Takeaways:
- Data and analytics work is more universal among businesses
- Insurance has more openings and opportunities
- Small and mid-size agencies are up against large firms with more resources
While Travelers Insurance had about 500 interns for this summer, with about 10 applications for each of those spots, according to Michael F. Klein, EVP and president of personal insurance at the company, hiring for the insurance industry overall is not so easy, he said.
Speaking in a recent webcast, Klein said Travelers still has to compete with other insurers and insurance brokers for professional talent, as well as with other industries.
"When I started in the company, we had four training programs. We had actuarial science, underwriting, claim and risk management. That was it," he said.
Now, Klein continued, insurers are looking for data scientists, business intelligence and analytics leaders, operations professionals and more. Travelers and others now have to widen their recruiting pipeline. "In many cases, those skill sets are more generalizable across multiple industries, which is causing us to compete for talent with people we didn't compete for talent with before," he said.
Conversely, there may be more opportunities in insurance as a result, with carriers, reinsurers and brokers all looking for expertise, especially for analytics, according to Denise Perlman, CEO for middle market business at Aon. "Our clients want to make better decisions with more informed data. Hiring people that have that analytics background is key," she said.
In an informal poll during the webcast, audience members said competitive compensation, work-life balance and a positive company culture were the top attractions for young professionals starting their careers. Prospective hires do not rate insurance well for training and career development opportunities, according to Robert Hartwig, a finance and risk professor at the University of South Carolina.
Public perception of the insurance industry is a deterrent, according to Klein.
"Headlines often depict an industry that collects premiums and doesn't pay claims," he said. "Our industry is often misperceived, misunderstood and unfortunately, too often, much maligned. At the end of the day, this business is about providing protection and enabling progress. When folks do have a claim, we help them fix things and put their lives back together."
Small and mid-size insurance agencies have a hard time attracting talent, according to Hartwig, who is also director of the Risk and Uncertainty Management Center at the university. That segment of the insurance market sees the fewest placements of graduates from Hartwig's program, he said.
"It is very challenging for independent agencies to attract a new student right out of college, unless there's already a family connection," Hartwig said. "Part of it is the compensation structure for new agents. It winds up not being competitive to a major carrier or a mid-sized carrier or broker. That winds up being the obstacle, particularly if a student might have student debt to service when they get out."
Hartwig advises small independent insurance agencies to reach out to students "early and often."
"The student is going to need to experience the independent agency or a captive agency environment, and that will give you the best chance of capturing that student upon graduation," he said.
Klein, Perlman and Hartwig all mentioned
