With the rise of Insurtech, data and AI in the insurance industry, IEDA’s Insure Your Future program is filling the talent pipeline with the state’s university students.
As a legislative liaison in the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Cody Butenhoff has a clear view of how rapidly the insurance industry and its needs are evolving. And being a former staff member of Insure Your Future, the IEDA’s program that pairs college freshmen and sophomores with internships in the insurance industry, he’s more qualified than most to speak to how well the program bolsters the talent pipeline in Iowa.
“Insure Your Future has done a good job of engaging universities for what the industry needs,” Butenhoff says, noting that growth in AI, Insurtech and digital platforms means the industry has more varied opportunities for students than ever.
With 194 insurance companies and 102,000 insurance employees, not to mention two global insurance accelerators, insurance is a powerhouse industry in Iowa (it also makes up approximately 11 percent of its GDP). Insure Your Future was created by Michael Gould, IEDA’s Manager of Business Development and Insurance Development, as a way to fill the industry’s pipeline and keep more students in Iowa for the long haul.
“The average wage in insurance is $107,000, and the cost of living in Iowa is reasonable,” Gould says. “It’s a great opportunity.”
Insure Your Future’s Reach Across College Campuses
While traditional majors like actuarial science remain popular among students who join Insure Your Future, Butenhoff says each year the program shows interest from a wider range of majors. “More students are coming from comms and marketing than we expect, which speaks to the industry being broad in terms of its opportunities available to young people,” he says.
Butenhoff himself is an example: He studied strategic political communication with a minor in leadership at Drake University. Noting that not all students may be aware of how wide the opportunities are, Insure Your Future helps fill those gaps. “In the last class [of interns], there were about a dozen marketing students, as well as communications interns,” he says. “These skills are super necessary as the industry evolves.”
It was during his junior year at Drake that he worked at Insure Your Future, directly helping Gould with staff and operational support, and mentorship. He also helped staff the leadership sessions that are core to the program. In them, students learn the scope of the industry and get the opportunity to meet and network with representatives from the state’s insurance companies—companies even co-host sessions and run them together.
“Interns see that it’s a real community,” he says. “These reps are promoting the industry and state of Iowa, and they see that these reps know each other and work together.”
“It’s a competitive market, but you realize we’re in a really unique position as one of the insurance capitals of the world—and when that remains strong, it’s best for everyone in the industry,” he adds.
Since starting in 2022, Insure Your Future has seen the number of internships it offers more than double. The success metrics are staggering: Of Insure Your Future’s first class, 47 percent stayed working in insurance when they graduated and 74 percent stayed in Iowa— the program’s express goal. Gould says most had job offers before they graduated, too.
“This program is most beneficial to the industry in terms of engaging young people,” Butenhoff says. “It’s the first in the nation of its kind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other states replicate it.”
