It's important to first realize that this is not a unique mindset among America's independent agents. By their very nature, independent producers are tireless workhorses. Selling is in their blood. Being an agent is not something they do; it is something they are. They are always, as my grandfather used to say, "in the act": They are focused on the next deal, the next close. The future, especially one in which they will no longer actively be doing what they love, is rarely top of mind.

Still, that doesn't make it any less of a problem.

Explore the options

When we talk about this subject — and God knows it's a topic that makes people uncomfortable — the conversation inevitably turns to the industry's insufficient efforts to attract more young talent, how important it is to help ensure the P&C industry's future by hiring more younger people in independent agencies.

In other news, the sky is blue, water is wet and humans have secrets.

Sure, all of that is true about the need to attract younger people, but that's a secondary conversation. Cultivating smart young talent can help to ensure your agency's perpetuation, but that's far from an all-purpose solution. Deciding your agency's fate could just as easily involve a buyout or a direct sale to a larger entity; both are viable options. NU columnist Barry Seigerman has tackled this subject from several angles, and I encourage you to check out his thoughts on this often touchy subject.

If you don't know what the options are or what might be best for you, you're hardly alone. The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) gets as many as 40 calls a week from agencies that don't know what to do about their own perpetuation, especially as the agency ownership population ages. One trend is agencies collaborating with other agencies in informal "clusters" or "huddles" for both shared efficiencies and perpetuation planning; these firms enter into an agreement with other agencies to share back-office expenses and to identify people they might like to sell to or use to perpetuate their agency.

When is a good time to start thinking about agency perpetuation, you may ask? Every person has a different definition of what being "successful" means, and that definition changes throughout your career. But one suggested guideline would seem to hold true: When it becomes your business, when you own it, its future then becomes your responsibility.

They're your assets. Do you want them to survive you, and benefit both your loved ones and your business? Or do you want to leave their fate to chance? Do you want to keep your main person — assuming, of course, you have one whom you trust to lead in your place — in your agency and develop an exit plan, or do you put that decision aside, again, and risk having it sold at an auction market, should you die?

And while you're at it, ask yourself this: How many of us will actually end up dying when we expect to?

Very few. Very few indeed.

The choice is yours.