Ohio and US Insurance Employment/Company/Premium Facts

US facts

• At year-end 2001, the insurance industry provided over 2.35 million jobs in the US. (A.M. Best)

• According to the Alliance of American Insurers (AAI), 28 states (including Ohio) employ more than 25,000 in the insurance industry.

• The AAI estimates that the insurance industry accounted for at least 2% of all economic activity in 33 states in 1998. (US Bureau of Economic Analysis)

• State premium taxes incurred by US insurers in 1998 totaled $9.2 billion, which is about 1.9% of all taxes collected by the states. This equates to about $34 per US citizen. (III and AAI)

• P/C insurers paid an estimated $6.7 billion in federal taxes in 1999. (AAI)

• There were 3,402 property/casualty insurance companies in the US in 1999. Many were part of larger entities. (III)

Ohio facts

• As of December 2001 Ohio served as headquarters to 281 insurance companies, including 126 P/C insurers. (Ohio Department of Insurance—ODI)

• The National Association of Insurance Commissioners ranks Ohio eighth in the US based on the number of property/casualty insurance companies domiciled within the state in 2000.

• There are 1,793 insurance companies licensed to conduct business in the Buckeye state. 972 write predominantly property/casualty lines, and 602 write life insurance. (ODI, as of 12/01)

• About 98,980 are employed in Ohio’s insurance industry based on preliminary state figures for 2000. This is a 13% increase over 1996 employment estimates of 87,519. This does not include those who operate single-person businesses serving the insurance industry or self-employed agents.

• Ohio’s insurance employment equates to 2.1% of the state’s average employment and nearly 2.8% of the state’s total estimated wages for 2000. (Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, Labor Market Information Division)

• 2000 wages for Ohio insurance industry employees are estimated at nearly $4.26 billion. (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Bureau of Labor Market Information)

• Ohio’s insurance employment equates to 4.3% of the nation’s insurance industry employment. (Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, Labor Market Information Division and III)

• According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Franklin County has the highest number of insurance employees in the state (not including one-person business operations), with a 2000 estimate of 26,420, which equates to 4.4% of the county’s employment. This is up slightly from 1999 totals of 26,300. Cuyahoga County is second with 19,553 (compared to 1999 estimates of 19,284), which is 2.7% of the county’s employment. Hamilton is third with 13,700 (compared to 1999 estimates of 13,385), which is 2.7% of Hamilton County’s total employment. Summit and Montgomery counties round out the top five Ohio counties based on insurance employment for 2000 with 4,529 and 3,534 employed by the insurance industry in these two counties.

• There are about 83,960 licensed resident agents in Ohio and 74,434 nonresident licensed agents. (ODI, as of 3/02)

• In 1999, insurance companies paid nearly $355 million in insurance taxes and fees to the state treasury. That’s nearly $972,300 a day.

A.M. Best reported a loss of 3,000 jobs in the insurance industry in 12/01, after a loss of 5,000 in November. December’s insurance industry jobs level of 2,353,000 showed an addition of 14,000 to the industry job market in comparison to figures from 12/00.