When the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Midwest Division created its Associate Board in Chicago, it did so in an effort to provide young insurance professionals an avenue to give back to local charities while networking with like-minded peers.

After all, many of the younger employees of insurance companies don’t get the opportunity to highlight their passion for philanthropy within the industry setting.

At the same time, it can be difficult to align a group as varied and diverse as insurance professionals around a single cause. For that reason, the foundaiton has chosen to focus its fundraising efforts on a variety of organizations that serve local needs. In Chicago and throughout the Midwest, for example, focal points include organizations that focus on education, health and safety.

It’s with that focus on local nonprofits that I had the honor of chairing the Midwest Division Associate Board Trivia for Charity event on Feb. 18. This event is an annual crowd pleaser, and this year was no exception. More than 250 industry “Brainiacs” split into nearly 50 teams to battle it out for the coveted Trivia Trophy.

Of course, the sentiment of camaraderie created by fundraising took a backseat once the competition kicked off. Much to the dismay of 47 other teams, Hinshaw & Culbertson took home the win and the highly sought after Trivia Trophy, which they will hold until next year’s event.

Networking with a purpose

The energy in the room on the night of the event was electric. While the industry is full of trade associations and great opportunities for networking, few offer the added benefit to do good for the communities that we live in and serve as insurance professionals.

When it was all said and done, the group of 250 insurance industry professionals representing more than 50 companies raised more than $13,000 in support of local nonprofits.

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The winning team from Hinshaw & Culbertson with their trophy. (Contributed photo)

In addition, a $5,000 directed grant was awarded to the event beneficiary and foundation nonprofit partner, Hephzibah Children’s Association. Hephzibah was highlighted for the amazing work that they do and have done within our community since 1897. This includes providing:

• Group homes for children traumatized by neglect and abuse.
• Child welfare.
• Family services.
• Foster care.
• Adoption programs.
• Award-winning day care on a sliding scale for families of all income levels.

The money granted to Hephzibah will be directly used to support these services, as well as the Residence at Hephzibah Home. Considering the impact and reach of the organization —i t serves more than 1,000 children and their families each year — it’s an organization truly deserving of our support.

The impact of this event went beyond just dollars and cents. To be sure that all of the industry professionals who attended had an opportunity to get to know the organization, Hephzibah sent several of their dedicated employees to the event to give out information, answer questions about who they are, and generally increase awareness around the need to have these innovative, community-based programs available in our city.

It was truly amazing to see the extensive roster of companies that support our cause and bolster our ability to continue to lift up such great charities as Hephzibah. This includes event sponsors Swiss Re and Burns & Wilcox, as well as the contributions of countless other organizations and individuals who donated time to make the event a success. As event chair, I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the dedication of time and energy that went into creating the most enthusiastic, most successful Trivia for Charity event to date.

Through its Associate Boards, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation provides the means for our industry partners to give back and show love and appreciation for those who work so tirelessly to make our communities a place for those less fortunate.

For more information on the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Trivia for Charity and Hephzibah Children’s Association, please visit the foundation’s website.

Tom Mullins is vice president of binding authorities for RT Specialty in Chicago. He has been a member of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s Midwest Division Associate Board since 2014.

In his book “Smart Thinking,” Art Markman writes about the illusion of explanatory depth: By this, he means that we think we understand things better than we actually do.

One cure for this trap is to be a mentor, because the process encourages you to teach another person. In doing so, the mentor and the mentee will both understand and better address their own limitations.

From time to time, I take on interns and view it as my obligation to serve as a mentor to these young people. When I first started, my assumption was that knowledge would primarily flow in one direction — from me to them.

I was wrong.

The people I take on are all unique individuals, but they share some traits in common: They are curious, highly motivated, hardworking, and all harbor big dreams.

Although I would use similar words to describe myself, one of the downsides of success is that it makes you comfortable. The intensity of a twentysomething’s dreams can eclipse my own, and that insight disturbed me. Am I ready to dream little dreams?

No way.

With each new relationship, I see the world through fresh eyes. Rather than talk at my interns, I try to listen as much as possible. Each question brings a new perspective. Each shifts my worldview just a bit, and it causes me to wonder whether my answers are still as valid as they were one, five or 10 years ago.

“Young” does not mean untalented. These interns are fluid writers, critical thinkers, fun and loyal. Working with them isn’t an obligation, it’s a privilege.

Describing his book in FastCompany, Markman wrote: “Even the best workplaces involve a lot of routine. There are tasks that need to be done on a regular basis, and that can become numbing. Mentoring helps you to see your world through fresh eyes. When you serve as a mentor, you have a chance to really see how much you have accomplished in your career.”

This is why urge my senior clients to serve as mentors. It’s a non-threatening way to gain a valuable perspective on your career and on the company you have built.

When functioning as a mentor, you want to create a framework that allows the other person to explore. With my current mentee, we have talked about leadership and also M&A, because those issues have been on the table in my practice. Instead of me having all the answers, I lead with questions he ought to explore. I give him some degree of a framework to bring me something back, then let him go out on his own.

In doing so, we both learn where his questions, his competencies and his confidence are. In all cases I ask myself, “What’s going to be in the best interest of this individual?”

The Good Work Project observes that positive mentors have three distinct qualities: Perseverance in the face of adversity, professional creativity, and a commitment to the mission and values of their work.

In serving as a mentor, you remind yourself of the qualities that have powered your career and of the energy you have long brought to your work.

Some mentors think about helping their mentee act older and more mature. Not me. If all goes well, at the end of the process I will act younger and be more energetic. I hope the same will also be true for you.

Related: Insurance is a great career. How can we let college students and graduates know that?

