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About Companies or Entities

The Indiana Department of Insurance works to maintain good relationships with all of the companies and entities affiliated with the insurance industry.  If each organization focuses on the betterment of the marketplace, with consumer satisfaction as the ultimate goal, everyone benefits.  There are multiple advantages to conducting insurance related business in Indiana as outlined below:

Reasons to Base Operations in Indiana

Friendly insurance tax environment

As of January 2008, the Indiana premium tax rate is 1.3 percent, which minimizes a domestic's retaliatory tax exposure when doing business in other states. Domestic insurers may opt to pay the premium tax or the corporate gross income tax.

Fair and reasonable civil justice system

The tort reform act of 1995 emphasizes personal responsibility. Key elements include applying comparative fault, rather than strict liability to products liability cases dealing with defective design or failure to warn, restricting the awarding of punitive damages and allowing any person who caused or contributed to an injury to be named as a non-party.

Access to trained insurance force

There are 60,240 company employees and agents working in Indiana. A number of state universities maintain significant insurance programs.

Positive regulatory climate

Indiana has consistently been rated one of the top states for commercial lines by the Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America (PCIAA).

Stable judiciary

The Indiana Supreme Court has been more constructionist in its holdings than most states. It has supported the industry in rulings impacting punitive damages, workers' compensation exclusive remedy and in-house counsel.

Marketing

  • In 2008, the insurance premium tax reached a five-year phase-down rate of 1.3 percent.
  • Indiana has one of the most favorable demutualization laws in the country. It provides the cleanest process for converting mutual companies into stock companies and avoids depleting the converting company's cash and surplus.
  • Indiana State University is recognized by Business Insurance Magazine as one of the three schools nationally to offer undergraduate courses that expose students to all aspects of property/casualty and life/health insurance, as well as risk management techniques and concepts.
  • Insurance training is being introduced at the high school level in cooperation with InVEST to educate teenagers about insurance, to encourage their interest in considering insurance as an occupation and to generate additional interest in the Indiana State and Ball State insurance major programs.

National Rankings

Indiana was recently ranked the best commercial lines insurance market in the nation.

Indiana ranks in the top 15 states for lowest homeowner insurance premiums.

Indiana ranks in the top 20 states for lowest automobile insurance premiums.

*Sources: Insurance Information Institute; National Association of Independent Insurers

Employment

The insurance industry is one of Indiana's largest employers. Based on 2007 revenue, three of Indiana's 20 largest private companies are insurance companies.

INDIANA EMPLOYEES

Farm Employment  71,229

Insurance  57,762

Building Construction  58,530

Primary Metal Manufacturing  45,984

Food Manufacturing  33,649

* Source: Center for Rural Development at Purdue University, 2008 Study

Wages

Indiana insurance carriers pay $3.3 billion in direct income to Hoosiers and $2.4 billion in indirect or induced income. The average wage paid to Hoosiers by carriers is 153% of the Indiana average wage for all industries.

EMPLOYEE AVERAGE SALARY

Insurance Carriers $56,448

Health Care & Social Assistance $41,835

Construction $45,609

Manufacturing $51,091

* Source: Center for Rural Development at Purdue University, 2008 Study

Economics

Indiana's insurance industry has a huge impact on the state's economic health. Consider the following:

  • Insurance premium tax receipts and retaliatory fees totaled more than $191.7 million in 2008.
  • Indiana's insurance carrier employees and agents contributed nearly $5.5 billion to the Gross State Product in 2007.
  • According to the Indiana Department of Insurance, there are 181 insurance companies and farm mutual’s domiciled in Indiana.
  • Indiana has approximately 1,965 insurers licensed in the state.
  • The insurance industry contribution to the Gross State Product ($5.69 billion) was about 2.4% of the state's GSP in 2007 and was larger than agriculture and mining combined.

*Sources: The Center for Rural Development, Purdue University, 2008 Study; Indiana Department of Insurance; Bureau of Economic Analysis

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