Millennials want to make a difference: They intend to make an impact on their world. As employees, they ask for more responsibility sooner than expected. As consumers, they look for brands and businesses that make a difference.

Millennials are digitally connected: They share their opinions and look to friends and family for referrals and opinions via text and social media. Opinions go both ways with both positive and negative testimonials.

Millennials bring focus and energy to their jobs: They bring collaboration and positivity to the workplace. Millennials have been conditioned to multitask. They focus on their goals and work hard from a very young age. Teamwork comes naturally to millennials.

Next page: Who are millennials and what makes them tick?

Who are millennials?

Millennials include nearly 80 million people born after 1980 in the U.S. They use mobile devices more than any other generation and are constantly connected to the world around them. Also referred to as Gen Y, millennials have strong opinions and high expectations of all businesses, including their employers. They will have a great deal of influence on the profitability of insurance agencies both now and in the future.

Most notably, millennials are true digital natives and social networking is important to their lives. They navigate seamlessly between devices, through which they send more than 100 texts a day.

They head online for support: 80% of millennials visit social media sites daily and more than half use mobile devices to do so. An online search is the first step to finding a solution for 71% of millennials, and once they go online, they expect a solution within 80 hours.

Next page: Why do millennials matter to insurance agents?

Why do millennials matter to insurance agents?

As buyers and sellers in the insurance industry, millennials present challenges to agents and brokers, as millennials have their own attitudes and preferences toward digital technology.

"As a historically conservative industry, insurance agents often experience a generational gap when dealing with millennial customers," Applied Systems writes in its report. "But understanding how they think, work and purchase differently from previous generations will allow insurance agents to leverage their unique influence."

As opposed to any other generation, millennials turn to their devices and social networks to communicate their opinions about brands and services: 44% by text message, 16% by blogging, 38% on social media and 38% on instant messaging, according to figures from Goldman Sachs.

Next page: Understanding the millennial customer

Understanding the millennial customer

Agents must offer multichannel service and product options to millennials, as they are attracted to insurance companies that provide a client-centric experience. A strong presence through digital channels and social media establishes an agency as a source for education, thought leadership and product information.

Of 1,000 millennials surveyed by Applied Systems, 91% had some form of P&C insurance coverage, of which 89% have auto insurance, 55% have homeowners and 42% have renters'. An online presence is necessary to target this generation. But because millennials split auto insurance purchases between face-to-face, online and telephone sales, the role of the agent as a trusted advisor remains critically important.

Millennials are social by nature and rely heavily on referrals in their buying decisions. More than half of the millennials surveyed asked family and friends for insurance advice, 27% use an online search engine and 13% reviewed social media sites such as Yelp.