The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Young Agents Committee (YAC) sponsored a successful casino night fundraiser titled “YAC Gives Back: A Benefit for InVEST Scholarships” in conjunction with the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention and the annual InVEST Silent and Live auction. The same night that “YAC Gives Back” was raising money for InVEST in Washington, D.C., the NetVU Young Professionals Chapter held a fundraising hula hoop contest, Ula Hoopla, in conjunction with the annual 2012 NetVU Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

Is your InVEST industry liaison or InVEST teacher top rate—worthy of praise and recognition? Don’t forget about awards that that can benefit your InVEST industry liaison or teacher and classrooms in your state. The Dach Award is bestowed upon InVEST industry liaisons dedicated to their InVEST students; and the Teacher of the Year award is given to an outstanding InVEST teacher who goes above and beyond to affect the lives of their students. To nominate the best of the best, head to www.investprogram.org and follow the brief application process. Deadline for submissions is May 14, 2012. For more information on these awards or on InVEST, contact Jennifer Robinson (jennifer.robinson@iiaba.net) at 800-221-7917.

In conjunction with the Big “I”  Legislative Conference & Convention, the national Young Agents Committee hosted a casino-themed event and silent auction to raise scholarship funds for InVEST, a classroom-to-career insurance education program.  Silent auction bids coupled with direct donations and sponsorships raised more than $55,000 for student scholarships, all of which will be awarded to students over the next few months.

Don’t miss the chance to donate an item to the hottest event at the Legislative Conference & Convention, and have your name in front of top movers and shakers of the insurance industry, all while donating to a good cause. All monies raised from donations will be awarded to students.

Each spring, InVEST awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to program graduates who plan to enter the insurance industry as their career.  If your state has an InVEST program, encourage students to apply today! Deadline for the higher education scholarship is April 13,2012; classroom-to-career applicants can apply year round.

InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, is actively supporting efforts across the country for members of the independent agency system to participate in National Job Shadow Day. Numerous InVEST students, agents, brokers, company leaders and other industry leaders are participating today.

InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, recently announced that Jeremy Chaseley has joined its national board. Chaseley is CNA assistant vice president, producer and product development.

Serve as a judge at this year's Virtual Enterprises International Citywide Business Plan Competition, which will be hosted again by Deloitte & Touche, Two World Financial Center on Friday, January 13, 2012 in New York City. The competition will highlight the enthusiasm, talent, commitment and achievement of our students as they make the transition from school to college to career.

The holiday season is fast approaching, and it’s a perfect time to have young, motivated talent intern at an agency or company.
 
Students are home for the holidays and eager to make a few extra bucks, all while expanding their network and skills. The Big “I” allows free internship postings on its Insurance Career Center to put an agency or company in front of driven young professionals.
 
Other insurance professionals have had great success in offering internships, and even hired the interns to work fulltime upon completion.
 
“I sought out hosting an internship as my business partner and I started our agency from scratch and needed some help along with our desire to get our name out there in the community,” says Michael Ludwig, principal agent at Strategic Insurance Services in Clearwater, Fla.
“We were really excited about our intern’s work ethic and motivation,” Ludwig adds. “He ended up coming back to work summers with us and was able to get his 440 license and started doing some selling. We were fascinated with his sales ability. Since then we’ve hosted two more internships and they’ve all turned out to be great experiences.”
 
To list a free internship posting, go to www.insurancecareercenter.org and click on “employers.”

Donate an item to the InVEST Silent Auction and support InVEST, the 501(c)(3) education foundation that educates students on insurance and financial services in high school and colleges. 100% of monies raised at the silent auction are added to the programs scholarship fund which provides assistance to InVEST graduates pursuing careers or degrees in insurance or risk management.

“InVEST is proud to announce Lynn Mathis has joined our distinguished group of board members,” says Heather Minkler, InVEST board chair and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent agency in Keene, N.H. “Lynn’s dedication to the industry through her leadership at the association level and as the principle of an independent insurance agency will be a huge asset to the InVEST board.”

InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, recently appointed Kelley L. Erstine to its national board. Erstine is CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC).

While you may remember what it was like to head to class when the new school year starts and worry who you’ll sit next to in English class or if you’ve worn the hippest outfit to fit in, students don’t judge the guest speakers that come into their class.

