When I grow up I want to be in insurance
As members of the insurance industry, we know that it’s sexy. We know that there are plenty of opportunities for youngsters leaving school or university to build successful, meaningful careers in the industry. And we know all this because we are in the industry.
If anyone had asked me 10 years ago, when I was marketing whisky and gin in London, if I fancied a career-switch to insurance, I would have laughed; and yet, here I am.
Asking hard questions
Further, I have not enjoyed my career more than I do in this industry. But how do we, as an industry, convince young people of this?
How do we attract the best and the brightest to choose insurance as a career, and not merely stumble upon it by accident?
It starts with parents
Ask most parents of brainy children what career they would like their kids to pursue and they will typically reply with a medical doctor or specialist, a chartered accountant, an attorney, an engineer, or something in that vein.
The option to pick insurance as a career is not even on the table for most youngsters – and that is one of the biggest stumbling blocks we face as an industry.
Possible approaches
There are two approaches we can take to get insurance onto the table. The first is professionalising insurance. The career choices mentioned above have a few things in common:
• they require a university degree;
• they have defined core areas of specific expertise, which are protected by statute;
• they require recognition by professional bodies or institutions; and
• practical experience is required before this recognition can be granted.
Based on these criteria, it seems insurance is a profession. But how do we determine exactly what an insurance professional is?
The answer is easier for doctors, lawyers, or accountants. For insurers, it is a bit trickier. We would probably get so tangled up in academic knots trying to explain it, that we would end up debating the issue for years.
Create prestige
We need to make ourselves attractive without the lure of a dedicated profession behind us. The best way to do this is by developing an identity of prestige for our industry.
When you are 12 years old, you do not ask your mom to get you quotes to insure your new running shoes or new cricket bat. At 16 you will PVR Grey’s Anatomy and Suits. You probably won’t think to watch the Insurance Apprentice on YouTube.
Even at 18, if you are lucky enough to be given a car for your birthday, you are unlikely to call a broker to get it insured, your parents will most likely do that. It’s only later in life that you are impacted in any way by insurance.
Industry body interest
Industry bodies also have this on their agendas and do fantastic work to attract youngsters to insurance. The Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has a conference planned in November to engage young talent from the KZN region. But of course we can and should always do more.
My husband recently graduated from Wits with an Honours Degree in Insurance. He didn’t happen to stumble upon insurance; he chose it at the age of six when he went on a renewal visit with his father into Africa.
He submitted his thesis on the subject of underinsurance in business interruption in South Africa and proudly has two degree certificates hanging on the wall in his office.
He graduated alongside 12 other insurance honours graduates from Wits. We need to find more people like this to choose insurance and add more value to the industry in the years to come. I would certainly encourage my children to choose insurance as a great opportunity for a successful, fulfilled career.
