In March, California's population reached a noteworthy landmark: Latinos now outnumber whites for the first time in the state's history. This is more than just a demographic factoid. It is a benchmark moment on a path toward greater diversity in the U.S. population. This trend will also test the ingenuity and adaptability of the wholesale insurance market, while also playing to its strengths.
Insurance is still a people business. People like to work with people who are like them. Facebook works as a marketing tool because people like interacting with their friends. This same philosophy has sustained mono-ethnic enclaves in countless American cities–networks built on trust, which is particularly true of the wholesale insurance marketplace.
We are a business of people and ideas. To make it work, we must engage demographic shifts and represent the needs of a diverse population and their unique needs and risks, while adopting the new ideas they bring to the table.
All of the demographic shifts are beneficial for the wholesale market. We're seeing more women in leadership positions and starting new businesses; and we're experiencing an increase in the number of young professionals exploring opportunities that require specialty risk solutions. Also, the explosive growth of the Hispanic community cannot be overlooked. Much like the African American, Asian, LGBT and other growing, diverse populations in the U.S., the Hispanic community's engagement and rising entrepreneurial spirit present enormous opportunities for the wholesale market since standards lines professionals are reluctant to write insurance for new businesses absent a loss history. As these demographics continue to launch new businesses, the wholesale insurance marketplace becomes an access point of first resort for them to insure their businesses and livelihoods.
We employ the freshest ideas from professionals of all backgrounds, whether we're serving new entrepreneurs with new business solutions, or small to medium-sized businesses accessing the wholesale market because their loss records are inadequate for standard insurers.
In the past, insurance has been criticized as being overwhelmingly male, but we have improved our track record. In 2012, the Insurance Information Institute on Women in Insurance reported women made up 44.1% of insurance agents and 70.4% of underwriters were women.
As an international organization representing the wholesale insurance space, the AAMGA has long worked across borders. Recently, the Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies (LAAIA) joined our professional network. Representing more than 200 agents and organizations throughout the U.S., this alliance provides members of both organizations with broader networking, education and new business opportunities. Our association also works extensively with Canadian and U.K. insurance professionals, including many Lloyd's managing agents and syndicates.
It may come as a surprise that approximately 58% of employees of AAMGA member organizations are under age 40. Wholesale insurance entities have long been working on succession planning and nurturing new talent. Our Under Forty Organization (UFO) plays a significant role in supporting the recruitment, training and retention of the next generation of insurance professionals.
AAMGA members and the wholesale insurance community have long embraced the opportunities of diversity, and will continue to do so. We'll do it the same way we undertake all our efforts: by building trusting relationships.
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