Ohio and US Insurance Employment, Company And Premium Statistics

US facts

• At year-end 2002, the insurance industry provided over 2.2 million jobs in the US. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• According to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), 26 states (including Ohio) employ more than 25,000 in the insurance industry.

• PCI estimates that the insurance industry accounted for at least 2% of all economic activity in 28 states in 1999, including Ohio.

• According to the Insurance Information Institute (III) state premium taxes incurred by US insurers in 2002 totaled $11.1 billion, accounting for 2.1% of all taxes collected by states. This equates to about $38.66 per US citizen.

• The estimated 2002 payroll of the US insurance industry was $108.4 billion. (PCI)

• There were 3,330 property/casualty insurance companies in the US in 2002. Many were part of larger entities. (III)

Ohio facts

• As of December 2003, Ohio served as headquarters to 129 P/C insurance companies. (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 at year-end 2002 with a total of 171.

• There are 1,753 insurance companies licensed to conduct business in the Buckeye state. 970 write predominantly property/casualty lines, and 575 write life insurance. (ODI, as of 12/03)

• Over 100,000 were employed by Ohio’s insurance industry in 2001. This is about a 9.9% increase over 1997 employment estimates of 91,064. This does not include those who operate single-person businesses serving the insurance industry or self-employed agents.

• Ohio’s insurance employment equates to about 1.9% of the state’s average employment based on year-end 2001 employment figures. (Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, Labor Market Information Division)

• 2001 wages for Ohio insurance industry employees are estimated at nearly $4.57 billion. (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Bureau of Labor Market Information)

• Ohio’s estimated payroll for 2002 is $4.36 billion, which is the ninth highest state in the US. (PCI)

• Ohio’s insurance employment equates to 4.7% of the nation’s 2002 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 2001 estimate of 26,809, or about 3.9% of the county’s employment. This is up slightly from 2000 totals of 26,420. Cuyahoga County is second with 19,547 (compared to 2000 estimates of 19,553), which is 2.5% of the county’s employment. Hamilton is third with 13,983 (compared to 2000 estimates of 13,700), which is 3.7% of Hamilton County’s total employment. Summit and Butler counties round out the top five Ohio counties based on insurance employment for 2001 with 4,594 and 4,198 employed by the insurance industry in these two counties.

• There are about 75,501 licensed resident agents in Ohio and 91,176 nonresident licensed agents. (ODI, as of 12/03)

• In 2003, insurance companies paid over $393 million in insurance taxes and fees to the state treasury. That’s a contribution to the state treasury of over $1 million a day.

A.M. Best reported a loss of 6,100 jobs in the insurance industry in December 2003, after a loss of 2,000 in November. December’s insurance industry jobs level stood at 2,223,000. US employment levels in December 2000 for the insurance industry stood at 2,353,000.