Danielle Young

I attribute my success to recognizing early that I was going to need to bring knowledge into every conversation in order to build credibility in a male-dominated industry. The benefits consulting industry is primarily male-dominated and older - the average insurance benefits consultant is in their late 50s or early 60s. When I decided I wanted to be a benefits consultant at 23, it was an extremely challenging landscape because I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, a very conservative state, and the decision-making panels tend to be older and male, so building rapport was very difficult. I didn't have multiple generations of family in the business like many others did - the second agency I went to work for was being run by the fifth generation with lots of multi-generational consulting relationships, and I wasn't related to anyone there. I've had a successful career primarily by focusing on knowing the discipline incredibly well. My mom raised me well - she taught me that it's important to never stop asking questions, never stop learning, and you have to outwork everybody. That's the only option for the position that we're in in this industry to be successful. I try to be as kind and gentle to our industry as possible, because I truly believe the people in it care about other human beings, for the most part.

The best career advice I've received came from my mom, who raised me to never stop asking questions and always encouraged me to outwork others. She taught me that it's important to never stop learning, and you have to outwork everybody - it's the only option for the position that we're in in this industry to be successful. It was important for her that I strive for success and continue to improve myself and learn more, and my mother has always been a source of inspiration and support throughout my life. I would also like to recognize Sherry Alexander, who initially hired me at Gregory & Appelle. She took a great risk in hiring me - she didn't have any clue how that was gonna pan out. She was a legendary producer there, and it went well for her, but she took a chance and didn't have to. In that same organization, there was also a wonderful woman by the name of Susan Ryder. She is the president now of the National Association of Employee Benefits and Insurance Professionals, and she is also a mentor of mine. She got me involved with an organization called Elevate, which provides scholarship opportunities primarily for young women who want to get into this space but might not have access to the resources, for example, to get their first insurance license.

First of all, make sure that you have a really tightly defined why - why you want to get into our space. There are very large conglomerate consulting firms in the country that will recruit based on things like 'let us help you build generational wealth.' While I want that for everyone, that's the American dream, if the driving force behind getting into this space is a financial incentive that's maybe misaligned with the fact that we're dealing with human beings here, that's something to consider. Now, if you're someone that really likes helping people, and you have that maternal, that sisterly 'I want to look out for other people' feeling, male or female, if that's what gets you up in the morning, and you have a deep interest in changing the broken status quo around the healthcare system, then your heart is in the right place, and everything after that is gonna happen for you. Doing things for the right reasons and having integrity will get you a lot farther than trying to skip steps, cut corners, and stay focused on your own financial security. I would also encourage you to get involved with organizations like Elevate, which provides scholarship opportunities primarily for young women who want to get into this space but might not have access to the resources, for example, to get their first insurance license. That's step one - get them the resources to get the education, and let them rise from there if they're willing to put in the work.

The biggest challenge in our field right now is the knowledge gap around reference-based pricing. Less than 5% of self-funded employers utilize reference-based pricing because of the knowledge gap, and that's been a huge barrier in our space. The vast majority of employer plans in the country are self-funded, meaning they pay their own claims, and they're subject to the Employee Retirement Income and Securities Act of 1974 - a 52 or 53-year-old piece of legislation that basically requires employers, if they're going to spend their employees' money on things like a 401K or a benefit plan, to be good stewards of the money, and that money being spent has to be in the best interest of the participant. We invoke that law to do the work that we're doing. The opportunity is that legislatively, there's not anything coming that seems promising to really help us with this healthcare cost landscape, so we have to lead by example, and large-scale employers give us the opportunity to do that. Large employers are starting to take notice of the power that they have. We recently brought on Campus Crusaders for Christ headquartered out in California as a client, and Splenda is a client of mine. We're helping create change by going directly to those employers and saying, you know, we have to lead by example. That's why I started our podcast two and a half years ago - to educate the consulting community about what we're doing at ClaimDoc and about the methodology of reference-based pricing, so they can listen to it in their car, while they mow their lawn, while they're making dinner, and they don't have to actually come to the table and say 'I don't know what I don't know.'

The values most important to me center around helping people and having a servant's heart when it comes to leadership. I've always been someone who just likes helping, and I truly believe the people in our industry care about other human beings, for the most part. In my work, it's critical to do things for the right reasons and have integrity - that will get you a lot farther than trying to skip steps, cut corners, and stay focused on your own financial security. If you're someone that really likes helping people, and you have that maternal, that sisterly 'I want to look out for other people' feeling, and you have a deep interest in changing the broken status quo around the healthcare system, then your heart is in the right place. In my personal life, these values extend to my volunteer work. I've been involved in color guard coaching and judging for over 20 years, and it's really for me about giving students the confidence to feel like they can conquer challenges and that they can do hard things. I support causes like the Humane Society in Indianapolis, which is incredibly beneficial to their community and provides animals with homes, as well as Music for All, which is the parent company of Bands of America - a non-profit organization supporting competitive environments that are both fair as well as safe for students. That organization has been near and dear to my heart for a really long time.