Alexandria, VA, June 24, 2020— Invest℠, the insurance industry’s premier classroom-to-career education program, today announced a new partnership with Latinos in Insurance Networking for our Community (LiNC) to host virtual summer insurance education for Los Angeles high school students.

As in-person education and career opportunities continue to be cancelled over concerns about COVID-19, including in-office summer internships in the insurance field, parts of the Invest online insurance curriculum will be incorporated into LiNC’s summer Virtual Professional Development Series and will be taught to students by insurance professionals within the LiNC network. Among some of the insurance topics to be included in the new program: a basic introduction to insurance, managing risk, auto insurance issues, careers in insurance as well as financial literacy, resume building and interview skills.

“We're pleased to partner with such a great organization that focuses on bringing economic opportunities to young inner-city students from diverse ethnic backgrounds by providing internships, mentoring and networking experiences in the insurance industry,” says Deborah Pickford, executive director of Invest. “Although we are sorry to see in-office internships cancelled, we believe this virtual summer program will be valuable for the LiNC students.”

“LiNC was not going to allow the COVID-19 pandemic to stop us from carrying out our mission of helping inner-city youth find opportunities in the insurance industry,” says Ana Barbosa, founder of LiNC. “The LiNC volunteer board has worked tirelessly to develop the Virtual Professional Development Series, where students will spend the summer learning about careers in insurance, spicing up their resumes, practicing their interview skills and learning financial literacy skills. We owe a large part of our success to the Invest program partnership and are extremely grateful for the opportunity to work together to serve our students.” 

Approximately 12 high-school students and five college students will be participating in the eight-week summer program. LiNC has donated laptops to students so they can fully participate in the virtual education. 

Invest and LiNC see insurance education as an important part of a high school student’s education and introduction to the industry, and are proud to offer this opportunity to raise awareness among inner-city students of the vast career opportunities in insurance companies and insurance agencies.

Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, VA, Invest promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and colleges. As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, Invest benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers, and volunteers.

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) was founded in 1896 and is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally.

LiNC was inspired in 2013 by Ana Barbosa, an entrepreneurial Latina with a vision of helping at-risk students by offering mentorship and paid internship opportunities within the insurance industry. What began as a brainstorm between Ana and the other founding members has evolved into a well-established non-profit organization.  Since 2014, LiNC has facilitated the placement of dozens of interns in nationally recognized insurance firms. Its signature events boast 200+ in attendance. In 2019, it held its first ever LiNC Talks—an awareness-raising event providing a community forum for our interns and mentors to tell their own unique stories.