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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, 2023 (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, 2014-2023

($000)

Year Property/casualty (1) Life/annuity (2) Total
2014 $502,578,473 $644,479,853 $1,147,058,326
2015 520,047,073 635,549,216 1,155,596,289
2016 533,744,458 597,634,158 1,131,378,616
2017 558,157,401 594,906,580 1,153,063,981
2018 617,931,313 599,149,141 1,217,080,454
2019 639,336,652 684,834,322 1,324,170,974
2020 655,589,295 629,241,674 1,284,830,969
2021 715,937,546 641,025,386 1,356,962,932
2022 776,693,264 709,057,636 1,485,750,900
2023 857,326,020 683,536,790 1,540,862,810
Percent change      
2014-2023 70.6% 6.1% 34.3%
2022-2023 10.4 -3.6 3.7

(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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