By now, it's no surprise to anyone that we're in dire need of new blood in the insurance industry. Although we continuously cite the average age of an agency principal as 55, those birthdays keep coming, and that average age creeps up every year. According to a recent study of more than 3,000 insurance and risk management professionals by the National Alliance Research Academy, the average age of a non-retired industry professional is 56. And although 59 percent said they plan to continue working part-time after retiring, 41 percent claim they will retire from all forms of employment by age 66. This gives the industry 14 years to prepare for the departure of an entire generation of seasoned insurance professionals. The Alliance survey reports that 87 percent of respondents have more than 20 years of industry experience—a resource that will be gone in a little over a decade.

Luckily, that resource is renewable—if we do some smart planning right now. Until recently, the industry's reaction to this oncoming juggernaut has been to pretty much keep doing things the way it always has. Although most producer trade associations have long-standing programs targeting younger agents, the term "young" was often pretty relative.

But as Gen Y grows into an increasing presence in the workforce, the old rules—look for an older mentor, expect to put in years before you see a payoff, dress for success, follow the rules and keep your mouth shut—are suddenly irrelevant. The new generation, weaned on the Internet, social networking and instant information access, doesn't have time to do things the traditional way.