What Young Agents ‘Like’ Most

Insurance may not be at the top of the list for college graduates when it comes to career choices, but the young professionals that do take a stab at it have some good things to say.

This special issue of Insurance Journal highlights the results from the annual Young Agents Survey. (see page 28 for the full report). Below is a list of “What Young Agents Like Most” about their career as an independent agent. (For “What Young Agents Like Least,” see page 31.)

What Young Agents Like Most

• Flexible schedule; opportunity to build relationships.
• Every day I learn something new. I enjoy learning about and marketing unique risks.
• Ability to set and achieve your own goals.
• Helping people/being in control of my book of business.
• Being able to build relationships with clients that last.
• There is no ceiling or restrictions on how much money I can make, what industries I can target, which carriers I can access or which geographical territories I can operate in.
• The aging workforce provides an incredible opportunity for young agents to capture market share.
• Freedom, not just tied to a desk all the time as a producer.
• You get to deal with many different people, and you are always learning.
• Being able to help people through some of the worst situations they will have to deal with in their life.
• Analyzing a risk’s exposure and communicating where we could help, not only on the insurance, but in overall risk management.
• As a broker, maintaining relationships both with the client and carrier.
• Helping people, making sure they are protected and providing them options.
• Being outside of the office, meeting people and building relationships.
• The ability to specialize in industries that I am interested in and passionate about. I like that the compensation is directly tied to production.
• The opportunity to bring my children into my business to take over when I am ready to retire.
• Helping people find the right coverage at the right price.
• Watching the insurance policies come to life. You spend all day looking at numbers, addresses, values, and locations on the map to judge flood and wind exposures, then when you go see a client and you have a 150,000-square-foot ware-house that employs 500 people, it makes the long office hours far more significant than just pushing papers.
• The relationships I have built and the opportunity to be involved with and give back to the community in which I live, work and play.
• Every day is different, every account is different, and I am challenged every day.