In the coming weeks, more than 215 InVEST programs will be kicking off a new year of educating students on insurance and risk management and career opportunities available within the industry. If there is an InVEST school in your area, why not volunteer to guest speak one day on an insurance topic that interests you? Or, contact a local school and offer to come in one day to discuss risk management or career options in the insurance industry.

Visit Resource Tab for a list of resources available to assist you.

The opportunity for young people to launch into a lucrative career is soaring with 60% of current insurance professionals looking to retire over the next 15 years. Furthermore, the compounding threat of a changing market requires new perspectives and skills to navigate. To be competitive in the industry, one must understand the new and largest entrant into the workforce – Generation Y.

InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, recently appointed Peter Miller and Loren P. Shoemaker to its national board. Miller is president and CEO of The Institutes, and Shoemaker is The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company senior vice president and chief operating officer.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Young Agents Committee (YAC) sponsored a successful casino night fundraiser titled “YAC Gives Back: A Benefit for InVEST Scholarships” in conjunction with the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention and the annual InVEST Silent and Live auction. Collectively, “YAC Gives Back,” the auction and direct contributions raised more than $48,000 this year.

Betters established the InVEST program at Charlotte Catholic in 2004 and since that time had taught more than 200 students the value of choosing an insurance career and how to be savvy insurance consumers. He took his commitment to InVEST seriously, both as an active board member and state champion, and he used any available opportunity to encourage other agents and schools to embrace InVEST, even volunteering his time to attend numerous conventions and training workshops to educate others about InVEST.

The InVEST program awarded Lindsey Shank, CIC, with the Dach Award. The Dach Award honors an insurance industry volunteer who has made tremendous contributions in fostering the growth and development of InVEST.
Shank is assistant agency manager and assistant vice president of the BB&T Insurance agency in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was an active and top InVEST student her junior and senior years at St. Petersburg Catholic High School. The school’s popular InVEST program is hailed as one of the top in the country.

The InVEST program awarded Dee Macheda of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) with the Dach Award. The Dach Award honors an insurance industry volunteer who has made tremendous contributions in fostering the growth and development of InVEST.

As a reminder, the role of the state champion is to serve as a point of contact for national InVEST staff and be open to assisting other agents and teachers in the state when a new InVEST program evolves. The champion’s time commitment depends on his/her desire to grow the InVEST program in their state. State champions can simply assist in finding liaisons for any new programs in their state, implement new programs or even guest speak at schools in their area.

Rose & Kiernan Inc. and Travelers Insurance have committed $10,000 in scholarships for students at Hudson Valley Community College pursing insurance-focused business degrees.
Rose & Kiernan, an East Greenbush, N.Y. property and casualty insurance agency, partnered with Travelers to provide two $1,000 scholarships per year for the next five years. The first scholarships will be awarded in December 2009 to new students seeking an associate’s degree in business administration with an insurance focus.

Thirty-eight students enrolled in the InVEST program viewed their career potential recently, as they toured the suburban Syracuse offices of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc.  The young visitors spoke with more than 30 employees of IIABNY, a statewide insurance trade association, and discovered that employment in the insurance industry ranges from Web development to education, as well as sales and customer service. Laid to rest that day were many misconceptions of risk management, while new career opportunities in the insurance industry were born.

Marvin Kelly, president of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society says the insurance industry needs to diversify its ranks, adding more young people and minorities, and wants his organization to lead the charge. The CPCU Society’s recent demographic study of its membership found that more than 84% are over the age of 40, Kelly said. It also found 1.9% are African-Americans, 1.7% are Hispanic and 1.4% are Asian. Kelly is proposing new programs for the CPCU Society and its members.

One is a 30-year-old program called Project InVEST, supported by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, which involves professionals going to high schools and colleges teaching them about the industry as well as job shadowing at insurance agencies.

The insurance industry will need to find approximately 90,000 people a year to fill new positions or positions opened up due to retirement. The War for Talent is starting, and the industry needs to prepare for battle if it plans on growing and thriving in the future. InVEST has proven to be a dynamic force that is helping the industry win this war.  Click here for the entire article
 

Young Industry Talent
At the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., Insurance Journal covered a young agent’s panel where carrier executives discussed issues facing young agents today. Cynthia Young, president of Encompass Insurance Co., says supporting, training and recruiting new talent into the insurance industry and the agency system is everyone’s concern. She says carriers are helping but more can be done. The Hartford’s Neal Wolin says that while recruiting new talent into the insurance industry may be a challenge, once young professionals enter the business they usually stay.