But who are these young people we're trying to reach?
Born between 1982 and 2002, millennials were the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media. According to Neil Howe and William Straus in their book "Millennials Rising," they are "the 'Babies on Board' of the early Reagan years, the 'Have You Hugged Your Child Today' sixth graders of the early Clinton years, and the teens of Columbine."
Millennials are very different from their Gen X predecessors (now in their 30s), more akin to baby boomers in their sanguine acceptance of new technology (just as baby boomers were the first generation weaned on TV, millennials were born with a silver mouse in their hands).
Digital media are an integral part of their lives--and a key way to reach them as both consumers and potential employees. According to the recent Insurity/Microsoft "Millennials in Insurance Survey 2008," an online survey of more than 700 millennials 18 to 27 years old, 77 percent use social networking, 71 percent use instant messaging, and 59 percent use wikis, and they fully expect to be able to use these technologies as part of their jobs as well.
The good news is, 55 percent of respondents said they would consider insurance as a possible career choice or they currently work in the industry.
AA&B spoke with two of these young people, both of whom had been introduced to insurance through IIABA's InVEST insurance education program, which is robust in Florida. Here are their stories:
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| Amy Jo Kinzel |
As a high school senior, Kinzel was involved in her school's InVEST program, which assigns students to positions in the industry to illustrate how the business works (she roleplayed a CEO who oversaw all agencies).
Later, as a business management major at the University of South Florida, Kinzel contacted the coordinator of the Florida InVEST program about finding a part-time job. She started as a personal lines assistant at a smaller insurance agency, then worked there part-time in the summer as an assistant. She gradually decided that insurance was a good long-term career choice, so she started working part time as a personal lines account manager for three years, then switched to commercial lines. She has a full-time position at Wallace Welch & Willingham.
What's so great about insurance? "It's interesting; every day is something new. It's challenging working with the different risks and seeing where they fit with the markets," Kinzel said. "I'm a people person and there is lots of interaction with the clients; I like being able to provide people with the help they need."
Kinzel's future career plans are open, but she's leaning toward commercial lines sales. "I really want to work my way up and learn about the business," she said. "I like the agency side; I'd love to be an account manager, but I find marketing interesting, too, and would like to eventually hold a management position."
Today, Kinzel's involvement in insurance has come full circle: At age 24, as part of InVEST, she goes back to her old high school to teach kids about the industry.
When asked what she would tell people her age about the insurance industry, Kinzel stressed the business's multifaceted aspect. "Some people have the concept that insurance is boring, but it's not. There's always something new to consider, and there are so many avenues of insurance, including the criminal investigative part of it that lots of people don't know about. I have a friend who's interested in forensics and I told her she should get into insurance. There are so many job opportunities out there, and I don't think a lot of people know that."
Nicole Shank, administrative assistant, BB&T Landrum Yaeger, Tallahassee, Fla.
Like her counterpart in St. Petersburg, Shank, now 20, was first exposed to the insurance business in her junior year of high school as part of the InVEST program. As part of her senior project, the class took a field trip to a local insurance agency, where she learned how the different departments worked together and found out there was more to insurance than auto.
"Like a lot of kids, I thought insurance just involved a lot of selling until I took the class," she said. "It became more interesting to me after I found out about underwriting, legal and all the other aspects involved in the business."
She liked the business so much that ended up majoring in risk management and insurance at Florida State University, where she is in her junior year.
She initially landed a summer job at an agency, interning in the marine department where she helped with processing renewals, sending out letters and working on different projects. She kept the job over the past three summers. This year, she contacted BB&T about a job and was hired. She has been working there since September and helps out where needed in the personal lines department.
Although she's not sure what she wants to do yet, Shank is interested in the insurance industry, specifically in working with a big insurer, possibly as an underwriter.
"I liked learning about marine coverage, but would like to learn more about general commercial business," she said.
Shank is convinced that education about what the insurance industry can offer is essential in reaching young people. "I don't really think that many people know or understand about careers in insurance; only two other people I know are majoring in it, so that tells you something," she said. "All my other friends are majoring in general business, and I always tell them that insurance is a good career because you have so many different options. People will always need insurance. Plus there is flexibility, decent salary, and enjoyable work. That's the major thing."
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