable future.
Millennials are becoming a target market.
Millennials are now old enough where they have to purchase their own insurance and some are even beginning to start their own businesses. Soon they will be a larger demographic than baby boomers. Millennials want to shop for insurance in a much different way than baby boomers. Millennials are very comfortable researching and purchasing insurance all over their mobile device. A baby boomer probably wants to purchase insurance in person or over the phone.
Because millennials are becoming a target market, companies need employees who can relate to this growing customer base. The way a customer purchases insurance has changed dramatically over the past decade. The industry has not exactly kept up with technology. Insurance companies need employees to help them communicate with these new potential customers. They need to be able to reach these customers where those customers are. More and more often that place is online and through a mobile device. The older generation, who is now in control of the insurance industry, is not exactly technologically advanced.
This opens up opportunities for graduates of all majors. You do not have to have a business degree to be in demand in the insurance industry. The industry will need employees with an IT background to design their website and they will need Marketing Professionals to promote the website. Companies in the insurance industry are going to need people who can write, in order to craft the perfect message to reach these new customers. They will also need Human Resource Professionals to hire all of these people. If you have these skills; you may be able to help insurance companies tap in to these new customers. This makes many different majors the opportunity to find their place within the industry.
The ability to develop transferrable skills
Communication, risk management and critical thinking are three skills that are essential for success in the insurance industry. These are also skills that can be easily transferred to many different industries. No matter what job a recent grad gets out of college, these three skills are crucial to their future success.
Communicating with a 30-year-old business man today is much different than how they were approached 20 years ago. In the past, cold-calling and phone negotiating skills were a must to succeed in the insurance industry. Now those messages are frequently done via email. Some business is even conducted via social media. If you have a knack for these platforms than you can position yourself as an asset within the industry. Because of the age of so many within the industry these new skills will only become more valuable as technology advances.
Assessing risk is the backbone of the insurance industry. Working in this industry will give millennials the opportunity to analyze the risk of an enormous different types of people and businesses. Those types of risk assessment skills are something you could take in to the finance or management industry very easily. Any industry you find yourself going in to will have a need for strong risk assessment skills.
Critical thinking is a part of the two previous skills. In insurance, like many things in life, no two situations are the same. Every policy you are associated with will have external factors that make the risk unique. The differences could be whether a landscaping business just mows a lawn, does the business install shrubs and plant trees or does the business climb up in to trees. Depending upon what the business does the business may need different coverages and you will need to think quickly in order to make sure the business owner is fully covered. If they are not fully covered it could result in a claim not being covered in the middle of their term. The better you are at thinking quickly and critically the better you will be at helping your customer properly cover their business.
mitchell sharp 