to be in the producer role without having them licensed,” according to Laura Maas, HR Solutions Manager at Unland. At Unland, producer interns will go on renewal visits and initial client meetings to observe. They also spend time with different members of the team to see examples of how to round out an account. Recently, with the help of an employee on the local school board, Unland has begun working with co-op students from the local high school. These students work part-time in the agency answering the phone and handling basic inquiries. The goal for the high school co-op students is to provide administrative assistance to the agency and to gain exposure to some of the responsibilities associated with an account manager. “Having a structured program for who will be responsible for the intern and how they will spend their time is key,” said Maas. While some agencies seek out and work with internship programs through local schools, connecting with a formal program isn’t necessary. Ken Samson, President of Dasco Insurance Agency in Northbrook, had thought about bringing in an intern for several years, but wasn’t sure where to start. When a friend called out of the blue to ask if Samson had an opening for an intern, he said, “yes,” and immediately got to work planning the agency’s first internship program.
report and attaching policy documents; answering incoming phone calls; and assisting clients with billing issues. Once the basic tasks were complete, the intern at Dasco would then spend time with different agency personnel observing their functions and then later learning processes for mortgagee changes, adding a vehicle, and sending out loss control recommendations. At the end of the day, Samson would find time to meet with the intern to discuss some of the issues he was dealing with or to talk about an insurance concept such as co-insurance or risk transfer. “I loved having an intern,” Samson said of his first intern. “It felt great to be giving a young adult a real job and she really helped the agency for the entire summer. Plus, I got to talk to her about insurance concepts which was fun and challenging. Most of our clients don’t ask too many questions – maybe they are embarrassed or feel like they should know this stuff so when we talk at them, they just nod their heads. But she would ask, “Why?” or “What does that mean?” which really kept me on my toes! It was interesting to see business, the world, and insurance through a young adult’s eyes.” Samson keeps in touch with his first intern, who relocated to Bloomington and is still working in the insurance industry. Since that first summer, Samson’s agency has gone on to hire three additional interns, each of whom brought something different to the agency.
“It was important to me that this was a win/win situation,” said Samson. “We had some low-level work that we needed help with but I wanted the intern to learn about insurance, how a small business operates, working with other people, and customer service.”
Samson said, “I think the biggest challenge was committing to do it.” He closed by encouraging agencies to act now to begin looking for an intern. He said, “College kids who are looking for this kind of summer job start looking in March - if you first start looking for an intern in June, you are too late!”
Samson and a coworker put together an outline for the intern which included: reviewing the communications
Jennifer Jacobs is the Human Resources Director for the IIA of IL. She can be reached at jjacobs@iiaofil.org.
Starting an Internship – Resources InVest Agency Internship Guide
Complete with helpful tips, examples of internship projects, suggested goals, and evaluation template, The Internship Guide includes an easy-to-update handbook to provide agencies and students with a roadmap for how to navigate the internship program. It also includes some basic business wardrobe and office etiquette tips to guide you in setting expectations for your interns. Scan the code or visit Investprogram.org/professionals (log in with your IIABA credentials for full access to materials).
Access to Industry Job Boards
If you’re not working directly with a school, you’ll need to share your internship opportunity online. Scan the code or visit iiaofil.org/products-services/recruit-train-retain for links to industry job boards and hiring platforms.
Onboarding Guide
For frequently used new-employee forms and an onboarding checklist and sample schedule, scan the code or visit iiaofil.org/Products-Services/Solution-Center/Agency-Management. Sign in with your IIA of IL website credentials and click on “On-Boarding New Employees”.
march 2023
insight
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