Insurers Need A Wider Focus In Diversity Effort: CPCU Pres.

NU Online News Service, May 1, 4:00 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON--Insurance professionals seeking to make their industry more diverse should consider not just race but all minority groups, the president of an insurance association said in a talk here.

"Diversity is not a problem for the insurance industry; it is an opportunity," said Marvin Kelly, CPCU Society president and executive director of the Texas Property-Casualty Insurance Guarantee Association.

His remarks came during the 8^th annual Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's Diversity Task Force Luncheon, held in conjunction with the IIABA's Conference and Convention held here this week.

He said the industry needs to look beyond race when addressing questions of diversity. The issue of diversity means examination of the lack of representation in the industry's ranks of all people based on gender, sexual orientation, youth and anyone else outside of main stream American culture.

Diversity, said Mr. Kelly, also means looking beyond the nation's borders and realizing that the insurance industry is a global industry.

"We need to change the make-up of our industry," he declared.

Mr. Kelly pointed out that the need for change is rooted in a fundamental problem that the independent agency force is aging, with an overwhelming percentage of the industry's executives over the age of 40. A new generation of agents needs to be cultivated, he said.

"Who will pick up [your business] after you leave?" he asked. "Things have changed, but the industry has not."

He said there is a need to cultivate a younger generation of people, noting some educational programs aimed at doing that such as INVEST, the IIABA's educational foundation for high school and community college programs, that are raising interest in careers within the industry.

There are some programs that are now being taught or are planned at a few universities throughout the country where industry volunteers who are members of the CPCU Society help teach students about the industry, he mentioned.

These programs, said Mr. Kelly, also offer internships and scholarships to help generate interest in careers in the industry.

He said the emergence of social networking over the Internet is another way for industry leaders to reach out to a younger generation. The old ways of doing things are not working as they use to, he remarked, and it is time for insurance professionals to embrace the new.

"We can't continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," said Mr. Kelly. "We have to do something different if we are going to survive."