Insurance in the US

nsurance industry is one of the major industries in the United States of America. It is regarded as the one of the best insurance industries of the world because of the wide range and superb service quality.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Insurance in US is subjected to the regulations of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which is responsible for looking after the functioning of the insurance industry of the USA. It was established in the year 1871.

Insurance Types in US
There are two broad categories of the products and services that are provided in the USA – life insurance and non-life insurance. The non-life insurance industry in the USA comprises of the following types of insurances:

* Disability Insurance
* Property and Casualty Insurance
* Expatriate Insurance
* Renter Insurance
* General Liability Insurance
* Travel Insurance
* Health Insurance
* Worker's Compensation
* Pet Insurance
* Automobile Insurance
* Home Insurance
* Software System Insurance in USA
* Global Student Insurance

USA Insurance Statistics
According to the available statistics of 2006, the premiums paid to the USA insurance industry were nearly 1,170,101 million US dollars. As far as the premiums of life insurance are concerned, the figure stands at almost US$ 533,649 million in 2006. Nearly US$ 636,452 million was paid as premium to the providers of non-life insurance policies, which includes the annuities providers as well. As per the data of 2006 there are 4500 companies in the US insurance market that provide insurance products and services.

USA Insurance in 2007
In 2007, the US insurance industry has increased its business and has earned good profits. Among the different segments of the US insurance industry, the growth of the health and the medical insurance sectors is noticeable. The rising costs of health care are the prime reason for the growth. The cost of healthcare facilities is rising at a rate of more than 6% every year and to meet the increasing expenses, people have been availing the insurance policies. On the other hand the market for annuities and long term insurance plans are also doing well.

The demand for auto and liability insurances is increasing in the United States of America. The growing population of the country has increased the demand for home insurance policies in the US as well.

Role of Internet in Growth of US Insurance Industry
The introduction of Internet has stimulated the growth of the US insurance industry as it is easier now to get access to various insurance services providers through their official websites and gather important information regarding the terms and conditions of their services.

Performance of US Insurance Companies
Following are some of the data about the performance of the US insurance companies in 2006:

Name Category of the Company Premiums (Direct Written) in US$ million
State Farm Non-Life Insurance 48,179.2
Metropolitan Life & Affiliated Life Insurance 42,441.6
Berkshire Hathaway Non-Life Insurance 15,058.9
AIG Life Life Insurance 40,938.5
AIG Non-Life Insurance 31,604.5
Prudential of America Life Insurance 33,540.8
Liberty Mutual Non-Life Insurance 17,808.1
United Health Life Insurance 31,721.7
Farmers Non-Life Insurance 14,949.7
Hartford Life

Life Insurance 25,382.4
Allstate Non-Life Insurance 27,879.4