26,000: Insurance industry job openings expected by 2020 in Ohio
2000: Insurance industry jobs in Clark County
$36,000: Estimated starting pay for insurance jobs in Southwest Ohio
Source: Insuring Ohio Futures report and Clark State Community College
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Clark State is now the first community college in Ohio to offer an Associate’s degree in business with an insurance option and will add an online certificate program this fall as the demand for workers in the field grows.
The insurance industry will need 26,000 workers in Ohio to fill jobs by 2020 as the aging Baby Boomer workforce retires, according to a recent study Insurance Industry Resource Council.
Many insurance companies call Ohio home, such as Safe Auto, Nationwide and Grange, said Paul Gross, the founder of local insurance processing company CodeBlue who also helped put together Clark State’s curriculum.
“The state of Ohio is one of the top markets in the country, possibly in the top five,” he said. “Ohio is a mecca for insurance companies.”
About 2,000 employees in the Clark County area work in the insurance industry, according to Amy Donahoe of the Chamber of Greater Springfield.
The Clark State curriculum will focus on health care, automotive and housing. The college’s goal is to prepare students to enter the industry with a foundation that employers can add to, said Aimee Belanger-Haas Dean of Business Applied Technology at Clark State.
“Nationwide is guaranteeing an interview for anyone who graduates with a B average,” Belanger-Haas said.
Courses will focus on the claims process and property adjustment, with an overview of how insurance claims impact other areas in the industry.
This fall Clark State also will offer an online insurance certificate that can be completed with a six online courses in as little as six months. The program is a stackable curriculum, Belanger-Haas said, making it possible for students to earn their certificate, then go work in the industry as they continue to complete the Associate’s degree program.
Columbus State Community College offers a two-class program that leads only to a certificate. The University of Cincinnati offers a four-year degree in insurance risk management.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that the insurance industry in Ohio is one of the more stable career fields in the state.
The starting pay in the insurance industry in the Southwest Ohio region typically is about $36,000 per year, Belanger-Haas said.
“Most of our students are place-bound, they’re staying local,” she said. “That is what a community college is all about.”
Many times insurance companies look from within to hire and promote, said Tabitha Turner, who is now enrolled in the claims adjuster program at Clark State’s Greene County campus in Beavercreek. She signed up for the courses after applying for entry-level jobs in the industry and learning she needed more experience.
“I got some feedback from an interviewer,” she said. “He told me that other applicants were already in the industry and they would be easier to train.”
Turner currently works in a call center. She became interested in a job as an adjuster after talking with a friend in the claim’s field.
She had researched other programs but liked that Clark State’s degree program included classroom instruction instead of just online classes.
“I’m excited about getting this education,” she said.
Ten students currently are enrolled in the Clark State program. The goal is to have about 25 students per semester. The first class of insurance students will likely graduate with their Associate’s degrees in the spring of 2016.
Clark State’s target students include those entering college for the first time, starting second careers and returning vets.
The Associate’s degree should put students in a position of earning promotions sooner, Belanger-Haas said.
“It doesn’t take long to move up,” she said.
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