Iowa Insurance Industry at a Glance

March 8, 2021

Iowa has long been recognized as a national leader in the insurance and financial sector. Even through the turbulence of 2020, Iowans benefited greatly from the financial protections provided by the Iowa insurance industry. From the COVID-19 crisis to the August derecho, Iowans could count on the insurance industry to insure their health, life, business, personal property, and retirement income.

  • Iowa is first in the United States for insurance industry output as a percentage of GDP: 10.09%.
  • Over the past 5 years, GDP in the insurance and financial services sector has grown by 45%.
  • In 2019, insurance companies paid $188 million into state funds through premium taxes and fees. 
  • Industry employers ranging from Fortune 500 to independent insurance agents call Iowa home, with 212 insurers domiciled in the state. Another 1,326 non-domestic carriers have a presence here.
  • Those companies employ 46,398 industry professionals, who power our economy through taxes, home buying, shopping, recreation, and other expenditures. 
  • Iowa’s insurance industry payroll topped $4.9 billion in 2018, making up more than 6% of Iowa’s public and private sector employment. 
  • Our state supports a strong talent pipeline. Iowa’s public colleges and universities offer three of the top 25 actuarial science degree programs in the United States. 
  • Public college and university students in Iowa can also pursue any of 24 bachelor’s degree programs in accounting or 21 in finance. 

Sources: 

Iowa Insurance Division 2021 Regulatory Update

Iowa Economic Development Authority

State of Iowa

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Iowa Workforce Development