13 occupations with worse aging problems than insurance agents

It’s common knowledge in the insurance world that there is a serious demographic issue among producers. The average age of an agent or broker, according to industry statistics, is pushing 60 years old. A recent LIMRA survey pegged the average life & health producer at 56 years old, while a white paper from McKinsey & Co. puts the average of insurance agents at 59 years old.

What’s more, this demographic problem is only growing worse. At the present rate by which the distribution system is aging, and given how many producers are likely to retire or otherwise leave the industry over the next 10 years, the industry needs to bring in 60,000 new agents and brokers every single year just to maintain the current size of the distribution system. Given that industry recruiting is nowhere near those numbers, and given the extraordinarily high washout rate of new producers (as low as 10% make it through their first five years, regardless of age), it does not take an advanced degree in statistics to see that the insurance business is facing a significant change in manpower in the not-too-distant future unless things change drastically, and immediately.