Targeting millennial generation for insurance industry jobs a challenge for 2015

Making the insurance industry an attractive one in which to work for the millennial generation continues to be a challenge for property and casualty executives, the Insurance Information Institute suggests.

The issue was one of several discussed by senior insurance executives at the recent Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum in New York City, according to a release put out by the III.

Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, millennials (who this year range from age 18 to 34), are set to outpace Baby Boomers as the largest living generation, according to the Pew Research Center.

Millennials “are projected to number 75.3 million, surpassing the projected 74.9 million Boomers (ages 51 to 69),” Pew noted in a recent article.

As employees, millennials work best in an atmosphere of openness and inclusion, according to panelist Paula Downey, president and CEO of CSAA Insurance Group, an AAA insurer.

“It’s really a war for talent and we have to attract and retain that talent,” she said.

In general, millennials enjoy working in an atmosphere where they feel they are making a difference, and often will embrace corporate social responsibility initiatives, according to the CEOs.

Workers of that generation also prioritize work-life balance more than their predecessors, the III suggests.

“They are interested in time off and in working in urban areas with mass transit and reasonable commutes,” according to Christopher J. Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford “and companies that hire them need to be aware of those things.”