Todays’ blog post will focus on perceived habits and myths of Millennials and how they perceive insurance. Millennials – Generation Y, Generation We, Global Generation, Generation Next, the Next Generation, Echo Boomers, etc…which ever label you prefer this generation is loosely defined as individuals born between the early 1980’s to 2000.
Here are some broad facts about our generation. The financial crisis’s of our generation (2000 Dot-Com bubble and 2008 The Great Recession) has changed how we accomplish traditional “rites of passage” in comparison to our parents’ generation. High housing prices, high cost of living, longer and costlier education paths, and low wages, have all contributed to delayed careers, marriages, and families. The deck seems stacked against us. This year the oldest of the Millennial generation will be turning 35 and guess what we’re hungry and sprinting to make up for lost time.
“In 2015, Millennials in New York City were reported as earning 20% less than the generation before them, as a result of entering the workforce during the great recession. Despite higher college attendance rates than Generation X, many were stuck in low-paid jobs, with the percentage of degree-educated young adults working in low-wage industries rising from 23% to 33% between 2000 and 2014.”[1]
“Ryan Hanely at Agency Nation gave some great insights as to how others perceive our generation: lazy, have no attention span, don’t value customer service, want to do everything online. As he mentioned, many of these comments are outright offensive. Some of the hardest working individuals in corporate America are millennials. Our generation was raised on the internet and therefore, we expect relevant information to get to us very quickly so we can move on with our day. We don’t have a need for lengthy meetings with no substance. Customer service is certainly important, but it isn’t seen as a perk, it is the minimum standard to be expected of any business. As for wanting to do most things online…sure why not it’s easy for us and we’re not afraid of it.”[2]
We can go on and on with other economic factors and traits, but what I wanted to share with you today was how do Millennials view their insurance needs. Safeco Insurance (Subsidiary of Liberty Mutual) recently conducted a study that found that 31% of Millennials place themselves in a segment that values independent advice, choice among insurance companies, and expert advocate, and ease of understanding their insurance options. Gen Y was proportionately higher than Gen X (24%), Baby Boomers (23%) and Seniors (18%).
This next part is just staggering…a Facebook IQ study found that 53% of millennials don’t have a trusted source for financial advice. Guess what guys, this is exactly why Greg and I founded our Independent Agency. It is our goal…no strike that…. our duty to help bridge the gap for our generation by bringing independent advice, and choice to the table. Our parents’ generation have given us many privileges, but they also left a lot of things for us to clean up. “According to Forbes, by 2020 Millennials will make up approximately half of the U.S. workforce and we will be the most educated and culturally diverse group of all generation before us.”[3] Time to brush off these stigmas and get to work…give us a call if you're ready to get the coverage and protection you deserve.
Talk to you soon,
Vince
Additional reading:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=403449&preview=true
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21688583-ignore-moral-panic-about-lazy-self-obsessed-millennials-world-will-be-fairer
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2016/02/you-only-live-once
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21660110-businesses-should-beware-dubious-generalisations-about-younger-workers-myths-about
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21688856-worlds-young-are-oppressed-minority-unleash-them-young-gifted-and-held-back
http://www.safecoagentnews.com/site/assets/files/5848/safeco_insurance_gen_y_and_the_ia.pdf
https://insights.fb.com/2016/01/25/millennials-money-the-unfiltered-journey/