Insurance Handbook

Careers And Employment

The insurance industry is a major U.S. employer, providing some 2.9 million jobs that encompass a wide variety of careers, from human resource administrators to public relations managers to financial analysts. Some jobs, such as claims adjusters, actuaries and insurance underwriters, are unique to the insurance industry. For information about the many career opportunities in the insurance industry consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Career Guide to Industries, posted on the Web at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/.

Employment In Insurance, 2014-2023

(Annual averages, 000)

  Insurance carriers Insurance agencies, brokerages and related services  
  Direct insurers (1)            
Year Life and
health (2)		 Property/
casualty		 Reinsurers Total Insurance
agencies
and brokers		 Other
insurance-
related
activities (3)		 Total Total
industry
2014 829.0 594.7 25.1 1,448.7 720.0 297.1 1,017.1 2,465.8
2015 829.8 611.6 25.1 1,466.5 762.8 309.1 1,071.8 2,538.3
2016 818.9 643.5 25.3 1,487.7 783.5 321.5 1,105.0 2,592.7
2017 850.4 639.7 26.6 1,516.7 809.6 333.3 1,142.9 2,659.6
2018 882.8 629.5 28.6 1,540.9 825.6 346.2 1,171.8 2,712.7
2019 931.2 650.3 28.6 1,610.1 842.8 349.5 1,192.2 2,802.3
2020 945.6 653.9 27.6 1,627.1 856.5 352.3 1,208.8 2,835.9
2021 908.7 646.9 28.1 1,583.7 886.6 354.5 1,241.2 2,824.9
2022 900.9 684.9 30.2 1,616.0 934.8 367.2 1,302.0 2,918.0
2023 (4) 912.3 680.5 30.9 1,623.8 963.0 388.6 1,351.6 2,975.3

(1) Establishments primarily engaged in initially underwriting insurance policies.
(2) Includes establishments engaged in underwriting annuities, life insurance and health and medical insurance policies.
(3) Includes claims adjusters, third-party administrators of insurance funds and other service personnel such as advisory and insurance ratemaking services.
(4) Preliminary.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Net Premiums Written, Property/Casualty And Life/Annuities

There are three main insurance sectors: property/casualty (P/C), mainly auto, home and commercial insurance; life/annuity, mainly life insurance and annuity products; and private health insurance, written by insurers whose main business is health insurance. Life/annuity and P/C insurers can also write health coverage.

Property/Casualty And Life/Annuity Insurance Premiums, 2022 (1)

(US$ billions)

(1) Property/casualty: net premiums written after reinsurance transactions, excludes state funds; life/annuity: premiums, annuity considerations (fees for annuity contracts) and deposit-type funds. Both sectors include accident and health insurance.

Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.

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Net Premiums Written, Property/Casualty And Life/Annuity Insurance, 2013-2022

($000)

Year Property/casualty (1) Life/annuity (2) Total
2013 $481,517,971 $560,069,272 $1,041,587,243
2014 502,842,475 644,479,853 1,147,322,328
2015 520,149,847 635,549,216 1,155,699,063
2016 533,761,961 597,634,158 1,131,396,119
2017 558,261,241 594,906,580 1,153,167,821
2018 618,129,596 599,149,141 1,217,278,737
2019 639,687,416 677,311,929 1,316,999,345
2020 655,562,181 621,916,180 1,277,478,361
2021 715,452,000 635,733,003 1,351,185,003
2022 775,106,443 698,528,536 1,473,634,979
Percent change      
2013-2022 61.0% 24.7% 41.5%
2021-2022 8.3 9.9 9.1

(1) Net premiums written before reinsurance transactions, excludes state funds, includes accident and health insurance.
(2) Includes premiums, annuity considerations (fees for annuity contracts), deposit-type funds and accident and health insurance.

Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.

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Taxes

The insurance industry is a major source of tax revenue on the state and federal level. In 2019 property/casualty (P/C) and life insurers' incurred federal and foreign taxes were about $18 billion dollars. P/C and life/annuity insurance companies also paid $24.7 billion in premium taxes in 2020, or $75 for every person living in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Insurance Industry's Federal And Foreign Income Taxes Incurred, 2015-2019

($000)

Year Property/casualty Life Total
2015 $10,188,539 $10,566,280 $20,754,818
2016 7,314,767 16,282,427 23,597,195
2017 -784,873 12,360,768 11,575,895
2018 7,245,077 3,397,276 10,642,353
2019 8,514,508 9,435,327 17,949,835

Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.

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