{"id":155334,"date":"2026-09-17T17:10:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//?p=155334"},"modified":"2026-09-17T17:10:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:10:25","slug":"ucf-expert-aims-to-revitalize-the-insurance-industry-provide-students-with-strong-career-paths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//ucf-expert-aims-to-revitalize-the-insurance-industry-provide-students-with-strong-career-paths/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Expert Aims to Revitalize the Insurance Industry, Provide Students With Strong Career Paths"},"content":{"rendered":"
The world Gabriel Carrillo has known for his entire professional life is approaching /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201ca cliff./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d He/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s seen it coming: The end of 2026 closing a five-year period when the insurance industry loses 400,000 workers to retirements. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of the once-robust workforce is expected to retire by 2036, leaving behind a gigantic void./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
Carrillo is not among those planning to retire. He isn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019t panicking either. After 30 years in underwriting, actuary work, risk management, research, and product development, Carrillo believes he/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s just getting started. He embraces the workforce chasm as an enormous opportunity. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s why he brought decades of experience to UCF in July 2025 to direct the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Education./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cI came here because UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s strengths in areas like technology and innovation give us a head start to transform this field in spaces where it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s lagged and build something special from scratch./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cI came here because UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s strengths in areas like technology and innovation give us a head start to transform this field in spaces where it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s lagged and build something special from scratch,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d Carrillo says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
He credits Ron Piccolo, associate dean for strategic initiatives in the Barry S. Miller College of Business, for preparing a smooth runway. They/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019ve worked hard to have a major and minor in risk management in place by Fall 2026. In April 2026, UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s Board of Trustees approved a new bachelor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s program in risk management and insurance education, pending Florida Board of Governors/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019 approval. Carrillo and Piccolo aim for an MBA and a continuing education program to follow. Experts trained at UCF will eventually partner with industry leaders to identify problems, apply research and deliver cutting edge talent./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cI can see what/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s ahead, and it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s amazing,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d Carrillo says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cAt the same time, I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019m fully aware of the serious challenges directly in front of us./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
Shattering Perceptions of Insurance/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
To infuse the program at UCF with as much optimism as he exudes, Carrillo must first face down the insurance industry/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s most significant obstacle./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cPerception,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d Carrillo says, bluntly. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cNegative depictions of insurance professionals are everywhere. We even see it in kids/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019 movies, like The Incredibles, where the boss at an insurance agency is a villain. People grow up believing the entire industry is complicated and greedy./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cOur first step is to blow up those perceptions./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
To do that, Carrillo has been inviting professionals to show UCF students what the future of risk management looks like (young and enthused) and where their talents are being applied (Disney, the PGA Tour, the New York Yankees, and Marriott, to name a few). The diverse skillsets (drone operators, investors, accountants, and experts in fintech and cybersecurity) and personalities (extroverts and introverts) do not perfectly match old stereotypes./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
The casual /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cget-to-know-us/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d events have stirred enough interest to fill as many as 144 seats, with others at The Exchange reaching the capacity of 120./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cStudents sit up and say, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2018Wait, we thought working in this field meant shlepping life insurance to people who don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019t want it or sitting in cubicles to deny claims./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019 Their minds open up when they hear about professional playgrounds that don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019t fit the mold./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cI believe this calling is among the most noble things we can do. We/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019re helping people put their lives back together at a time of great loss.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
Interest heightens when /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cthe cliff/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d enters the conversation. In addition to jobs opening because of mass retirement, analysts expect risk management and insurance to grow 17% per year into the foreseeable future, with average starting salaries ranging from $60,000-$90,000. Carrillo says a recession-proof career is all but guaranteed. To the skeptical question, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cBut is it fulfilling?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d he candidly answers from his own experience./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cI believe this calling is among the most noble things we can do,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d he says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cWe/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019re helping people put their lives back together at a time of great loss. Is that what people think we do? Maybe not. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u2019s up to us to change that./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
And that leads to a second canyon-size gap: the knowledge gap. Sound personal advice has been replaced with search engines that find the cheapest rates for the minimum coverage, which can turn out horribly for customers when coverage is actually needed./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cFinancial literacy has to be a big part of what we build,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d Carrillo says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201cWith it, graduates can help people make informed decisions and have better lives./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/155334/n