by James Silk
The Insurance Industry is in a crisis. Despite being one of the most lucrative industries in the country, the average age of an employee is 65. The industry is looking for young, qualified workers. The industry provides flexible working hours, the ability to move up in a company, and the opportunity to work with hundreds of different companies. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, entry level agents can make up to $50,000 per year. As thousands of college students graduate each year and look for a job, they have a lot on their mind: Where are they going to work? How are they going to find work? What work do they even want? With all of this going on, it is easy to overlook one of the most profitable industries right now. I talked to Mike Musilli, a Client Executive at Hylant Insurance Company, one of the biggest insurance brokerage companies in the country. He told me about some of the job requirements and writing genres needed to work in the field.
About Hylant
Hylant is a national insurance company with 16 offices throughout the country and over 700 employees. Hylant’s goal is to bring a family atmosphere into the insurance industry while strengthening and protecting businesses, employees, and communities by embracing them as their own. The company offers risk management, property and casualty, employee benefits, and personal insurance services. Despite being an insurance company, they do not actually sell their own insurance plans. Instead, Hylant brokers deals with big insurance companies such as Nationwide, State Farm, and American Insurance. The company will connect a client with these big insurance companies and help the client find the right plan of insurance for their business. Hylant will then receive a commission off of the final price.
Skills For Entry Level Employees
- Personable
- Team-Oriented
- Social Acuity to Acquire Clients
- Writing Proficiency
- Solution Focused
- Desire to Learn and Develop
Qualifications
- Valid State License
- High School Diploma or GED
- Bachelor’s Degree
- CPCU Certification
- Work/Internship Experience
About the Job
Mike Musilli (Photo courtesy of Hylant)
Mr. Musilli’s job involves a lot of customer interaction. He spends most of his time trying to acquire and keep clients. In order to get clients, Mr. Musilli will attend conferences or reach out to any businesses that fall under his speciality. Often times he will start the relationship by inviting them to an event that is based upon their business. For example, he will invite an executive of a tech company to go to a conference relating to cyber security. After developing this initial relationship, Mr. Musilli will continue to invest in their clients’ intellectual property, meaning he will continue to show interest in the field of his customer. After he develops a good relationship with the potential customer, he discusses the possibility of getting the company’s business.
In order to retain clients, Mr. Musilli continues to show interest in the client’s company, but also uses Hylant’s resources to deliver some of the best customer service in the country. That is how Mr. Musilli retains clients.
Teamwork, according to Mr. Musilli, is one of the most important aspects of his job. Internally, Mr. Musilli has to work with a team in order to coordinate clients. There are many moving parts at Hylant, whether it is the salesman, insurance analysts, or the accountants. Each employee plays an integral role in acquiring a client, so it is important that every employee understands how to work together.
Writing Genres
One of the most important genres that Mr. Musilli uses is email. Similar to the Elon Poll, email is one of the most important genres of writing. On a daily basis, Mr. Musilli receives over 350 emails. He uses emails to send documents, communicate with clients and fellow employees, and keep up to date on company happenings.
Another important genre that Mr. Musilli often uses is peer review and peer analysis. He is assigned to review a new employee each year. After each quarter, Mr. Musilli is required to write an analysis on how the employee is performing, and what they can work on.
Another form of writing that is commonly used is financial summaries. Noted on the Elon Poll as reports, this form of writing was found to be popular amongst professionals across all fields. Each quarter, Client Executives, which are the lead sales people within the company, would report on their earnings. In addition, they would summarize how well their team was doing in gaining clients and retaining them. This summary is sent to the top executives of the company. This skill is noted on the Elon Poll. Finally, Mr. Musilli does a lot of analytical writing for clients. Client Executives will write proofs that explain how the insurance plan works and how it can help the client.
Pro Tips From Insiders
- Don’t be flowery in your writing. It is easy to become too verbose in your writing, especially in formal emails. It is important to remember that within the professional setting it is important to be clear and concise.
- Know your audience. It is important to understand who the subject of your writing is. If it is someone who does not understand industry language, make sure you adjust your language so it can be understood. Conversely, make sure you adjust your writing styles when addressing a fellow colleague or superior.
- Be positive. Doing peer reviews is always difficult. Be sure to mix in a few positives with the negatives. The audience is much more likely to receive your suggestions if they do not feel attacked.
This post is part of a series on writing in the professions. Posts were written by students in Dr. Jessie L. Moore’s fall 2019 Writing: Argument & Inquiry class and include research from the June 2019 Center for Engaged Learning/Elon Poll survey of college graduates, age 18-34, High Impact Undergraduate Experiences and How They Matter Now.
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