NAIC Releases 2008 Insurance Department Resources Report

Contains Key Statistics on Resources and Regulatory Activities

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2009) — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today released the 22nd edition of its Insurance Department Resources Report (IDRR) to help state insurance departments assess their resources in comparison to other states. The IDRR details how the state insurance departments effectively manage their available resources in order to meet the challenge of regulating an increasingly complex and competitive industry.
Developed primarily through an extensive survey of the NAIC member states, the IDRR is organized into five sections: Staffing; Budget and Funding; Examination and Oversight; Insurance Producers; and Consumer Services and Antifraud.

Information on the number of departmental staff and their functions, annual budgets, revenue flows, premium volume, the number of insurers and insurance producers and the number of consumer complaints and inquires for each state can be found in the report.

An overview of the report findings include:

• Premiums increased by 3.5 percent to $1.6 trillion from 2007 to 2008.
• In 2008, the five states with the most premiums written in all lines were California, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania. These five states accounted for 40.4 percent of all insurance premiums in the U.S.
• There were 7,948 domestic U.S. insurers in 2008.
• State insurance departments received more than 337,000 official complaints and 2.2 million inquiries.

The IDRR is also a helpful reference for state legislators, federal regulators and other public policymakers. 

A hard copy of the complete 2008 Insurance Department Resources Report can be ordered from the NAIC Store (http://www.naic.org/store_home.htm). An electronic version can be purchased and downloaded in PDF file format from NAIC Account Manager (http://www.naic.org/account_manager.htm).

About the NAIC

Formed in 1871, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. The NAIC has three offices: Executive Office, Washington, D.C.; Central Office, Kansas City, Mo.; and Securities Valuation Office, New York City. The NAIC serves the needs of consumers and the industry, with an overriding objective of supporting state insurance regulators as they protect consumers and maintain the financial stability of the insurance marketplace. For more information, visit www.naic.org.