The generation gap has a new family member — the technology gap. And true to its genealogy, the technology gap is firmly rooted in age-related mindsets. Older managers, owners, and bosses on one side; their younger producers, potential heirs, and support personnel on the other. In the middle are industry groups aggressively seeking ways to bridge, if not eliminate, the technology chasm.

FAIA's VP of Information and Technology Paul Peeples deals with it every day. And while he commiserates with the young agents' concerns that their bosses "just don't get it," he remains optimistic.

"Agency principals don't totally get it yet in terms of servicing customers electronically," Peeples points out. He continually preaches "service" as the real purpose of agency web sites. "An agency web site is not like a carrier's web site," he said. "Agencies need to allow consumers to come to their site to do servicing. I always say 'make it a service site first.' The younger generation is going to apply that more, make the sites more service-oriented. We believe that will happen in the next ten years, with transitions from retiring principals turning over the reins to their children or selling to people starting out."