Fight Fallacies With Facts and Figures

Despite this, the public often expresses suspicion about our data, perhaps driven by a lack of understanding on how our business operates.

While critics demean the industry for making profits in 2006/2007, they discount the losses of 2004/2005, as if each year is a clean slate and unrelated to historic profits and losses. Moreover, they ignore the critical support that insurance companies provide the economy of the state.

What is needed as a rebuttle is a strategic perspective, a way to explain what insurers do for their policyholders and for the Florida economy on an ongoing basis. A newly updated fact book complied by the Insurance Information Institute provides just that. "A Firm Foundation: How the Insurance Industry Supports the Florida Economy," is a 52-page comprehensive resource full of charts, figures, and facts. It clearly describes our industry's impact on Florida's economy, lists the state's top writers of major lines, and shows how Florida compares to other states in various insurance-related activities. The book is free and available for download at www.InsuringFlorida.org; click on the Research tab.

While we all know that insurers' contributions extend beyond collecting premiums and settling claims, the general public may not. The industry has always added fuel to the economic engine, and we were "green" before green was cool. In addition to serving people in their time of need through trained and licensed professionals, we pay taxes, own municipal bonds, and have a stake in the financial future of Florida.

Here are some revealing statistics culled from the resource book, highlighting how the insurance industry benefits Florida's economy:

The insurance industry provided 180,231 jobs in Florida in 2007 (latest figures available), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That accounts for about $10 billion in annual compensation.

We contributed about $14.6 billion to the Florida gross state product (GSP) in 2007, accounting for 2.4 percent of the GSP. The leisure and hospitality industries account for 5.7 percent of the GSP, to put it in context.

Insurance companies paid $714.4 million in taxes in 2008.

Premiums we collect are invested in state and local municipal bonds, helping to build roads, schools, and other public projects. Property/casualty insurers held over $14.5 billion in Florida municipal bonds in 2005 (latest data available), with the largest share (39 percent) going to education projects. Capital is also used for research, expansions, and other ventures through investments in corporate equities and bonds.

Direct premiums written by property/casualty insurance companies in Florida totaled $35.4 billion in 2008; claim payments were at $19.1 billion. Life/health premiums collected totaled $43.3 billion, including life insurance, annuities, accident and health insurance, deposit type funds, and others. Life insurance claims and benefit payouts were almost $27.7 billion.

As an industry, we have been in "duck-and-cover" mode for quite a while, and there is no better time than a new year to stick our collective necks out there and explain what we do and how we contribute. We have built — and rebuilt — Florida, and while we are (sometimes painfully) aware of the challenges of offering insurance in the country's most disaster-prone state, we remain committed to its future.