Property/casualty insurance covers damage to or loss of policyholders' property and legal liability for damages caused to other people or their property. Property/casualty insurance is more commonly known as homeowners insurance, auto insurance and commercial insurance. Life and health insurance is considered a separate segment of the insurance industry.
In 2007-2008 fiscal year, North Carolina insurance companies, including property/casualty and life/health, paid approximately $534,462,148 in state taxes based on the amount of premium they write in the state. That money is in addition to the payments for licenses and fees, income and property taxes, sales and use taxes, unemployment compensation taxes and franchise taxes.
According to the North Carolina Rate Bureau, North Carolina has 694 companies that are licensed to write property/casualty insurance coverage in the state, meaning that they write policies for automobile, homeowners or workers’ compensation coverage.
Nationally, there are 7,948 insurers, with 88 of those companies domiciled in North Carolina, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2008). A company that is "domiciled" in North Carolina had its primary license issued in this state.
Up until 2009, employment in all sectors of the insuranceindustry rose. Due in large partto the recession, the past few months have seen a slight decrease in thoseemployed by the industry.