Millennials showcase their passion for insurance at IICF summit

For as long as I’ve covered the insurance industry, few topics generate as much chatter as millennials do. It’s no secret how integral they’ll be to the industry’s long-term success, but the question of how to attract and retain them continues to elude many.

Rather than speculate, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), the national nonprofit organization that works with the insurance industry to deliver financial assistance to local communities, decided to ask millennials themselves. On Nov. 6, 2018, IICF hosted more than 50 young insurance professionals at its inaugural 2018 Millennial Ideas Summit, held in Mayer Brown’s New York office, to exchange ideas, discuss challenges felt across the industry, and brainstorm possible solutions.

During the all-day summit, attendees split into four groups and focused on three key issues: recruitment/retention of the millennial workforce; technology, innovation and change; and social responsibility. Each group’s moderator challenged those in the room to think outside the box while also considering “the purpose that insurance is trying to achieve.”

There was no shortage of good suggestions — attend hackathons, inform students about careers in insurance before college, increase access to scholarship and mentorship opportunities — but many young professionals struggled to brand insurance in a way that could broadly appeal to a collective audience.

Related: IICF Week of Giving: How the insurance industry gives back

Refining the message for millennials

Today, thousands of insurance companies saturate the marketplace. To the average layman outside the world of insurance, distinguishing how companies differ and defining what the insurance industry does as a whole may seem impossible. This issue is engrained in the challenge of reaching millennials.

“I think insurance is a quiet industry when it comes to saying what we do,” says IICF CEO Bill Ross.

The truth is the insurance industry does a lot. So much, in fact, that nearly every aspect of society gets touched by insurance in some shape or form. Rather than crafting a universal message, the industry would do well to highlight some of its strongest features: It’s a flexible, relatively stable industry with an abundant number of career advancement opportunities that helps people at their worst times.

“Even though I’m doing the same thing every day, it’s not the same thing every day,” says Asha Ford, a young insurance professional who attended IICF’s summit.

Perhaps there’s a way to define the insurance industry after all.

Related: How to recruit millennials to the P&C insurance industry