The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2000 census estimated the population of the State of Tennessee at 5.6 million. Approximately 76 percent of the adult residents had graduated from high school and about 20 percent had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. The capital, Nashville, has a population of 569,891.
From an employment perspective, the primary industries in Tennessee are in the chart below:
From a property/casualty insurance perspective, Tennessee accounted for $6.9 million of direct written premium. Country-wide as of Sept. 30, 2003 the aggregate is $313,781,216,000 of P/C insurance written. Tennessee calendar-year 2002 loss ratio of 67.3 percent was modestly above the countrywide year to date Sept. 30, 2003 loss ratio of 62.3 percent. Personal lines loss ratios, that is, homeowners and private passenger automobile, presented some op-portunity for profit, if the carriers were low cost providers. The medical malpractice loss ratio for 2002 was 109.3 percent, well above the countrywide average at Sept. 30, 2003.
Farmowner insurance premiums for calendar year 2002 were $76,516,000. In a state with 36,051 farming, fishing and forestry employees, that was more than I expected.
The Tennessee economy is diverse. The employed civilian population comprises nearly one-half of Tennessee’s population. It is distributed as follows:
Given the anticipated growth in the number of jobs located in Tennessee and the diversification of the Tennessee economy, I would expect the growth rate of Tennessee’s P/C marketplace, as measured by direct premium written, to exceed the growth rate experienced on a countrywide basis.
Joseph L. Petrelli is president and founder of Demotech, Inc. Demotech, Inc. is a Columbus, Ohio-based financial analysis and actuarial services firm. Petrelli is a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society, American Academy of Actuaries and the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice. Additional information can
be found at www.demotech.com.
Topics Property Casualty Tennessee
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