Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Diversity Discussion with Elmer Rivera (Pt III)

Welcome back as we finish up our conversation with Elmer Rivera, Branch Manager for Jimcor Agencies' Long Island, NY office and President of LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc.).  Elmer has already answered questions about Diversity with regards to employment in our industry, geographic differences, leadership and more.
Here we will look at what the industry can do to further embrace diversity as well as an inside look at the new trade association, LABA.

Q: What else does the industry need to do to further embrace different cultures in our country?
A: "Bring It To The People" ...We need to educate not only our sales force, but also our office support, customer service reps., claims reps., and accounting reps. The fastest growing consumer group, people from diverse cultures present a great virtually untapped opportunity for insurance companies and agents to sell their products and services. By providing face-to-face communication, with clear product descriptions, and implementing patience & understanding, you can begin to build trust with the culturally diverse consumer.

Q: What is the purpose of your group LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc) and how are you different from other associations in the area / country?
A: Our purpose is to provide support in the advancement of the Agent and Broker serving the Hispanic American insurance consumer in the North East by assisting in providing the best possible product offerings to this ever growing consumer segment. We are also focusing on promoting education and mentoring to the future young Hispanic American insurance professional.
We differ from other associations in the Northeast by bringing together those already servicing, or interested in targeting Hispanic insurance consumers. We also differ by being the first association that looks to focus on educating not only the agent and broker, but the Hispanic insurance consumer as well. By educating the consumer, we believe we can help the agent & broker facilitate sales and servicing to the Hispanic insurance consumer.

Q: Do you have any additional comments?
A: The bottom line is that today the diverse cultures are what make America truly the land of opportunity, and the insurance industry needs to further prepare itself to take advantage of the opportunities that will come from this fast growing consumer group.


Thank you Elmer for taking the time to answer our questions.

If you would like more information on Jimcor visit our website at http://www.jimcor.com/.
For information on LABA visit http://www.latinagentsandbrokers.com/
You can also email Elmer Rivera at erivera@jimcor.com

In closing, ask yourself how diverse your agency, company or office is.  Look around your community and find ways to learn about the different cultures all around you.  After all, everyone needs insurance!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Diversity Discussion with Elmer Rivera (Part II)

We are back talking to Jimcor's Long Island branch manager, Elmer Rivera, President of LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc).

We asked Elmer Rivera the question, "How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity" and then looked at different areas. Here are his candid answers!

Q: How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity with regards to Employment? A: The insurance industry has done a good job of embracing diversity in the workplace. When I first started my insurance career in the mid 80's there were few minorities entering the industry. Those that did were primarly African American and Asian. By the mid 90's I noticed a change. More Guianese, Hindi, and specifically Hispanics were entering the insurance industry. While much more is needed to show how we are an industry that embraces cultural differences and diversity, we are moving in the right direction. I would attribute this to the efforts of currect trade associations that have brought public awareness to following a career in insurance.

Q: How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity with regards to Leadership within the industry?
A: As public awareness grows, cluturally diverse people look to grow their own careers in the industry. Today people form various cultures are holding more leadership roles than they did 10 years ago. As staffing becomes more culturally diverse need to continue the same trend at the leadership level to stay in sync with the changing workforce as well as the marketplace.

We will complete this conversation with Elmer Rivera next time as we look at what else the industry needs to do to further embrace different cultures, marketing and Elmer will talk about LABA.

If you would like to reach Elmer River please email him at erivera@jimcor.com.