It’s been a difficult year for insurance. From public outcry over homeowners’ policies being canceled before the wildfires in Los Angeles to challenges obtaining property insurance in multiple states, the perception of the insurance industry has worsened. The public’s opinion for insurance companies has always been strained, at best. But our current reputation is often laden with naked anger and undirected vitriol that cares little of whether or not it is warranted. Insurance companies seem to be vilified for one reason or another, often without rational cause. While we may know how the public feels, we may not have considered how our colleagues are impacted.
We are resilient creatures, but even our peers are subject to outside influence. As an industry, we need to consider the possibility that public perception may be negatively impacting the emotional state of our team members and employees in ways we’ve not yet considered.
This atmosphere reminds me of the Great Recession.
It was a time when bank perception polls were similarly in the gutter. I could imagine the reluctance of bank employees admitting to friends and neighbors who they worked for or what industry they were in. The public lumped every professional in the field into the same expensive suit who had caused so much disruption to the country. Is insurance really thought of much differently?
If we aren’t at that point, we are getting close. And I worry about how we will attract quality, next generation talent.
Companies need to demonstrate a level of human sensitivity when it comes to the struggles their employees may be facing; they need to ask questions such as, “Are our people feeling the stress and anger of the public ?” “How can we be supportive?” “Are they OK?”
There is no way that public sentiment is not negatively impacting efforts to attract talent to our industry. What professional will want to pivot to an industry that some would label as “ghoulish” and “greedy”? These are not selling points but deterrents to an already outsized talent attraction problem.
To be clear, I don’t think I have a simple fix for our industry’s public relations problem. Frankly, it’s bigger than me. But I think it’s important to talk about the mental wellness and emotional state of our most valuable assets: our workforce. While the news never fails to highlight the perceived negatives of insurance, we who work in it day-in, day-out know the industry does good every single day.
I don’t think PR is going to magically shift public opinion, but we can make internal efforts to support our teams. Doing it with an honest view of what they may be facing could make all the difference in how they view their day, their role, and themselves.
By Matt Nickens, Partner, Coleman Search Group
