Insurers Boost Calif. Economy By $30.1 Billion

California has a $1.85 trillion economy that ranks it as a global financial power, thanks in part to a multi-billion dollar boost from the property/casualty insurance industry, according to a new report.

In 2007, insurers contributed $30.1 billion to California’s gross state product, accounting for about 2 percent of the state’s GSP. This compares to the $28.2 billion insurers contributed to the state’s economy in 2006, according to data from last year’s report.

The California insurance report, written by the Insurance Information Institute and available on the Insurance Information Network of California Web site, found that:

• California employs more insurance professionals than any other state. Property and casualty insurers provided 297,431 California jobs in 2008, or more than 10 percent of the nation’s insurance workforce. California insurance jobs accounted for $20.7 billion in compensation. In the previous year’s report of 2007 data, P/C insurers provided approximately 300,000 jobs in the state, accounting for $21.4 billion in compensation.
• In 2009, property and casualty insurance claims payments totaled $28.7 billion in California, while life insurance claims and benefits payouts in California totaled almost $41.8 billion. P/C claims payments totaled $30.7 in 2007.
• California collected $2.05 billion in premium taxes from insurers in 2009, nearly double that of the next leading state. In 2007, California collected $2.2 billion in premium taxes, nearly 15 percent of the national total.
• Californians insure substantially more cars – roughly 24 million in all – than drivers in any other state.

“From auto insurance to homeowner insurance to business insurance, insurers provide millions of Californians with a blanket of security underwriting risks and contributing to the state’s economic engine,” said IINC Executive Director Candysse Miller.

Topics California Carriers Property Casualty