Ideas Aplenty

I’m always energized on the heels of our Insurance Leadership Forum. 

This year’s meeting in October was larger than ever, with another impressive mix of the world’s top brokers and carriers. I find year after year, ILF is an indispensable opportunity to talk business and advance your firm’s specific objectives.

If your week at The Broadmoor went anything like mine, you came back with a sky-high pile of emails and a mile-long “To Do” list, all in the name of productivity.

As you tick off each item, be sure to check out the features in this month’s magazine, as many of them present ideas pertaining to your clients’ needs.

The feature Wheel of Fortune, for example, highlights the complicated nature of the emerging  benefits business and how outside forces may affect your day-to-day. We’ve said for some time now that the complex world of benefits is the new norm, and it makes your job as a sophisticated broker and trusted advisor all the more important.

There are some poignant statements in the story that I’ll highlight for you as you posit whether the myriad of management solutions present “cross-channelization” opportunities or outright threats:

• “It’s not just that change is happening; it’s that change continues to happen at a faster pace.”
•  “When the rate of change outside your business is exceeding the rate of change within, you’re in deep trouble.”
• “There’s [always] a question about what our capabilities are.”

Our article The Promised Land, offers some insights to what lies ahead as the industry inches ever closer to making non-resident producer licensing a reality. We’re hopeful the establishment of the NARAB II governing board will take shape sooner rather than later. Once that occurs, the mechanism for the licensing process will be discussed. There seems to be a logical and low-cost option staring us in the face. The question is whether the yet-to-be-named board will see it the same way. Here’s hoping these final pieces to the NARAB puzzle don’t mirror the decades-long fight it took to get the legislation approved.

Our feature on the future of the retired workplace should really pique your interest. Research shows that U.S. businesses are primed to lose upwards of 20% of their senior staff over the next 14 years due to retirement. One company, Work At Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE), is working to keep those retirees only semi-retired. WAHVE’s structure allows an entire generation of retirees and soon-to-be retirees in our industry to continue working at a fraction of the cost, while freeing up time and resources for the rest of the firm. It’s a great way to create a retirement package that benefits both parties to ensure industry experience and institutional knowledge remain within the firm, while your leadership team learns to adjust to the Millennial generation.

One takeaway I jotted down from our Millennial session at ILF is that more than any generation, Millennials are seeking mentors. Perhaps this WAHVE method of collaboration will give way to new opportunities for retired Baby Boomers looking to keep a hand in the business. What better way to accomplish that than to pair up with young talent who want nothing more than to learn from and interact with senior leadership? It sounds like the makings of a very powerful team.