One of the things I love about the insurance business is that anyone—regardless of where they start—can build a meaningful, lifelong career. I am proof of that. In our industry, your ability to reach your potential is a function of your curiosity, your work ethic and your willingness to learn and grow.
Recently, as I was writing a book chronicling Crum & Forster’s (C&F’s) 200-year journey, I reflected not only on how much our industry has evolved, but also on how much opportunity still lies ahead. C&F’s history highlighted just how important it is to attract and develop the next generation of talent: people who are curious, focused and eager to lead the industry into the future.
I am looking forward to sharing more of these reflections at the 2025 Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Global Conference in New York. For now, here are a few thoughts on how the future of work in insurance is taking shape.
Insurance is a Great Career Choice
Preparing the next generation of leaders is one of our greatest responsibilities. To develop future leaders, first we have to attract the best and brightest into our business. Insurance has always had a reputation for being “boring.” One take-away from C&F’s 200-year history is that insurance is a tough business, but it is not boring.
Since most young people are not considering insurance as a career when they graduate high school, the industry has developed extensive self-study programs. While these programs were developed in self-defense, it is interesting that they make the industry accessible to anyone and allow people to chart their own educational paths.
Beyond book learning, we need to provide clear pathways for growth—and a big part of that involves real-world experiences. The most interesting careers are built on the dynamic tension created as progressive levels of experience and training meet increasingly challenging assignments over many years. The good news is that there is always a new challenge to tackle. Even so, young professionals often have a hard time seeing a clear path from the front lines to the C-Suite, while senior leaders may not always have visibility into who is ready to take the next step.
