NU Online News Service

Premiums written in the United States increased to $1.4 trillionin 2006, with five states accounting for 37 percent of allinsurance premiums, according to a survey by the NationalAssociation of Insurance Commissioners.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based NAIC last week released its annual"Insurance Department Resources Report," which the association saidaims to help insurance departments manage their individualresources by comparing themselves to other states.

On a year-to-year basis, the report found premiums for all linesof business, life and property-casualty combined, increased by 9percent to $1.4 trillion from 2005 to 2006.

The five states with the most premiums written in all lines ofbusiness were New York, California, Florida, Texas andPennsylvania, accounting for 36.8 percent of all insurance premiumsin the United States.

The report also says there were 7,660 domestic U.S. insurers in2006.

State insurance departments received more than 394,000 officialcomplaints and 2.6 million inquiries.

The report, developed primarily through an extensive survey ofNAIC members, is organized into five sections: staffing; budget andfunding; examination and oversight; insurance producers; andconsumer services and antifraud.

A copy of the report can be ordered throughwww.naic.org/store_home.htm.

The NAIC also announced that Kathy Horsley of the KentuckyOffice of Insurance was awarded the association's firstprofessional designation--the Associate Professional of InsuranceRegulation.

Launched in October 2006, the NAIC designation program providesa structured professional development path for regulators at alllevels of experience.

There are three designation levels that regulators can worktoward, depending on depth of experience:

o The Associate Professional in Insurance Regulation.

o The Professional in Insurance Regulation.

o The Senior Professional in Insurance Regulation.