State Specialist P/C Carriers Identified for 2018

The Demotech Company Classification System categorizes insurers into one of 11 categories created by Demotech based on the analysis of data reported by companies to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The 11 categories are Nationals, Near Nationals, Super Regionals, Regionals, State Specialists, Coverage Specialists, Strategic Subsidiaries, Risk Retention Groups, Surplus Lines Carriers, Reinsurers, and companies with less than $1 million in direct written premium.

To be categorized as a State Specialist, a carrier must be an individual, active company reporting data to the NAIC using the property/casualty annual statement format at year-end 2017. The company must report at least $1 million in direct written premium at Dec. 31, 2017, with 90 percent or more written in one state. Further, it cannot be a surplus lines company, risk retention group or reinsurance company.

In total, 724 companies were categorized as State Specialists for 2018. This is 28.3 percent of the 2,559 companies that were classified based on Dec. 31, 2017, data. This group wrote nearly $90.7 billion of direct written premium, which was 14.3 percent of the industry’s direct written premium in 2017.

Examining the geographic distribution of the 2018 State Specialists reveals that just over half of them specialize in one of six states. Texas had the most State Specialists with 90. Florida was next with 74; New York had 68. California had 51, New Jersey 49 and Pennsylvania 37. These 369 companies accounted for more than $61.5 billion of direct premium written, or nearly 68 percent of the State Specialists’ total. State Specialists’ largest lines of business by 2017 direct written premium were private passenger auto (51.6 percent), homeowners multiple peril (21.0 percent), and workers’ compensation (10.2 percent).

Space limitations precluded an enumeration of each of the 724 State Specialists. The accompanying list includes the 262 State Specialists that were not affiliated with a group as of year-end 2017. A full list of State Specialists is available from Barry Koestler at bkoestler@demotech.com.

State Specialists are often an independent agent’s most reliable and consistent market. These companies are focused on a specific geographic area and consistently strive to understand and serve it.