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The idea of the ‘old boys club’ has permeated many an industry, but according to one broker, the insurance sector is now making way for younger advisers from a wider array of backgrounds. Speaking to Insurance Business, Simon Rolland of Aurora Insurance says this trend will undoubtedly bring social and economic benefit to a rapidly moving area.
“Insurers are really starting to realise that it’s time for an industry shake-up,” says Rolland. “That’s why businesses such as Aurora have been so well-received, because we’re seen as the future and the much-needed change in the industry.”
“Insurers now need their clients to be younger,” he says. “They’re more profitable and they have insurance for the right reasons, whereas the older clients are thinking they don’t need insurance anymore as they’ve paid off their houses, and their kids have left home. Insurers need younger clients for both financial and economic reasons, and they need the next generation of advisers to bring in those clients.”
According to Rolland, many ‘old-timers’ entered the broking industry when there was no regulation and no true structure, and they tend to be set in their ways. By contrast, young brokers are more proactive in interacting with the sector and are keen to seek innovation.
“They come to learn, and they’re happier to go out and meet people,” says Rolland. “The insurance industry has changed a lot over the last few decades, and the brokers we have are all embracing and leading the change.”
When it comes to clearing a career path for would-be brokers, Rolland says he’d like to see fewer hurdles and more of a focus on skills rather than degrees.
“What the industry shouldn’t do is make the bar too high for entry,” he says. “Overseas, the bar for becoming an insurance adviser is really, really high, and it results in one group of privileged individuals entering the industry and there not being many opportunities for middle- and working-class people. Getting into insurance doesn’t take years and years of heavy university education, and pricing and compliance shouldn’t be barriers of entry to young people who could make really good insurance advisers.”
“Young people don’t need to be sent off to do complete course costing $10,000,” he continues. “They need to be able to join a company where they can be trained from scratch and supported from day one, and that way, you’ll have a lot more people entering the market. To aspiring insurance brokers, I say find a good mentor and a good business model. There are many business models out there that don’t reward the people who are doing the hard work.”
