Study Reports Commercial Lines Dominate at Top 10 Banks in Insurance

Commercial property and casualty is the dominant insurance line – by far – among the nation’s leading banks in insurance, according to the recently published “Who’s Who in Bank Insurance,” distributed this week by the Bank Insurance & Securities Association. The 154-page study looks at the top 104 banks and thrifts in insurance brokerage.

Indeed, eight of the top 10-ranked institutions – Wells Fargo, BB&T, Wachovia, Bank of America, Greater Bay Bancorp, Regions Financial, UnionBanCal Corp., and Commerce Bancorp – achieved their position largely through the acquisition of commercial P/C agencies. The remaining two on the list, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, acquired insurance underwriters: Travelers Group (since sold) in the case of Citigroup, and Zurich Life (through its Bank One merger) in the case of JPMorgan.

Published by the Bank Insurance Market Research Group (Mamaroneck, N.Y.), the study aims to tell “The story behind the numbers of the top 100 banks in insurance.” It is distributed at no cost to members of the Bank Insurance & Securities Association. For non-members, the charge is $195.

For more on “Who’s Who in Bank Insurance” visit the BISA Web site at http://bisanet.org/resources/who.html.