Insurance Industry Talent Association
Join insurance employers across Indiana in developing a stronger pipeline of work-ready talent for your industry.
A Stronger Insurance Talent Pipeline Built by Employers
Indiana’s insurance industry faces a significant workforce challenge as experienced employees approach retirement and employers compete for the next generation of talent. At the same time, many young people have limited awareness of the range of career opportunities available within the industry.
The Insurance ITA is led by the Financial Services Academy, which coordinates employer participation and provides the primary training for Insurance Associate apprentices. Through INCAP, the Financial Services Academy brings insurance employers together to identify workforce needs, shape industry-specific education and training, and develop a stronger pipeline of work-ready talent.
Employers participate to:
- Build a broader, more reliable pipeline of entry-level talent
- Develop people earlier, before they enter the full-time labor market
- Help shape training around the skills and knowledge insurance employers need
- Access a shared training model that builds on their existing training rather than replacing it
Turning Employer Demand Into Programs
The Insurance ITA brings employers together to address shared workforce needs and develop occupations that prepare talent for careers across Indiana’s insurance industry. Employers help define the skills and competencies participants need and shape education and workplace training around the realities of insurance organizations.
- The Insurance Associate is the first INCAP Insurance Apprenticeship Program, designed to create an earlier pipeline of work-ready talent for agencies, brokerages, carriers, and other insurance employers. More than 10 employers are expected to host apprentices when the first cohort begins in 2027.
- Don’t see the occupation your organization needs? The ITA’s work is driven by employer demand. Contact the Insurance ITA to share your workforce needs and help identify future occupations for development.
Available in 2027: Insurance Associate
The Insurance Associate is a two-year Apprenticeship Program is a two year program that begins in 11th grade. It combines industry-designed education and training with paid, hands-on experience in an insurance workplace.
The Workforce Need
Indiana insurance employers need a broader, more reliable pipeline of entry-level talent as the industry prepares for a significant wave of retirements and continued demand for new employees. At the same time, many young people have limited exposure to insurance as a career and may not understand the range of opportunities available within the industry.
For employers, that means competing for talent while also working to introduce a new generation to insurance careers earlier and prepare them with the knowledge and workplace skills the industry needs.
The Solution
The Insurance Associate apprenticeship gives employers an earlier way to identify and develop future employees before they enter the full-time labor market.
Apprentices progress through exposure, experience, and training phases, building an understanding of the insurance industry while developing practical workplace skills. The Financial Services Academy provides supplemental education and training, while employers continue to use their own established training programs and processes.
The Academy works with each employer to identify gaps between its existing training and the Insurance Associate competencies, then provides additional coursework to ensure apprentices develop the full range of knowledge and skills required by the program.
The Career Pathway
The Insurance Associate program prepares apprentices to build careers across insurance agencies, brokerages, carriers, claims, underwriting, and other industry functions. As part of the program, apprentices earn nationally recognized insurance industry designations that demonstrate the knowledge and skills they develop.
Participants gain experience that can support careers in areas such as customer service, sales, claims, underwriting, marketing, information technology, accounting, legal, administration, and loss control.
Why Build Your Talent Pipeline Through INCAP?
A Shared Model Makes It Easier to Develop Talent
Building an education and training program independently takes time, expertise, and resources. Through the Insurance ITA, employers use a shared training framework while retaining the training and processes that already work within their organizations.
Employers can:
- Spend less time developing training from scratch by building from a common framework and competencies
- Help reduce recruiting and onboarding costs by developing potential employees before they enter the full-time workforce
- Build on existing employer training rather than replacing it with a one-size-fits-all program
- Share the training burden with the Financial Services Academy, which provides supplemental coursework to fill gaps between an employer’s existing training and program competencies
- Help shape industry training by participating in curriculum and advisory committees
Build an Earlier Pipeline Into Insurance
Insurance is an industry many young people may not initially consider as a career. The Insurance Associate program gives employers an opportunity to introduce students to the industry earlier while developing the knowledge and workplace skills they’ll need to contribute.
For employers, that creates an opportunity to build relationships with future talent earlier, develop employees around their organization’s needs, and create a longer-term pipeline into the industry.
Your Role as an Employer Partner
Help Shape Industry Training
Insurance ITA members can participate in curriculum and advisory committees, helping ensure education and training continue to reflect employer needs and changes within the industry.
Provide the Workplace Experience
Employers hire and pay apprentices and provide more than 1,800 hours of paid workplace experience over the course of the program. Apprentices progress from initial exposure and guided training to taking on increasing responsibility and performing many duties independently under supervision.
Employers also identify staff to train and supervise apprentices. Those employees complete training and onboarding provided by the Financial Services Academy to help them support apprentices effectively.
Invest in Talent Development
Employers participating in the Insurance ITA commit to hosting apprentices through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Employer investment includes:
- Start-Up Fee: Employers pay a one-time fee to begin participating
- Annual Per-Apprentice Tuition: Host employers pay annual tuition for each apprentice
- Apprentice Compensation: Employers set and pay their apprentices’ wages
Contact the Insurance ITA for current costs.
"When I became aware of the apprenticeship initiative through INCAP and the FSA, I wanted to be involved to continue to find ways to perpetuate this great industry."
- Anne Duncan, Marketing, Arlington/Roe & Co.
Questions About Employer Participation
Ready to Strengthen Your Talent Pipeline?
The Financial Services Academy leads the Insurance Industry Talent Association. Contact the ITA to learn more about participating and hosting Insurance Associate apprentices.
Scott Hartman
Director of Insurance Apprenticeships, Financial Services Academy