Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio, Find A Job column

April 27--Ohio's insurance industry is predicted to have 26,000 job openings by 2020, and at this point, not enough people ready to fill those jobs, industry officials say.

Forget just door-to-door insurance sales agents. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Progressive Corp., Western & Southern Financial Group and other insurance companies headquartered in Ohio need salespeople, but they also need to fill jobs in accounting, finance, information technology and underwriting.

Hoping to attract attention and applicants to what the industry describes as stable, high-paying careers, a group of Ohio insurance companies, including Fairfield'sCincinnati Financial Corp. and Liberty Mutual Group, are collaborating to tackle the issue. The companies are staring down a looming talent gap, as 80 percent of the 26,000 jobs expected to open the next several years are due to retirements.

Efforts were launched in 2012 by the Insurance Industry Resource Council, the name of the group formed by the private and public insurance industry collaboration. At the time, the group touted 17,000 insurance jobs would be available statewide by 2018. One year and a new commissioned study later, the same group is now saying the number of job openings has grown to 26,000 because the previous study only accounted for retirements and turnover, and not growth in the industry.

"It's a stable industry. They are stable jobs and it's a growing industry right here in Ohio," said Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, also director of Ohio Department of Insurance. Taylor was in Cincinnati last Wednesday, April 23, to promote the career awareness effort.

She spoke at University of Cincinnati'sFifth Third Arena. The arena's 13,176 seats would need filled twice to satisfy the job needs of insurers and insurance agencies, Taylor said.

What this means to you

The insurance industry council is promoting jobs by focusing on three groups of people -- students, people changing careers and military veterans, with experts saying the jobs can't all be filled by recent college graduates.

For more information about job opportunities in insurance, go online to: www.InsuringOhioFutures.com.

Some companies offer on-the-job training programs.

Another option is three colleges and universities in Ohio have launched insurance industry-related degree programs. In this area, University of Cincinnati started a new four-year degree program in insurance and risk management, as part of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.

With so many job openings anticipated, applicants with the desired skills could receive multiple job offers and earn higher salaries, said Steve Slezak, finance professor and director of the Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management at UC.

For more information about University of Cincinnati's new insurance-related degree, go online to: business.uc.edu/centers/insurance.

What's at stake

Ohio ranks seventh in the nation in insurance industry employment with more than 95,000 employees, according to the Insurance Industry Resource Council.

Southwest Ohio is one of three main pockets of insurance employment statewide. One in five Ohio insurance jobs are located in Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties, also according to the council's research.

"We must ensure enough workers are available to keep this critical industry thriving," said Bill LaFayette, owner of economics firm Regionomics LLC, which performed the industry study determining job needs, in a statement. "If skilled workers are not attracted or trained, the industry will fail to grow to its potential, negatively impacting the overall Ohio economy."

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