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Digital EditionHow the BIIC Is Advancing Black Leadership in Insurance
Black professionals are moving up the ranks of insurance, albeit slowly, in a business that is realizing the need for diverse leadership that can better serve the people and communities they insure.
The Black Insurance Industry Collective (BIIC), a five-year-old nonprofit that is an affiliate of The Institutes, is out front in the effort to help Black professionals further their careers. And while the BIIC isn’t the only organization doing so, it is unique in that it focuses solely on helping members move into leadership positions, said Amy Cole-Smith, executive director.
The organization boasts a number of insurance industry partners that support the group and encourage their own employees to take advantage of its development programs.
“You Can’t Be What You Don’t See”
Representation of Black professionals has risen in recent years, but research from the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) shows that gains are slight.
In 2024, 14.7% of people employed in insurance identified as Black or African American, up just 0.1% from the previous year. The increase measures 1.5% from 2021. There was a slight decrease in the number of Black underwriters last year, while slightly stronger gains were shown among sales agents and in claims and policy processing roles.
Progress has been stunted partly because there is a dearth of Black insurance professionals in top leadership roles, according to Cole-Smith. That makes it hard to attract and hold onto employees in the business, she said.
“The old saying is, ‘You can’t be what you don’t see.’ When there’s nobody who looks like them at the top, it’s hard to retain them,” she said.
The BIIC’s aim is partly to help Black professionals move past some of the barriers that have discouraged insurance careers, including mistrust in an industry that has not always treated this community well. Using a personal example, Cole-Smith described how her grandmother was taken advantage of by a life insurance salesman who showed up every month to collect premiums on a policy covering her mother.
When Cole-Smith’s great-grandmother died, the salesman was nowhere to be found.
“It’s actually very similar to a lot of stories I’ve heard,” she said. And, there’s the legacy of some white-led insurance companies that refused to insure Black neighborhoods, Cole-Smith recalled, which adds to a generational disdain towards the business. Pair that with the long-time portrayal in popular culture of insurance as a boring business, and it’s not hard to see why Black professionals might be discouraged, she said.
“If we have more people who look like the population they are attempting to serve,” rather than resembling the pocket-protector caricatures on television, “I think that will make all the difference,” Cole-Smith said.
Stephanie Smith, VP of sales for Trucordia’s Southern California platform, agreed insurance’s reputation as a boring profession is misplaced. And, as Black professionals come to realize this, they are more likely to pursue jobs in the industry, she said.
“There is a modernization that is happening within the industry and that is driving awareness of Black professionals of all backgrounds,” Smith said.
They are coming to realize that insurance is much more than selling policies or handling claims, she added, and there is a demand for professionals in IT, marketing, analysis and other areas.
Where the Jobs Are
Insurance sales and marketing roles are being transformed by technology, said Michel Leonard, Triple-I’s chief economist and data scientist. The organization’s research has shown that Black professionals are increasingly moving into these roles, which include agents and brokers, he added.
“The industry understands the need to better service people and their communities, and to be able to relate to their concerns and issues,” Leonard said. “Having a strong African American or Black professional presence in sales and marketing is certainly a plus towards that goal.”
Triple-I research showed there was a slight increase to 6.1% in the number of Black chief executives in insurance in 2024, a rise from 5.2% in 2023. Black CEOs are in position to best understand the needs of Black communities, Leonard said. “Diversity in this regard is about good business,” he added.
Among its efforts to increase representation of Black professionals in insurance, the BIIC offers a leadership development program in partnership with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
The two-and-a-half day session covers aspects of leadership from how to better negotiate to handling microaggressions, Cole-Smith said.
“The great thing about the program is that when you walk into the room, you see people from all types of backgrounds” who are interested in understanding leadership challenges and learning how to address them, she added. The BIIC also holds monthly webinars, fireside chats with Black executives, and a yearly town hall meeting with the organization’s partners.
DEI’s Changing Culture
Cole-Smith and others are undaunted by moves to eliminate or scale back diversity, equity and inclusion programs: “I understand the pullback,” said Cole-Smith.
“Nobody wants a spotlight on them. But it makes me work harder to show how important this work is.”
In fact, interest in the BIIC is stronger than ever: “We’ve never had more inquiries about joining.” Some insurers have changed the names of their programs or the language used to describe them, but are nonetheless continuing with DEI efforts, Cole-Smith said.
“If anything, we’re going to see who was really serious about it,” she added.
Diversity has, unfortunately, become nearly synonymous with affirmative action, Smith said. And that can be a problem for companies and their new hires if they are perceived to be chosen not because of qualifications but based on some other characteristic.
“It could be easy to overlook their skillset,” she added, which could make it difficult for such workers to realize their potential. “That is not the core concept of diversity,” Smith said. “Diversity is about extending your qualified candidate pool.”
Smith said that her rise through the ranks of the insurance profession taught her lessons that can benefit others. It is especially important for Black professionals already in leadership roles and those who aspire to be thereto be proactive in pursuing management goals, she advised.
“Be thoughtful and clear about the path you want to take, and craft a message that speaks to that. Let it be known. Don’t assume someone is going to tap you on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, you’re doing a great job.’ You have to be really clear about what your outcomes should be.”
Focus on a strategic mindset and a personal brand, she added.
“Understand executive presence, study it. When you’re in a room with an executive, be aware not just of the message they’re giving, but how they’re giving it, because executive presence is critical.”
“When you build your brand, it goes back to knowing your value and building your brand towards that,” Smith said.
For her, moving up meant being authentic. “People can sense that I don’t wear a façade. And that builds trust, which allows me to collaborate on a deeper level.” &
