There are so many new opportunities to explore in the insurancebusiness, but future success requires going beyond the traditionalsales & marketing endeavors.

The insurance business is undergoing rapid change in sync withall of the changes happening throughout our society and culture.Have you identified these changes? Is your agency or companyorganization embracing them? Can you envision where your businesswill be in the next three, five or 10 years? Let's examine some ofthe key elements.

People

The current workforce is aging and their vastknowledge and experience is not being replaced fast enough.Millennials entering the workforce don't seek careers in theinsurance industry, nor are they aware of the potentialopportunities for equity. This could be a solution for those ownerswho haven't finalized their exit strategy. Because the millennialwork force has the digital technology and IT savvy so important toSales & Marketing in using social media for the distribution ofinsurance products and services, they present a valuableresource.

Team-building should combine the knowledge and experience ofmature workers with the tech skills of younger employees. Jointsales calls should be mandated. More effort can be made tomake the insurance industry more attractive tomillennials: Sell them on the importance of insurance in theworld economy and how without insurance there is no commerce and nofinancial security for families to protect property and assets fromfinancial loss. Insist that new employees deliver insurance claimchecks to customers to get a feeling for what insurance proceedsbring to a customer at their time of loss.

Products

New insurance products are being created to reflect newexposures, so insurance education should be emphasized. Youngeremployees potentially have greater insight into the risks andbenefits associated with technology. For example, insuranceproducts for the rapidly emerging Alternative and Renewable Energy businessespresent opportunities for new revenue growth. Energy sources fromwind, water, solar, and natural gas are replacing oil and all ofthese new industries need insurance for their products andservices.

New products in the Financial Services and Wealth Managementareas are also being developed to address several fantasticopportunities. Here are just two:

• Life Insurance — Life sales are down.Millennials are not buying much and many of the life insurance andannuity products on the market are too complicated. But this ischanging and the potential for new sales is high. All P&Cproducers should be required to obtain a Life and A&Hlicense.

• Wealth Management — The largest transfer ofwealth in history will soon take place when the millennials matureand inherit the wealth that will transfer to them. If you do nothave NASD-licensed producers in your organization, I urge you toestablish a relationship with a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA)to cross-sell and deliver each other's services to each clientbase.

The office

The traditional office as a workenvironment is (slowly) becoming extinct. The need to continue tobuild or lease more “space” to accommodate growth is no longervalid because:

• Shared work stations are becoming more prevalent as people workremotely more frequently;

• Small satellite offices can expand a firm's physical footprint.Many new 'shared space' facilities are being built in variousindustrial complexes, former warehouses and on campuses thatprovide shared conference rooms, reception areas, and even officeequipment;

• There is little need for file cabinets to take up expensivefloor space or for having to lease space to store paper filesoffsite. Use of data storage and retrieval technology (the cloud)can reduce costs dramatically;

• The need for an executive-type corner office is fading togetherwith the old traditional heavy wood furniture often found ininsurance and bank offices.

What a great time to be in the insurance business! Know whichdirection you are headed in, identify how change can best work foryou, then, as they say in the Army: “Lead, follow, or get the hellout of the way.”

Barry Seigerman is an independent broker/producer.Email him at [email protected]. Opinionsexpressed are the author's own.