Insurance Agencies & Brokerages NAICS 524210

Jul 22, 2025 - Insurance Claims Adjusters Jump in Stormy 2025

• Employment for insurance claims adjusters jumped 5.3% year over year in April 2005 and 1.2% since the beginning of a year with many natural disasters striking before hurricane season has begun. According to insurer Global Re’s latest quarterly report, the US had 15 billion-dollar weather disasters so far in 2025 (out of 19 worldwide). Global Re estimates about 60% of the damages from those events to be insured, translating to $81 billion in total damage. The LA wildfire in early January is the eighth most expensive natural disaster in history at $65 billion. California residents say insurance claims from the wildfires have been slow and insufficient, particularly from State Farm, which has come under criticism for its response. Additional storms including Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and deadly floods in central Texas (and any still to come) is expected to keep demand for claims adjusters high throughout 2025.
• Major US health insurers have announced they will make it faster and easier to obtain healthcare through an overhaul of the prior authorization process. Prior authorizations - requiring medical professionals to get prior approval before treating patients - has long been a contentious practice, highlighted last year by the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Williams on a New York City street. The practice frustrates doctors and patients as it is time consuming (the American Medical Association says physicians average 12 hours a week seeking insurance approvals) and can deny patients timely care by putting medical decisions in the hands of insurance administrators rather than doctors. Insurers like United and Kaiser Permanente plan to reduce wait times by standardizing systems for making requests, reducing the number of procedures subjected to prior authorizations, and aiming for real-time request responses. Trade association Health Insurance Plans says improving the system will affect 250 million Americans.

• Life insurance carrier industry employment stayed relatively flat throughout 2024 and into early 2025, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but hiring trends point to overall staff growth for the full year. According to a Q1 study by insurance staffer The Jacobson Group and consultancy Aon, 60% of life and health insurance companies plan to add staff this year, while only 12% of insurance companies overall plan to cut workers (mostly from consolidation and automation). The study also found 73% of life and health companies expect to grow revenue in 2025. An optimistic financial outlook along with technological advancements open up opportunities for hiring for more employees in AI, cybersecurity, and data analytics. Life insurance agents are on average older workers, according to trade association LIMRA, and the industry expects roughly 400K retirements by the end of 2026 in a generational transfer of the field.
• Revenue for the insurance agency and brokerage industry surged 14.4% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is a familiar tune in the industry with quarterly revenue increasing each year since the lows of the pandemic in mid-2020. Profits, however, have been harder to come by. Increased claim losses from natural disasters brought on by climate change - and the propensity of consumers to keep building in disaster-prone areas - have hammered insurance companies across the industry. According to reinsurer Swiss Re, losses related to storms in the US have increased 8% each year for more than a decade. Policyholders who live in areas with increased threats of hurricanes, thunderstorms, or wildfires face continued rising premiums, possible policy cancellations, and stricter policy conditions.