1. Opportunity. There is a wave of older insurance and risk management professionals retiring right now, opening up hundreds of thousands of jobs and allowing new hires to quickly advance.
  2. Reward. Many risk management and insurance careers regularly rank among the best in the country because they offer high compensation, low stress and the chance to grow.

We totally understand that this can be hard to believe if you’ve never heard of or thought about working in the insurance or risk management field. But that’s exactly why there are so many rewarding opportunities available — few people understand how insurance works and what risk management and insurance professionals actually do.

Trust us, we know. Before we launched MyPath, we conducted a survey and found that less than 10 percent of millennials said they considered themselves familiar with risk management and insurance careers.

This, of course, benefits the people who pursue these careers. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand: few people applying means companies are eager to hire and financially reward those who do. We talk to college students all the time who have jobs before they even begin their senior year, because they either major in risk management and insurance or had an internship at an insurance company.

Of course, that’s not the only reason to apply. If you talk to just a few risk management and insurance professionals, they’ll tell you stories about how their jobs made a difference in people’s lives.

Risk management reduces the likelihood of accidents happening, helping to make the world a safer place. Insurance kicks in after an accident happens, helping people put their financial lives back together.

But we might be getting ahead of ourselves. If you still have questions about the basics of how insurance works, why it matters and what risk management and insurance professionals do, we’ve created the resources below to provide all the answers you need.

How Does Insurance Work?

Insurance may indeed be the most misunderstood industry. Here’s how it works, in plain English.

Why Does Insurance Exist?

When you understand the history of insurance and risk management, you see that it’s actually a modern marvel.

Career Wizard

A quiz that actually matters
A young woman studies next to a window, making notes in a small notebook.

Answer these questions and we'll tell you what to do for the rest of your life.

Why Does Insurance Matter?

The risk and insurance industry benefits individuals and society in more ways than most people realize.

What Careers Are There in the Risk Management and Insurance Field?

From actuaries to underwriters, here’s a breakdown of the career roles in the risk management and insurance industry.