Published February 24, 2016
MONROE, La. — ULM’s Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) program will host the third Risk and
Insurance Talent Search (RITS) program March 2nd and 3rd on the campus of ULM.
The program was created to help address the critical talent challenge facing the global
insurance and risk management industry.
According to recent studies, the insurance industry will need to fill 400,000 positions
by 2020 and the growth will continue. By 2030, nearly half of a workforce of 2.3 million
will retire. This has resulted in what professionals throughout the industry refer
to as the “talent gap.”
In addition to making students aware of the need for new hires in the industry, the
purpose of the RITS is to make students aware of the variety of occupations and opportunities
in the industry. ULM graduates have landed positions as surplus lines underwriters,
commercial insurance brokers, insurance agents, catastrophe claims adjusters, loss
control specialists and human resource managers, to name a few.
The first RITS, held last spring, resulted in more than a dozen internships and full-time
positions for Risk Management and Insurance majors. Since the second RITS, nearly
all of the RMI graduating seniors have received job offers and numerous RMI majors
have secured internships for summer 2016. It is a testament not only to the industry’s
demand for new talent, but also their support of ULM’s RMI program.
According to Dr. Christine Berry, program coordinator for the ULM Risk Management
and Insurance program, this creates a huge challenge for the insurance industry. “Our
greatest challenge has been finding enough students to fill the open positions in
the industry.”
ULM’s Risk Management program was ranked last fall as the 18th largest Risk Management
and Insurance Bachelor’s programs by Business Insurance, the premiere organization
for providing insurance industry rankings. The program is one of about four in the
world that offers specialized coursework in surplus lines and reinsurance.
This Spring, more than 20 organizations will be at the RITS making it the largest
yet. During the program, students will have the opportunity to hear from top brokers,
insurers, agents, and company employers. The opening speaker is former Louisiana
Insurance Commissioner and ULM alumnus, Robert Wooley. Commissioner Wooley managed
the department through the largest natural disaster in United States history, Hurricane
Katrina, as well as Hurricane Rita that struck Louisiana in 2005. Currently, he is
a member of the Governmental Relations Team of the Special Business Services Group
at Adams and Reese. In that role, he handles insurance regulatory matters in Louisiana
and various states throughout the country.
The RITS special lunch speaker is Marcus Payne, Managing Director for All Risks. Payne
is in charge of the All Risk University and Intern programs. He retired as Educational
Coordinator of NAPSLO at the end of 2011. He previously served as President and COO
of Crump Insurance Services until his retirement in June 2000.
The program is being sponsored by Specialty Risk, AmWINS, RSUI, State Farm, the Professional
Insurance Agents, and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Louisiana. Additional
information about the event can be found online at www.ulm.edu/cbss/insurance.
