At 76.6 million, millennials are the country's largestgeneration and also the fastest-growing generation of consumers andemployees.

As they proliferate in the market, millennials are also bringing$1.68 trillion in purchasing power to bear, according to the U.S.Census Bureau. And any smart insurance agency will develop aplan to attract, serve and retain these individuals.

But it won't be easy.

Applied System's "Why Millennials Matter"report, based on an independent survey and millennial agentinterviews, discusses how millennials research and purchase P&Cinsurance and their concerns and behaviors regarding the insuranceindustry. When working with this generation, expect thefollowing:

Millennials want to make adifference: They intend to make an impact on theirworld. As employees, they ask for more responsibility sooner thanexpected. As consumers, they look for brands and businesses thatmake a difference.

Millennials are digitally connected: Theyshare their opinions and look to friends and family for referralsand opinions via text and social media. Opinions go both ways withboth positive and negative testimonials.

Millennials bring focus and energy to theirjobs: They bring collaboration and positivity to theworkplace. Millennials have been conditioned to multitask. Theyfocus on their goals and work hard from a very young age. Teamworkcomes naturally to millennials.

Next page: Who are millennials and what makes themtick?

Who are millennials?

Millennials include nearly 80 million people born after 1980 inthe U.S. They use mobile devices more than any other generation andare constantly connected to the world around them. Also referred toas Gen Y, millennials have strong opinions and high expectations ofall businesses, including their employers. They will have a greatdeal of influence on the profitability of insurance agencies bothnow and in the future.

Most notably, millennials are true digital natives and socialnetworking is important to their lives. They navigate seamlesslybetween devices, through which they send more than 100 texts aday.

They head online for support: 80% of millennials visit socialmedia sites daily and more than half use mobile devices to do so.An online search is the first step to finding a solution for 71% ofmillennials, and once they go online, they expect a solution within80 hours.

Next page: Why do millennials matter toinsurance agents?

Why do millennials matter to insuranceagents?

As buyers and sellers in the insurance industry, millennialspresent challenges to agents and brokers, as millennials have theirown attitudes and preferences toward digital technology.

"As a historically conservative industry, insurance agents oftenexperience a generational gap when dealing with millennialcustomers," Applied Systems writes in its report. "Butunderstanding how they think, work and purchase differently fromprevious generations will allow insurance agents to leverage theirunique influence."

As opposed to any other generation, millennials turn to theirdevices and social networks to communicate their opinions aboutbrands and services: 44% by text message, 16% by blogging, 38% onsocial media and 38% on instant messaging, according to figuresfrom Goldman Sachs.

Next page: Understanding the millennialcustomer

Understanding the millennial customer

Agents must offer multichannel service and product options tomillennials, as they are attracted to insurance companies thatprovide a client-centric experience. A strong presence throughdigital channels and social media establishes an agency as a sourcefor education, thought leadership and product information.

Of 1,000 millennials surveyed by Applied Systems, 91% had someform of P&C insurance coverage, of which 89% have autoinsurance, 55% have homeowners and 42% have renters'. An onlinepresence is necessary to target this generation. But becausemillennials split auto insurance purchases between face-to-face,online and telephone sales, the role of the agent as a trustedadvisor remains critically important.

Millennials are social by nature and rely heavily on referralsin their buying decisions. More than half of the millennialssurveyed asked family and friends for insurance advice, 27% use anonline search engine and 13% reviewed social media sites such asYelp.