Speaking to a packed ballroom filled with women and men, Barbara Bufkin, executive head of business development at Assurant and chair of IICF's international board of governors said: “We design our future and our purpose.” (Photo: Marget Long)
A wave of change has swept through the insurance industry in recent years. The rising prevalence of autonomous vehicles, Internet of Thing devices and a surge in artificial intelligence implementation, among other changes, are molding the industry into something new entirely. And though change is necessary to grow and succeed, there are certain components that the world of insurance is deeply rooted in as a part of its identity. One such component is its commitment to advancing change from within.
These thoughts came to mind as I attended the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation's (IICF) Women in Insurance Global Conference on June 12, 2019, in New York City. The theme of this year's conference, running from June 12-14, is “Gender Equity in a Changing World — What You Do Matters! Rewriting the Rules on Leadership, Diversity and Innovation.”
The insurance industry is known for many things, but a shortage of conference opportunities is not one of them. I've attended my fair share in my time, but few conferences remind me of all the work the industry does as a whole — and all the work that remains — like IICF's annual conference.
Related: Insurance needs more women to step up and lead
|Changing the narrative
True to its name, most of the attendees were women. This is a fairly accurate representation of the industry as a whole, depending on the occupation, as a majority of insurance claims and policy processing clerks, insurance underwriters, claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners and investigators, and insurance sales agents are women.
The problem that continues to plague the industry is the lack of women at the highest levels. And though the industry is acutely aware of this issue and has worked to correct it, how can concrete action be kickstarted and maintained?
Wade Davis, a former player in the National Football League who now serves as a corporate inclusion advisor and educator, addressed this subject directly.
He says one way to start is by moving away from the term “diversity” and instead shifting the narrative towards representation. He believes the word has lost meaning, particularly among men, and it can end up sounding like an HR initiative rather than a desire to elevate women due to the fact that they have worked to be elevated.
Framing the conversation in terms of representation, on the other hand, is a way to make the issue more personal for men — in the same vein that attention towards suicide prevention increased once it was revealed that men died by suicide 3.54 times more often than women in 2017.
Referring to men, Davis said: “Creating a world that is more equitable for women benefits them, too.”
Related: Suicide prevention in the workplace
|The power of purpose
To deal with issues like technological disruptions, climate change and geopolitical tensions, the insurance industry will need new talent and fresh perspectives. Companies that fail to do so will not be positioned to succeed, their customers will suffer in the process and they will inevitably be replaced by more successful companies that have embraced all forms of representation.
“In our purposeful pursuit, talent and leadership rule over everything,” says Barbara Bufkin, executive head of business development at Assurant and chair of IICF's international board of governors.
The insurance industry's purpose goes beyond protecting the public from a worst-case scenario. It also serves as a provider of jobs; an innovator in an ever-changing world; a stimulator of the global economy — all of which cannot be achieved without women at its core. But going forward, it must decide what it wants to represent and stand for in the process.
Speaking to a packed ballroom filled with women and men, Bufkin said: “We design our future and our purpose.”
As women continue to be elevated to higher positions and redefine the world of insurance, the future and purpose of the insurance industry will be equipped to succeed for a long time to come.
The opinions expressed here are the author's own.
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Denny Jacob
Denny Jacob is an associate editor for NU PropertyCasualty360. Contact him at [email protected].
