A significant share of the insurance workforce is moving toward retirement at roughly the same time. What was once a gradual generational shift is now compressing into a far shorter window, forcing firms to rethink how they recruit, develop and retain talent across every function.
The scale of the transition is becoming harder to ignore. As highlighted in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s The America Works Report: Industry Perspectives, drawing on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, roughly half of insurance professionals currently aged 55 and older are expected to retire by the early 2030s. The report notes that this wave of departures could translate into a shortfall of more than 400,000 roles across the industry, creating a significant talent gap in the years ahead.
That replacement challenge is unfolding at a time when unemployment within insurance remains consistently low and experienced hires are already difficult to secure. Fewer early-career entrants are moving into the field compared with previous decades, leaving firms competing not only with one another but with adjacent industries for analytical, technological and client-facing talent.
Some firms are beginning to position themselves not just as observers of the problem, but as part of the solution. In conversation with Insurance Business, Curtis Barton, CEO and founder of ALKEME Insurance, says the industry’s talent shortage is less about awareness and more about sustained follow-through.
“The biggest challenge the industry has always faced is getting people interested in insurance,” he says. “But that’s changing. Younger professionals are looking at stability differently. They’ve seen volatility, and they’re starting to recognize that insurance offers recurring revenue, resilience and real lifestyle potential.”
Under Barton’s leadership, ALKEME has grown into a top-25 brokerage with more than 1,500 employees across 90-plus locations. The growth confirmed his belief that talent is built through long-term investment, not periodic recruiting.
“The core issue isn’t opportunity,” he says. “It’s development and consistency in development. If we want the next generation in this business, we have to commit to building them.”
Insurance has historically struggled to compete with finance and technology for graduates, often due to outdated perceptions of the industry as narrow or transactional. Barton believes that narrative is beginning to shift, but only where firms actively engage with younger audiences and broaden the way insurance careers are presented.
“There’s a flight to quality,” he says. “People are looking for stability and long-term earning power. But we still have to show them how innovative this industry can be and how many different career paths exist within it.”
At ALKEME, that effort begins well before formal recruitment. The firm has built partnerships with high schools and universities, offering internships, classroom engagement and exposure to the analytical and technological tools increasingly central to modern brokerage operations. Students are introduced not only to sales roles but also to opportunities in finance, business intelligence, data and operations.
“It’s about expanding the perception of what insurance actually is,” Barton says. “You can build a career in analytics, in technology, in advisory work. There’s far more breadth than most people realize.”
Recruitment is increasingly treated as a long-term pipeline strategy rather than a reactive hiring exercise. Barton stresses that consistency remains the differentiator.
“Historically, companies launch youth initiatives and then cut them when they don’t see immediate results,” he says. “If you’re serious about development, you have to commit financially and stick with it. It takes time to build careers in this business.”
Attracting talent is only part of the equation. Retaining and developing that talent is where many firms continue to struggle.
Insurance careers often require patience as professionals build technical expertise and client relationships. For younger employees accustomed to faster progression elsewhere, that trajectory can feel unclear without structured guidance.
“What they want to understand is the pathway,” Barton says. “They’re willing to put in the work, but they want to know where it leads. In our industry, we haven’t always mapped that out well enough.”
ALKEME has responded by building more defined development tracks and encouraging cross-functional mobility. New hires are not automatically channelled into traditional production roles. Instead, leaders assess individual strengths and interests, then design paths across service, analytics, operations or sales.
“Our philosophy is to take someone who’s a seven or an eight out of ten and give them the tools to perform at a ten,” he says. “If technology can remove a large portion of the manual workflow, people can focus on higher-value conversations with clients and more strategic work.”
Retention ultimately depends on culture as much as structure. Expectations around flexibility and work-life balance have shifted, and firms are still working to find the right equilibrium between autonomy and collaboration.
Barton says, “Flexibility matters, but there’s also a learning curve when people aren’t around experienced colleagues. You have to balance lifestyle with development.”
ALKEME’s approach has focused on maintaining high performance standards while encouraging employees to protect personal time and avoid burnout. The goal, Barton says, is to build careers that are sustainable over decades rather than intense but short-lived.
As senior producers and service leaders approach retirement, the firm pairs them with younger colleagues to facilitate gradual knowledge transfer and relationship continuity. Over time, those younger professionals are positioned to assume responsibility for books of business and leadership roles.
For Barton, the objective is not simply to replace departing talent but to create a workforce capable of carrying the industry forward.
This article was produced in partnership with ALKEME Insurance
