AGENTS PERSPECTIVE

changing world. Our workforce is comprised different generations. Technology is changing next 5-10 years may leave us with a or it may incorporate more of the than we realize.

professionals of our industry this? We asked them for and we got some great is their feedback on future holds for the independent insurance channel and industry.

Tell us a little about your background, current role, and how you got into the industry.

I had been in the sales and customer service industry for eight years when I lost my job during the pandemic. While looking for a job, I scheduled an interview with my now mentor, Mohammed Ali. During the interview, Mohammed asked me to research some insurance basics and explain my findings to him in a second interview. After getting that opportunity to learn about an industry I had never previously considered a possibility, I realized a potentially huge career path. I’ve been a licensed agent for two years and have continued my insurance education since that first interview.

What do you feel are the “new” challenges young agents face in our industry?

I think a lot of new agents rarely meet their clients face to face, so it’s harder to develop relationships with the clients.

What do you feel are the challenges young agents have always faced – and may continue to face - in our industry?

In my experience, most young agents get into this industry through the captive market. I don’t think the captive market really wants to teach young agents about the industry as much as they want to teach them sales and their product. A lot of these young agents gain a negative view of the industry and don’t consider the independent side because they aren’t introduced to it.

We operate in one of the most multigenerational workforces of all time. How do you feel that impacts the culture of our agencies and our industry?

I think the insurance industry has one of the larger generational gaps, which can often be seen in marketing strategies and technological innovation, especially for smaller agencies.

What have you learned from working with older generations? What do you feel they can learn from you? The older generation has taught me a lot about the proper insurance agent decorum for interacting with clients going through crisis as well as general business savvy about interacting with other aspects of the industry. On the other hand, I feel like my perspective about the evolution of marketing and integrating technology has been appreciated.

How have you seen changes in technology and communication impact our handling of risks, coverages, and claims?

Now that everybody has a camera it is easier to record claims and the current state of insured property. With this ability to document, I think it makes it a lot easier to indemnify for our clients. The only thing holding insureds back is not having that conversation with their agent to document in the first place.

What do you think will have the biggest impact on our industry in the next 5-10 years?

I think the advancement of automation and quoting interfaces will be a big challenge in 5-10 years. As my social media generation grows older, we are seeking fewer and fewer human interactions in exchange for efficiency and convenience. Many industries have been moving towards this in the past few years, not just the insurance industry, and while they haven’t seen a lot of success so far, that doesn’t mean they won’t improve their technology moving forward.

Tell us a little about your background, current role, and how you got into the industry.

I started in the insurance business after working full-time in the medical field for a hospice company. During this time, I also attended nursing classes at night and often found myself yearning for a different career. After speaking with my uncle, who owns an independent agency, I decided to take a leap of faith and leave my job. It turned into a wonderful opportunity to work with him. I now manage the agency and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I have found a passion within this industry and enjoy being an advocate for our customers!

What do you feel are the “new” challenges young agents face in our industry?

The biggest challenge we as young agents face is customers’ accessibility to doing their insurance online by themselves. Most people, especially the next generation of insurance consumers, might need help understanding the importance of making sure they have enough coverage. It is vital to have knowledge of every single coverage and inform the consumer’s decision based on need versus price. It is easy to short yourself on coverage when you are basing it solely on price.

What do you feel are the challenges young agents have always faced – and may continue to face - in our industry?

Being in an “old school industry’’ as I call it, it is easy to write someone off because they are young. Having personal experience with this, I feel young agents have to prove themselves a little more when dealing with potential clients. While there may be a stigma about lack of experience, young agents bring a fresh perspective into this “old school industry.”

We operate in one of the most multigenerational workforces of all time. How do you feel that impacts the culture of our agencies and our industry?

Having first-hand experience working in a multigenerational agency, I feel lucky to be able to work with someone with over 40 years of experience. I feel we have a lot to learn from each other about evolving business practices, such as the use of social media & retaining customers. Young agents, such as myself, have a lot to learn from our experienced predecessors.

What have you learned from working with older generations? What do you feel they can learn from you? Working closely with someone that has been in the business for over 40 years has gifted me with a great amount of knowledge and “real-life” scenarios that you can’t learn in a classroom. Learning about how the industry has changed has given me the insight to adapt to new challenges as I encounter them. The primary lesson the older generation of insurance agents can learn from the young agents is embracing the shift in technology. As we continue to venture into the world of technology-based communication, the younger agents are already doing it with social media platforms. There are so many new and innovative ways to connect.

How have you seen changes in technology and communication impact our handling of risks, coverages, and claims?

With our world transitioning to more screen-focused communication, I feel it takes the personal touch out of what made the insurance business so special. It strips the personal touch out of connecting with customers by trying to base our main form of communication with them through email or text. I love connecting with customers, whether that be face-to-face or with a phone call. Taking the time to form a personal connection is special.

What do you think will have the biggest impact on our industry in the next 5-10 years?

The push for buying insurance online removes the need for agents, therefore negatively impacting the industry. However, I think it will open up a greater issue of inaccurate policies and low coverage. This will only highlight the importance of our independent agents.

Tell us a little about your background, current role, and how you got into the industry.

I was born and raised in Virden, IL. I grew up playing basketball and played all the way through college. I attended Mac Murray College in Jacksonville, IL. I worked part-time for our agency in college. My current role in the agency is as an agent. My grandfather started the agency back in the ‘70s, and my dad followed in 1992. I am the third generation of insurance agents. Outside work, I coach High School golf and 7th-grade boys basketball.

What do you feel are the “new” challenges young agents face in our industry?

I feel that young agents face many different challenges in our industry, but the biggest one that I have seen so far is the internet companies. This is a challenge because they advertise cheap payments without explaining what the coverages mean, what exclusions are in their policy, and why you might need higher limits.

What do you feel are the challenges young agents have always faced – and may continue to face - in our industry?

The challenges young agent face are being young in general and not having that trust with the clients yet.

We operate in one of the most multigenerational workforces of all time. How do you feel that impacts the culture of our agencies and our industry?

Being one of the most multigenerational workforces, we must adapt well to technology because it is always changing. With that being said, agencies and agents need to be able to do old-school and new-school insurance. We still need to meet clients face-to-face and make phone calls, all while knowing when it is appropriate to use the new-school method of e-sign, email, and text messages.