View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2019/03/19/521085.htm

Insurance Industry Has Major Impact on Illinois’ Economy, Study Shows

A new study shows that Illinois insurance companies, agents and brokers continue to fuel the economy with quality jobs, revenue and investments, the study’s sponsors say.

The recently released study was conducted by the Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services at Illinois State University and was sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors Illinois, the Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Illinois State Association of Health Underwriters and the Illinois Insurance Association.

“Home to the nation’s top insurers, the state of Illinois continues to benefit from the financial strength of the insurance industry,” Phil Lackman, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, said in a media release. “It’s clear that Illinois is not only a good place for insurers to do business, but the companies and agents that chose Illinois are also producing results for the state.”

Illinois property and casualty insurers paid nearly $70 billion in claims in 2017 representing a remarkable 21 percent of claims paid in the U.S. Illinois insurers play a unique role in helping to rebuild the nation after catastrophic losses.

“The success story of the Illinois insurance industry includes lessons on how to improve the overall business climate in Illinois,” said Kevin Martin, executive director of the Illinois Insurance Association. “It’s important that the state attract businesses with balanced regulatory environment that allows companies to succeed and consumers to benefit.”

Some of the results highlighted in the report include:

• In 2017, 155,757 people were employed directly by the insurance industry in Illinois. This is more than any of the surrounding states and in fact is more than twice the employment of Missouri, Indiana, or Iowa.
• As of 2017 there were 191 property and casualty insurers, 38 life insurers and 43 health insurers domiciled in Illinois.
• The state of Illinois collected $564,078,379 from the insurance industry for 2018. The two largest categories are privilege taxes and retaliatory taxes. Both of these are related to taxes on insurance premiums.
• Overall in 2017, Illinois insurers were number one in the nation in terms of premiums written for property & casualty ($113 billion) and number one in the nation for overall insurance premiums written P&C, Life, and Health ($183 billion).
• One out of every five dollars of property/and casualty insurance premium in the U.S. is underwritten by Illinois insurance companies.
• The insurance industry in Illinois contributes 4.8 percent of the GDP to the state of Illinois. This is higher than hospital and food services industries, and more than industries such as agricultural commodities.
• Illinois insurers made nearly $463 billion in investments including $93.8 billion in municipal bonds used to finance a wide array of public projects such as schools, roads, bridges, mass transit initiatives and health care facilities.