It's no secret that bringing younger people into the industry is of concern to everyone. Whether it's as agents or IT professionals, it's essential to find ways to make insurance a career of choice.
But first, it's important to define the generations we're talking about. While there are no clear-cut dates, the recent AUGIE survey defines "younger" as Generation X (born 1964-1978) and Generation Y (born 1978-2000).
According to the survey, only 7.95 percent of respondents were X-ers and 0.2 percent were Gen Y. Most respondents were baby boomers, 58.89 percent, many of whom are hitting 64 and contemplating retirement. What happens then?
It's essential to consider how different generations think about technology. For Gens X and Y, their relationship is more intimate. They grew up with it. It's part of their lives. It's natural. It's expected. Technology is not an option, but a necessity.
Communication is another place where generations differ. Once, communication was a personal, face-to-face event. But younger generations communicate through e-mail, websites, social media and video.
Although today an updated, useful website is a basic necessity, only 41 percent of us continuously update our websites, according to the AUGIE survey. Others have slowed, or even stopped: 29 percent "rarely" updated the sites, 13 percent did so annually, and 3 percent never updated their sites.
The industry needs to consider how younger generations interact with customers and prospects. Bearing in mind that most respondents to the AUGIE survey were boomers, 22 percent still use snail mail, 21 percent faxes, and 24 percent use the phone. Only 4 percent use e-newsletters and 2 percent use social media. Here is where we as an industry need to catch up--and fast.
Our industry needs to embrace technology, communication and standards. Real time and download are perfect examples. The idea of waiting for information is foreign to young professionals, who are used to instant access, information and answers. In an era of tablet computing, Wi-Fi, mobile computing and phone apps, it's inconceivable to those coming up today that someone would need to wait for minutes, hours or even days for a response to an inquiry.
It's time to show the world that insurance is creative, innovative and technologically progressive. By doing so, we'll be able to cross the generations and assure a strong future for our industry.
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