Property & Casualty Insurance Carriers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 2,400 property and casualty insurance carriers in the US underwrite insurance policies that protect policy holders against losses that may occur as a result of property damage or liability. Major types of policies include vehicle property and liability; property and liability; and general liability. Other types of policies sold include health, life, and accident insurance. Large firms may offer reinsurance policies, which limit the amount insurers can lose.
Uncertainty Related to Risk and Losses
Success in the property and casualty insurance business is dependent on a firm’s ability to underwrite and price risk accurately and estimate losses.
Natural Disasters and Other Catastrophes
Damage and destruction due to natural disasters and other catastrophes expose property and casualty insurers to the financial burden of covering massive losses.
Industry size & Structure
The average property and casualty insurance carrier employs about 245 workers and generates $295 million annually.
- The property and casualty insurance industry consists of about 2,400 firms that employ 588,000 workers and generate almost $708 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 50 companies account for about 82% of industry revenue.
- Large firms include State Farm, Berkshire Hathaway, and Liberty Mutual.
Industry Forecast
Property & Casualty Insurance Carriers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 20, 2024 - Firms Have Increased Prices
- Property and casualty insurance carriers moderately increased their prices during 2023, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Industry employment increased slightly during 2023 while wages for nonsupervisory employees increased moderately, according to the BLS.
- Profitability was below US property and casualty insurers' cost of capital in 2023 but strong premium increases, easing claims cost inflation, and higher investment returns began boosting industry results by the second half, according to Swiss Re Institute. The trends are expected to continue in 2024, supporting profitability improvement. Personal lines premiums are increasing faster and easing economic inflation primarily benefits personal lines claims costs while social inflation mostly impacts commercial lines. Swiss Re Institute forecasts industry return on equity at 9.5% in 2024 and 10.0% in 2025, supported by premium growth of 7.0% and 4.5% respectively in these years.
- About 88% of homeowners surveyed in 2023 by the Insurance Information Institute report that they have purchased homeowners’ insurance. About 32% report that they have been impacted by weather events in the last five years. Some 47% of homeowners report having a home inventory and 50% have made improvements to make their homes more resilient during weather events.
- The combination of ongoing climate change and increased commerce along inland waterways could result in greater workers’ compensation exposures, according to Risk & Insurance Magazine. Seamen and other maritime laborers who work daily — often with heavy or dangerous equipment in high-risk environments like tugboats, barges, fishing boats, drilling rigs, and platforms on inland waterways — face a host of workplace hazards. These include diving and dredge accidents, falls, heavy machinery malfunctions, or exposure to toxic chemicals such as asbestos or benzene. Climate change, which is causing extreme rain and flooding and contributing to higher water levels on rivers in some areas while causing drought and low water levels in others, will intensify those risks. Flooding and high-water marks are now happening in more places and more regularly than before, almost without warning, according to Risk & Insurance Magazine. On the other side of the climate change coin, drought is leading to lower water levels and a different set of workers’ compensation exposures. “Historically low water levels in the central US led to extensive delays in transport, barges ran aground and were stuck for weeks, and the transportation supply infrastructure was hobbled,” said Joe Paduda, principal of Health Strategy Associates. “Barges had to be off-loaded while still in transit to enable them to get by shallow areas, increasing potential injuries due to nonstandard loading and unloading operations. “These issues likely led to higher payroll costs and thus higher workers’ comp premiums. It is possible additional injuries occurred,” Paduda said.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.