Ohio Insurance Industry and BGSU Partner to Build Program to Address Significant Talent Gap

By Donna Greenwald

BGSU’s finance department responded to the call from Ohio’s insurance industry and the state of Ohio to educate and train students to fill projected open positions for the insurance industry. The finance department implemented a new insurance specialization last fall and created an institute and advisory board to help grow its program.  

Recently, the Insuring Ohio Futures education event recognized the state’s universities and colleges which have worked to implement insurance degree programs with BGSU being one of those programs introduced at the event.  

Pictured are (left) Dave Kaufman, CEO of Motorists Insurance, Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, BGSU insurance executive-in-residence Roc Starks, and Ohio Chancellor John Carey, Ohio Higher Education (formerly the Ohio Board of Regents) who attended the insurance event. 

Dave Kaufman, CEO of The Motorists Insurance Group and co-chair of the Insurance Industry Resource Council (IIRC), states, “We began the Insuring Ohio Futures program to raise awareness and attract talent to the insurance industry, and we realized that establishing multiple educational options was the long-term answer to bridge this talent gap. Establishing these educational programs was critical, and it couldn’t have happened without tremendous partners.”

Besides establishing an insurance specialization, the BGSU Department of Finance has created an Insurance and Risk Management Institute with eight charter members - Brown & Brown, Geoffrey Radbill, Hylant Group, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Paramount Insurance, Prudential Insurance, Western & Southern Life and Westfield Insurance. There is also a 24-member Insurance Advisory Board that has guided the creation and curriculum of the BGSU program.

Starks, an insurance instructor in BGSU’s finance department, states, “We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the charter members of the Insurance and Risk Management Institute and our Advisory Board.  In a very short time, this group has already had a remarkable impact on the quality of our program and the extraordinary growth in our enrollment.  Our students are highly engaged and eager to learn about the myriad opportunities in insurance careers.”