The Independent
Insurance Agents of Texas reported it is building an IIAT internship
program to encourage minority college students in Texas to learn
about careers in the insurance industry. The program will be part of a
joint effort with Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, and other insurance
organizations, including American Institute for CPCU,
the Insurance Institute of America, and the Texas
Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association. Minorities
are reportedly the fastest growing segment of the population, but they
often overlook well-paying insurance jobs including careers in the independent
agency system, according to the IIAT.
The Austin American Statesman reported
that a demographic study of the members of the Texas Property and Casualty
Insurance Guaranty Association indicated that minorities are under-represented
in the industry. According to Marvin Kelly, the Guaranty
Association's executive director, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that
African Americans comprise 11 percent of the U.S. population and 11.3
percent of the Texas population. Only 1.9 percent of Kelly's association's
members are African American. Only 1.4 percent of the members are Hispanic,
compared with 34 percent of the Texas population and 12.5 percent nationwide.
Bill Harrison, Jr., IIAT president-elect,
announced the IIAT's participation in the internship program at a press
conference at Huston-Tillotson College. Harrison said IIAT believes it
is important for the business community and for the insurance industry
specifically to develop intelligent approaches to meet the needs of the
state's rapidly diversifying population. "The Texas economy and its
neighborhoods are evolving in ways that require us to redefine not only
existing products and services, but also our employment practices,"
he said.
Through a combination of
internships, scholarships and associated college courses, the
program aims to help minority students understand the benefits of an insurance
career. The partners have been working on the creating the program for
the past year and a half. The Statesman reported that Huston-Tillotson
plans to offer a risk management course this fall, although the school
is searching for a professor to teach the class. Through the internship
program students will get a look at the industry and earn course credit.
Scholarships also will be made available for Huston-Tillotson and the
campus will be a site for the Charter Property and Casualty Underwriters
examination. |
