Meet Donna. She's a member of the baby boomer generation, andshe's been a successful client account manager in the insuranceindustry for more than 30 years. She's tired of working full timeand wants to change her lifestyle. She also has elderly parents forwhom she is responsible, and she wants to spend more time with herchildren and grandchildren. But she's not ready to give up workingcompletely.

Meet Larry. He owns a successful insurance agency with a staffof 12 people, and he'd like to add one more person, but not fulltime. He'd also like that person to be someone with experience ininsurance and in business, and he prefers someone U.S-based, eventhough he's considered the option of outsourcing.

These are perfect candidates for WAHVE (Work at Home VintageEmployees), a company that bridges the gap between the insurancefirm's staffing needs and experienced insurance professionals whowant to phase into retirement or no longer want full-time work.Founded in 2010 by Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, WAHVE matches insurancefirms that need help with insurance professionals who are lookingto remain productive and want an opportunity for a continued careerworking from home.

“The insurance industry is recognizing that employees don't haveto be in an office to get their jobs done,” Emek says. “And babyboomers are tech-savvy enough to use the Internet and computers.Most of them e-mail their families and Skype with theirgrandchildren.” That's all they really need to be successful remoteworkers, she adds.

Creative ways to keep talent

Baby boomers have lots of knowledge to share. (Emek calls them“pre-retirees.”) One in five adults in the U.S. is age 55 or older,she points out, “and we're living to 90 or 100.” The normalretirement age of 65 was part of the original Social Security Actin 1935, when a person's lifespan was much shorter. Now, employeesmight be looking to slow down but they often want—or need—tocontinue to work into their 70s and 80s.

WAHVE has more than 250 insurance professionals working fromhome as independent contractors with insurance firms, ranging fromone person at a small, four-person agency to 20 at a largeinsurance brokerage with 4,400 employees and more than 140 offices.There is no average size client, she says. The insurance industryas a whole is looking for talent of any age.

About 65% of WAHVE's clients hire part-time staff, working about25 to 30 hours per week. During busier times, such as renewalseason, the client might add hours or another person.

Passing the test

Before adding an insurance professional to the roster, Emek vetsthem thoroughly. The applicants have to demonstrate their knowledgeof insurance and use of technology. The application is granular,she says, asking in-depth questions about the type of insuranceexperience the applicants have as well as the length of time invarious positions. This level of detail allows Emek, who describesher company as a Match.com for the insurance profession, to findthe right person to do back-office support, customer service andaccount management, underwriting or claims processing. She even hasone person working as an insurance company controller.

Insurance firms are adopting the concept of outsourcing workoverseas in growing numbers. Several use service firms based inIndia to manage some level of claims processing.

Mentoring the next generation

There is a lot of knowledge that experienced insuranceprofessionals can give back, especially to younger members of theprofession, Emek says. She often recommends that her clients usethe workers she finds for them as mentors to millennials or othersnew to the industry. “Experienced professionals have great networksthat they can access when they need help or information,” shepoints out. “They also can teach millennials how to networkeffectively and build their own resources.”

With their wealth of experience, the WAHVE professionals canhelp spread the word that insurance isn't boring; it's aboutunderstanding and managing risk. She also says she believes thatWAHVE professionals can help millennials understand that all riskis becoming global, and this is an exciting, challenging industryof which to be a part.

StaffLink, another option for brokers

Vantage Agora (VA), a firm that provides outsourcing services tothe insurance industry, has created StaffLink, a new managedstaffing service targeted to mid-sized and large insurance brokers.VA selected WAHVE to provide the U.S.-based experienced insuranceprofessionals to supervise VA's India-based insurance processingstaff.

Emek explained that companies are concerned about the quality ofwork done by outsourced workers overseas. “What brokers need is notjust low-cost, efficient workflow and processing, but also theconfidence that the work is getting done accurately andefficiently. StaffLink is an opportunity for WAHVE to providebrokers with highly experienced 'vintage' insurance professionalsto manage these overseas resources at a significantcost-savings.”

When a firm engages StaffLink, its higher level processing workis done by a U.S.-based WAHVE insurance professional who alsomanages the lower level processes done by VA workers in India—asubstantial costs savings for most companies.

“StaffLink provides a domestic solution,” Emek says, “to theconcerns many companies have when sending work overseas.” The firmcan be confident that an experienced U.S. insurance professional ismanaging the work and key details won't be overlooked.