Since the start of 2021, I’ve been consumed with thinking about economic recovery in the U.S. and the insurance industry’s role.
On January 21, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order that uses the Defense Production Act to secure the supplies needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The insurance industry won’t be a part of that, so we need to find different ways to step up.
This need is compounded by the state of our industry. The market is hardening, rates are rising, and business interruption coverage doesn’t exist in the way that many COVID-impacted businesses wish that it did. These collective forces could create a negative impression. People may assume that those in the insurance business aren’t there for them, even though it’s far from the truth.
For these reasons and for the greater good, this is a pivotal moment for our industry.
I believe that the coming year could be one of our industry’s finest moments. I’m not talking about paying claims. Of course, we’ll deliver on our promises.
What I am talking about is responding in ways that aren’t required — by boldly deploying leadership, volunteerism and capital where it is needed most.
Here are a few ways that we can collectively step up.
Listen. Give. Do.
We can all sit around and wait for someone else to make a difference, or we can make the nation’s recovery our own personal mission.
Let’s live by the mantra, “Listen. Give. Do.”
Set the tone at work and at home.
Now is a great time for insurance professionals to revisit and refresh our mission, vision and value statements and our personal goals. If fun, empathy, philanthropy and volunteerism aren’t mentioned, it’s time to make some updates. If these overarching themes aren’t reviewed in weekly staff meetings, it’s time to start.
Big changes won’t happen on their own. We have to define them and measure them. We have to inspect what we expect.
As insurance leaders, we need to model the right behavior, and we need to invite our families at home and at work to join us. What does this look like? It might involve the following:
- Setting a goal to double or even triple volunteer hours and donations this year compared to last.
- Giving every team member more paid volunteer days.
- Scheduling one Saturday a month or a quarter to support the local food bank as a team.
- Selecting a worthy local charity and inviting the entire team to donate via paycheck deduction with a full match promised from the company.
- Challenging other local businesses to meet or beat our goals.
- Aligning our efforts with other local insurance organizations to make an even bigger impact.
- Sharing our philanthropic work in social media channels and inviting customers and other local businesses to join us. When we see other businesses contributing to the greater good, we need to publicly commend them in our social channels — even if they are our competitors.
Over-emphasize empathy.
Remember that everyone is under stress. Some are struggling financially. Others are heartbroken. And everyone has mental fatigue from disrupted schedules and loss of social connections.
Leadership is needed to acknowledge the situation, support our collective mental health, and train for empathetic experiences.
Again, this is something we have to define and measure. We need to engage our HR teams and supervisors to help us make a difference. We need to provide a sounding board for our team members, and we need to measure what we’re doing differently this year compared to what we did in previous years.
We have to role-play with customer-facing employees, so they understand the extreme importance of their roles in hearing and validating customers. Patience is at a premium and people have shorter fuses. We don’t want insurance to be an added pressure point.
At home, we’re all experiencing forced quality time with our family members. Instead of complaining, we need to see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ten years from now, will our spouses and kids remember this time fondly, or will they recall that we all lived separate lives under the same roof?
The point: We all need to be purposeful — not only at work but at home as well.
Champion local communities.
Personally, I think the biggest place each of us can make a difference is in our local communities. Instead of asking our teams to support big national organizations, let’s strive to boost our hometowns. It will be more meaningful for our team members to work with businesses they see every day. It’s not just about writing checks; it can involve donating time, sponsoring food or blanket drives and anything else that makes a difference.
Join me.
The country is waiting for Corporate America to step up. I plan to step up and stand out by boldly contributing to our nation’s rapid recovery, and I invite all other insurance industry leaders to join me. Let’s show our communities and our nation that the insurance industry cares and is committed to making a difference. I know that many of you are already contributing a lot of money and time, but does the world know what you’re doing? Let’s put a spotlight on our good work and do even more.
Let’s make the insurance industry a powerful force in our nation’s economic recovery.
Jeff Arnold (jeffa@rightsure.com) is president of Tucson-based, RightSure, and author of “The Art of the Insurance Deal” and “How to Beat Your Insurance Company.” His articles on agency management best practices have been published in numerous insurance industry publications. To learn more, visit jeffarnold.com.
These opinions are the author’s own.
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