Why The Insurance Industry Is A Great Place For Women
Many industries are diversifying their workforce at an enormous rate. Unfortunately, some industries are much slower to adjust than others. When women entered the workforce throughout the second half of the 20th century, many people did not know exactly how to handle this dynamic shift in our workforce culture. Some of those difficulties are still evident today, but most industries offer opportunities for women to shine now more than ever. One such industry is Insurance.
Insurance is a great place for women because it allows for them to enter the workforce at any age. There are many areas of the industry in which women can use their skills to service customers a unique way men simply cannot provide for customers. Here are 3 unique reasons why the insurance industry is a good place for women to look for a insurance industry career.
1. Women are positioned well for the Insurance industry.
Insurance offers a great place for both younger women looking to start their career as well as women who are looking for a change mid-career. Some women have had success by starting as a receptionist at a very young age and working their way up the ladder. Other women have not entered the industry until much later in life. With the right focus and dedication to the craft, people from all ages and backgrounds can have success in the insurance industry.
Insurance also provides a way for people with many different skills to contribute and find their place within the industry. Regardless of whether you have a customer service background or even come from an industry like finance, insurance can be a place to transition to easily for many women because there are enormous growth opportunities for the right fit. Many women succeed because the industry is so fast paced and they thrive in that environment. For this reason, service industry professionals tend to fit in well at both the agency and carrier level of the insurance industry. Women in general are very fast paced workers and great at multi-tasking. For many women, it is just in their nature to work at a faster pace than their male counter parts. This sets them up for success in the insurance industry.
Quick Service Is Essential
For instance, a new employee needs to be able to take on frequent customer calls and easily get those customers the coverage they need as quickly as possible. Sometimes the customer expects this turn around to be in the same day. That level of service is expected by some customers and a typical sales person is working with up to 20 clients throughout a single day. On top of being good at working at a fast pace, many women enjoy the opportunity to be problem solvers. In the insurance industry, no matter what your level or role, you are going to be solving problems constantly. Take for instance when a business owner calls inquiring about an additional policy. The quicker someone can find a home for that business owner’s general liability or workers comp insurance policy, the more likely they are to win and retain that companies business.
2. Do women still face hurdles entering and succeeding in the insurance industry?
As far as women facing hurdles to enter the insurance industry, the question really depends on what position you are looking for. If a woman is wanting to be an account manager or in a producer role they may find that they have to start at a receptionist level or processing level and work their way up. This is just a simple fact of the industry. Companies tend to promote from within or if they do hire from the outside it is a candidate who has a lot of relevant experience within the insurance industry.
Getting to the producer level for a woman may be a little more difficult. Once they reach the producer level they are prepared to succeed in some ways their male counter parts simply cannot. Some women are not in the best position to take on a leadership role because they are the primary care giver to the children in their household. The producer, or sales person role requires a lot of after-hours work. This is a sales job and if you don’t put the time in many times you don’t make the sale. If you don’t make enough sales you won’t get paid and eventually you will be out of a job. Many sales calls have to be done after hours after researching a situation for a business owner throughout the day.
3. Customers tend to trust women more than they do men
Most people generally trust a woman more than a man. When it comes to a sales situation, as a woman I can be very honest with a client even if it’s not what they want to hear. Most of the time they thank me for my honesty rather than getting really upset with the situation. This only comes with people who are good at and have experience in the customer service approach to account management. You have to love and have a passion for providing solutions to your customer’s problems and risks.
For ultimate success you have to always make sure the customers know all the details of the policy and how it will work for them. At the same time you have to meet all of their expectations on price and the speed at which you get back to them with a quote. This is a very thin line that many producers, both men and women really seem to struggle with.
Helping Customers Understand
Pay as you go workers compensation insurance is one policy that can be difficult to adequately explain to a customer. This is a policy that requires much less up front cost. Typically a workers compensation program requires at least 25% of the premium up front just to get coverage in place. Then the business has to pay 9 equals payments. With the pay as you go option many business owners can get coverage in place for as little as a few hundred dollars.
If a business owner has been in business for some time and has never been offered this option they frequently are more than a little weary of this option. For a cash strapped business this just seems too good to be true. As a woman I can more easily get customers to believe in the policy or the plan I have to help them protect their business properly.
About the Author
Melinda Langworthy has been an Agent at Workers Compensation Shop.com since 2013.
Melinda’s’ specializes in Commercial Lines for Small Businesses & Workers Compensation Insurance. She would like to use her knowledge and passion for the commercial insurance industry to help all types of small business owners.
Image credits.
Main via pixabay. Office.
