Retirement: Better Than It Used to Be

By Sharon Emek, Ph.D.

Can there be too much of a good thing? When it comes to retirement, yes.

Abe Lemons, a college basketball coach from the 1950s through the 1980s, once said: “The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” For working stiffs, it seems an impossibility that you could have too much retirement.

But people in your company or around the industry who are contemplating retirement have another thought: Retirement seems daunting, even if they seem eager to cut back on their work pace.

Retired people tell me they quickly grow bored, and even those looking forward to retirement want to “sort of” retire. Meanwhile, employers—the ones who have benefitted from the knowledge and experience that older workers provide— have to fill the gaps when losing a long-serving professional.

As I thought about these trends, they seemed to present a great opportunity. So, through the fruits of inspiration and perspiration, I created a company that now provides solutions for both:

1) Experienced insurance professionals who want to continue working in retirement and achieve a new work-life balance.

2) Insurance firms who need to recruit and retain quality workers but who face cost constraints and who often face a labor shortage in their local markets.

The company I dreamed up and launched in 2010 is called WAHVE (Work at Home Vintage Employees). WAHVE finds vintage insurance professionals (those over age 50) to work remotely from home for insurance firms that need experienced, expert workers.

To date, WAHVE has placed more than 130 workers at insurance firms on long-term, remote outsourcing assignments. We are providing retail and wholesale brokers with people to handle commercial lines and personal lines processing and system work such as policy checking, preparing and quoting renewals, issuing certificates of insurance, claims and handling customer service issues, and full account management/CSR work. What’s more, we also have provided agencies with experienced workers to help them expand into new lines of business.

WAHVE’s genesis couldn’t have happened at a better time for American insurance. Boomers are retiring in droves, draining talent and experience at a time when recruiting of young people often falls short. And the heralded solution of outsourcing overseas has left customers frustrated when there is a gap between expectations and delivery.

I’m probably most proud of two things:

1) WAHVE has created a way to keep talent in the industry and pass along institutional knowledge.

2) There’s more than just an all-ornothing definition of retirement. Instead of ending their careers, insurance professionals now have new options in redefining or resetting their careers.

WAHVE keeps jobs here in the United States. “You’re getting people that have been in the business for a very long time,” said Michael Romeo, executive vice president at Industrial Coverage/UNFCU Financial Services, an agency in Patchogue, New York that turned to WAHVE to find workers. “They bring their work ethic and knowledge to the agency. They aren’t just going through the motions.”

Many agencies have found WAHVE professionals suited to customer service and processing work. “They help us do all the little things agencies always want to do but struggle to get done,” said Romeo. “And with today’s technology it works very, very well.” Industrial Coverage relies on WAHVE professionals as CSRs in their commercial and personal lines books of business.

It’s a similar story at Cook Maran & Associates in Southampton, New York. As Danielle McHeffey, commercial service manager, said: “One of our wahves handles our endorsements and audits. She can see right away if there’s a mistake and can contact the carrier herself to get it fixed. With WAHVE, they already know commercial insurance and know the systems. There’s very little training required.” “Out of sight” doesn’t mean “out of mind,” reported McHeffey: “The nicest thing has been the feeling that they’re actually part of our office. There really is no separation, and our wahves are considered an integrated part of our commercial insurance department.”

Time and language barriers make it difficult for overseas outsourcers to deliver a similar connection. That’s why foreign outsourcing companies focus almost exclusively on cost.

While McHeffey could hire an employee, “you wouldn’t get the same experience level. We may pay more per hour than if we hired a new assistant, but there’s also more work completed per hour with WAHVE. They work quickly and aren’t being continually interrupted by phone calls. Because they can focus on the task at hand and bring enough experience to the table, they’re easily able to get more done. That’s where you see the payoff.” The oldest boomers (born 1946-64) celebrated their 65th birthday in 2011.  Every day, another 10,000 Americans turn 65, according to Pew Research Center. There’s going to be a lot of insurance brainpower transitioning out of traditional jobs between now and 2030, when the last of the boomers hit 65. At the same time, a McKinsey study notes that the annual yield of graduates from the nation’s risk management and insurance programs meets only 10 to 15 percent of the talent needed in the industry.

How can the insurance industry soften the blow? Widen our dragnet. Yes, pulling in younger workers is important. But so is holding on to talent, harnessing the industry’s experience through innovative solutions such as WAHVE. When it comes to keeping talent in our industry, there can’t be too much of a good thing.

Whether you’re a vintage worker looking for an opportunity or an agency principal or hiring manager in need of an experienced, quality worker, learn more at WAHVE.com.