Insurance Agencies & Brokerages NAICS 524210

Aug 20, 2025 - Insurance Agencies Expect to Grow Revenue But Not Employees

• Employment at insurance agencies and brokerages stayed relatively flat so far this year, growing only 2% year over year in June 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A new study from The Jacobson Group and Aon shows that 81% of insurance companies expect to grow revenue this year, but only 53% plan to hire more staff during the same period. In addition, 33% of companies said they would maintain the same staff levels this year, while 14% plan to actually decrease staff. Technology and AI integration is displacing some employees by taking over the heavy lifting of tasks such as claims processing and risk analysis. The industry has also relied heavily on raising premium rates for growth, rather than adding new policy holders, particularly in the property and casualty segment. Those factors also contribute to stagnant employment growth when policy numbers remain flat.
• The homeowners insurance market will have a difficult 2025, with S&P Global Market Intelligence forecasting losses for the seventh time in nine years. Homeowners insurance lines are projected to finish the year with a 106.1% combined ratio (an industry metric of how many dollars an insurer spends on claims versus what they take in in premiums). California wildfires in January are incurring significant industry losses, so much so that it is offsetting underwriting gains in private auto insurance (forecast at a 95.1% combined ratio). State Farm has incurred the majority of losses from the wildfires, and its $6.57 billion bill from California could account for as much as a four point gain in the combined ratio for the entire industry. State Farm has already raised rates to compensate, even as it is slow to process claims, sparking a backlash among its customers and insurance regulators.

• 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.
• 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.