Partnership helps students learn early insurance lesson

New Orleans CityBusiness, Mar 3, 2003 by Ellen Boyer

For high school students, the most mortifying prom night disaster, beyond a bad hairdo, would be having a car accident.

Who would be considered at fault? Would they at least have liability insurance? What if they weren't insured at all?

Students at John Ehret High School in Marrero addressed those questions during a mock accident scenario in a new business- education partnership class as part of the InVest program. Headquartered in Virginia, the nonprofit partners with insurance agencies, community college and high school teachers to teach students about the industry.

Now, a $10,000 grant will continue to fund the InVest program at Ehret as well as business field trips and educational materials for high school students. The goal is to interest high school students in pursuing a career in the insurance industry after graduation.

Travelers Insurance and Citigroup Foundation awarded the grant to MetroVision's School-to-Career Partnership last month, said Ellenor Simmons, financial services consortium coordinator for MetroVision and assistant director of School-to-Career.

"If you're looking to break out of the blue collar industry into the white collar industry, the insurance industry is a perfect vehicle for fulfilling that," said Albert Pappalardo Jr., vice president of agency operations at Pappalardo Agency Inc. of New Orleans. Students who can't afford college can take an entry-level job with a competitive salary. Depending on the agency, students can earn from $7 to $10 an hour and expect a raise within a year with training from the InVest program, Pappalardo said.

Pappalardo heard about the InVest program two years ago. He gathered members of the Independent Insurance Agents of Greater New Orleans Inc. together and called InVest's national office, while, unbeknownst to him, John Ehret High School administrators did the same. InVest immediately partnered Pappalardo with the school, and the IIAGNO sent John Ehret teacher Nathan Winesberry off for two weeks training in Tampa, Fla.

The program made its debut last year with 25 students, one teacher and 30 IIAGNO agents who outfitted the classroom with $10,000 worth of computers and supplies. Winesberry taught textbook material during the first semester and agents visited weekly to field questions about the lessons.

The second semester involved simulating selling auto insurance, running an agency and dealing with claims from car accidents, such as the prom night accident, which Pappalardo facilitated.

"Agents who sit at a desk and teach insurance customers all day long about insurance are nervous in front of a class of 20," Pappalardo said. But the students grew bolder and started questioning their parents about their own auto policies.

By enrolling, students can skip about a year or two of otherwise required on-the-job training if they want to enter the industry. Students hired by his agency will earn higher wages if they pass this program, Pappalardo said. He declined to release entry-level wages paid by his agency.

"Insurance is definitely a growing field in financial services, an area where folks are looking for a young work force to get in," Simmons said. "Because of Sept. 11, terrorism coverage is being offered now, and you have to calculate things that have never been calculated before."

That translates to additional jobs in an industry already trying to fill vacancies, Simmons said.

"We're trying to infuse the marketplace with young talent that can stabilize an increase in salaries," Pappalardo said.

InVest's national studies show one-third of high school students go to college, one-third go straight into the industry and one-third go into similar fields of banking or real estate.

Two of five Ehret students who interned for agencies were hired after graduation. One senior is now working part-time for an agency.

Nicolas Zepeda, who interned for Pappalardo last year at $5.50 an hour, works for him full time now while taking business administration classes at the University of New Orleans.

"I wanted to become a business owner, and I knew that I was going to have to learn about insurance," Zepeda said. Now he's handling claims, quotes and even licensed to sell property casualty insurance.

Pappalardo hopes to involve more high schools and community colleges within the next five years.