Demmie Hicks is the founder of Atlanta-based DBH Consulting.

The truth is that talented young people often bypass the insurance industry when career hunting, heading straight for finance, tech and other sectors that seem more exciting, innovative and service-oriented.

It’s a big challenge for an industry projecting a huge talent drain over the next decade. But we all have the opportunity, and quite frankly, the responsibility to step up and let these young people know the tremendous possibilities a career in insurance could provide them.

Like many insurance executives, I was fortunate enough to begin my career with an organization, in my case Zurich Financial Services, which spent considerable effort training and exposing me to many different facets of the business. Through a formal program, I spent time in sales, underwriting and claims, which prepared me to manage a region, a division, and ultimately assume responsibility on a national level. 

But today, the sad truth is that young people getting out of school aren’t presented with nearly as many chances to learn about the great career opportunities available in insurance. The reality is a huge number of talented and motivated young people bypass insurance altogether when job hunting.

I recently saw this firsthand when — despite years of exposure to my own insurance career — my son’s attention was so easily captured by tech and Wall Street companies after graduating from school and starting his own career search.

The challenge ahead

The insurance industry is poised for a tremendous talent drain. It is estimated that over half of the insurance industry’s employees are 45 or older, with thousands of seasoned professionals ready to retire over the next decade. What’s worse, the efforts to recruit promising talent to replace them is hampered by both a greatly reduced number of recruitment and formal training programs and a “messaging” problem with millennials who, for a number of reasons, don’t even consider putting the insurance industry on their list of viable career choices.

Making a difference

But what I discovered when helping my son was interesting: Once someone took a little time to lay out the possibilities, he was quick to pick up on the potential. And once he began to interview and was exposed to other bright young industry professionals, he became really excited about the career prospects. Today, employed at a top-tier broker, I’m proud to say he’s a motivated and contributing member of our industry.

I bet if you took a poll, you’d find that unless someone attended a university with a strong insurance degree program, most that have made careers for themselves in our industry were referred in or came from another industry. Somewhere along the way, someone took a little time out of their day to educate them, make a phone call or give them a hand.

We need to sell the tremendous opportunities in our industry every chance we get. The capacity to grow and the chance to give back in a meaningful way are things that matter deeply to young people today. We need to put a little “sizzle” around the space.

Each of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to advocate for our industry and help a young person develop a career path and lifelong passion for insurance.

Shout it loud and clear:  Insurance is an industry filled with opportunity  

We need to get the message out that:

• There are a variety of jobs, and lots of room to grow. There aren’t too many industries that offer the pathways insurance does, such as sales, IT, actuarial, underwriting or claims to name a few. From running your own business to forging a path with a large carrier, there is no shortage of opportunity, no limit on advancement and no boundaries on location.
• Insurance will be there over the long haul. As long as people go to work, drive automobiles and own homes, there will be a need for Workers’ Compensation, Liability, Homeowners and Auto insurance. For a generation that grew up in the shadow of recession and is starting out with record levels of student loan debt, this is a big selling point.

  The insurance industry provides over 2.3 million steady jobs today. That’s over 80 times the number provided by the top 10 social networks combined, according to InsureMyPath.org, a collaborative insurance industry effort dedicated to educating students and young professionals about industry opportunities. Tech may be “cool,” but the insurance industry is sustainable. It will be there for them over the long haul.

• The insurance industry serves others in a big way. The truth is there are very few industries that touch the lives of people like insurance does.

  In the face of tragedy, insurance is what gives people the chance to rebuild their lives. How many would have the means to rebuild their homes or replace their possessions after a loss? How many businesses could operate, conduct life-saving research or innovate with technology without the safety net of insurance? It allows entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, artists, medical professionals and millions of others to follow their dreams and passions with confidence and peace of mind.

  Millennials, with their built-in desire to make a difference, need to get the message that the insurance industry provides the tremendously important service of transferring risk so that illness, accident or disaster do not ruin someone’s life. Let’s help them make the connection that the work we do provides a real service to our society.

• There’s a tidal wave of opportunity heading their way. With an estimated 400,000 new jobs needed industry-wide by 2020, we need smart, well-rounded insurance professionals to fill the pipeline, and we need them now.

How exciting for these kids — and why aren’t we dangling this in front of them? It’s a great opportunity for an intelligent, driven young person. And we need to tell them that.

Mentor promising talent in your sphere

Is there a bright young person in your neighborhood graduating from school and not sure of his (or her) career path? Chat with him about your experience. Is there promising talent sitting at your table at the monthly chamber of commerce networking breakfast? Spend a few minutes telling your story. Did someone just post an insurance career question in one of your LinkedIn groups? Take a few moments to leave a thoughtful response. The possibilities are everywhere.

Are there places in your own company today where you can start small, perhaps with a few internship positions or a well-focused training program?

Our company has a small but growing program to train young people to become specialized loss adjusters and put them on the path to eventually becoming executive general adjusters. I referred our most recent addition — a smart, motivated young finance major right out of school who was also being recruited by a few big Wall Street firms. He recently shared with me that he had no idea a career path this exciting even existed.

And there are plenty of opportunities to support existing efforts in education and the community:  speaking at local job fairs, guest lecturing at a local university, sponsoring a scholarship at a local high school, and supporting the national organizations that exist to promote the industry today, just to name  a few.

The collective wisdom and experience that exist in our industry today is tremendous, and there are young people out there hungry for us to share it with them. With a little effort from each of us, we can convince the best and the brightest that a career in insurance has much to offer.

Mark Kissick is president of York Programs and senior vice president at Parsippany, N.J.-based York Risk Services Group, where he is chairman of the York Sales Leadership Council. He has more than 25 years of insurance industry experience.