The insurance industry simply isn't attracting millennials.

There's a real and palpable talent crisis in the industry that is causing tension between the old guard of the insurance industry and the fastest-growing consumer base and workforce who are existential about their employment. While some are quick to blame millennials for a lack of work ethic or motivation, it's important to recognize that what moves one generation isn't necessarily what moves the next. If the recent tech industry boom has taught us anything, it's that young people will work long hours at high-pressure jobs—but they must be passionate about what it is they do and receive mentorship that helps keep them engaged.

There are initiatives, like Tomorrow's Talent Challenge, that are helping to bridge the talent gap in an industry that will see an enormous change happening soon: almost half of the insurance industry workforce is over the age of 45, with a quarter of the industry expected to retire by 2018. If the industry so far has failed to make strides with the millennial generation, what can they do to fill 400,000 positions by the year 2020 if they cannot recruit or retain an entire generation? In addition to the mass exodus of insurance professionals, technology disruption and data analytics are becoming more important than ever to staying competitive, and the millennial generation is becoming the face of those increasingly important skills.