California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
California has a $1.7 trillion economy that ranks it as a global financial power and the
insurance industry aids in this effort, says a new industry report. A new report found
that in 2006, the insurance industry contributed $28.2 billion to California's gross state
product and accounted for nearly 300,000 jobs in the state.

The report, written by the Insurance Information Institute, found that:

-- Property and casualty insurers provide approximately 300,000 jobs in California,
   accounting for $21.4 billion in compensation.
-- In 2007, property and casualty insurance claims payments totaled $30.7 billion
   in California.
-- California collected $2.2 billion in premium taxes in 2007, nearly 15 percent of the
   national total.
-- Nationally, the insurance industry contributed $281 billion to the $13.1 trillion gross
   domestic product in 2006.

"From auto insurance to homeowner insurance to business insurance, insurers provide
 millions of Californians with a blanket of security, underwriting risks and contributing to
 the state's economic engine," the report says.

California is home to several Fortune 500 firms in the insurance industry such as Mercury
Insurance, 21st Century Insurance, Blue Cross of California, Kaiser Permanente, Health Net
and Pacific Life.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.

To view a copy of this report, visit: http://www.iinc.org/attachments/CaliforniaFactBook2009.pdf.
Source: Insurance Information Network of California