The reputation of property-casualty is poor. High-school students know little about the industry. Trained graduates are in short supply. Poor decisions from managers and underwriters account for as much as 40 percent of the billions of dollars in lost value for the industry.

It's not a stretch to say insurance faces a talent crisis.

But the McKinsey analysts offer more than a ray of hope. The problem is not that the industry is broken; it's that it's misunderstood. And to correct that misunderstanding, “the industry has a hidden resource: A strong network of schools of risk management and professional associations that can provide a platform for launching an effort to re-make its image.”

Tapping this hidden resource will require the industry to work together in a historic way. While insurance has an array of professional associations under its tent, the industry has never banded together to tackle an issue so transcendent as its image. Accountants have. So have hoteliers, educators and producers of pork, the “other white meat.” Agents, brokers and carriers? They stand on the shoreline, staring out at an uncharted sea.

To extend the metaphor, I believe the ship is now about to sail. In September, The Griffith Foundation will convene leaders from carriers, agencies, associations and universities to take the first collaborative steps toward an actionable plan to remake the image of insurance. Billed as a summit to “engage the next generation,” the summit will explore the barriers to attracting talent and brainstorm solutions that are both practical and inventive.

The September summit is more than a convocation—it's a clarion call. An industry's defining hour is here. Will we be present?