For years, we in the insurance industry have had a problem butfew solutions. The problem is we are all getting older;agents, adjusters and analysts are hitting their retirement yearsin record numbers.

To compound matters, college graduates don't seem interested ina career in insurance. Too many people are leaving and too few areentering the field. You don't have to be an actuary to seethis is a problem.

Some of us have known for years that this is a problem. We've even talked about it on occasion, but we never made aconcerted effort to come up with a solution.

The insurance industry talent gap is no revelation toanyone. A host of studies point to the crossroads at which ourindustry finds itself. Deloitte notes that most underwriters,adjusters and sales agents are 40 or older and that by 2015 therewill be a 10-million person gap between the supply of knowledgeworkers and the demand for them.

The few people we get are not staying. In 2004, the 4-yearretention rate for agents was a shocking 13 percent, according toLIMRA.

Not surprisingly, a number of organizations have initiatedprograms to recruit the best and brightest, bust the myths thatsurround the industry or to educate young people about the widerange of rewarding career options within the insuranceworld.

As effective as some of those initiatives have been, one crucialcomponent has been missing: a common voice.

That's about to change.

Next week, insurance industry leaders will meet in Atlanta forthe InsuranceEducation and Career Summit. Hosted by the Griffith InsuranceEducation Foundation, the summit is the first gathering of itskind, a truly collaborative effort by the insurance industry tosolve an industry-wide challenge.

In preparing for the summit, DBH Consulting conductedpersonal interviews and written surveys to drive the content of ourmeetings. Among the themes that emerged was a general feeling thatthe insurance sector is misunderstood and that we must do more toplace the industry in a favorable light.

So what's stopping us? The main obstacles are, and have been,the competitive nature of our business and stark differences inculture and agendas. These obstacles have created silos from whichwe have been loath to emerge.

It doesn't have to be that way. There is proof thatorganizations can remain competitors while collaborating for thelong-term viability of their industry. For example, the American Institute ofCertified Public Accountants addressed its industry's talentgap through a collaborative approach and watched the number ofaccounting majors rise 30 percent over five years and the number ofhires right out of college rise by 83 percent.

The Education and Career Summit is our industry's first steptoward a similar outcome and will focus on two primary goals: toidentify the barriers to attracting talent and to brainstormpractical, creative solutions to attract the insurance leaders oftomorrow.

September 26-28 is when an all-encompassing discussionbegins. But talk isn't good enough, and one gathering willnot shore up our future a an industry. Those in the room,together with others, must reach consensus on next steps anddemonstrate a commitment to move forward.

Those who were unable to participate will not want to remainoutliers for long.

Talent is an issue that affects each and every company and everysegment of our industry. Industry-wide collaboration requiresan industry-wide commitment. Only then can we continue tobuild momentum each day as we work toward a common purpose. Mymessage to those who may be reluctant to participate is get on thebus or be left behind.

Although collaboration will not come easily to everyone, I'mconfident we will come together if we remind each other of onecritical fact: Preparing the next generation of insuranceprofessionals is not about the succession of one company, oneagency or one association; it's about the succession of theindustry.