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Underwriting expense ratio of P/C insurance in the U.S. 2009-2015
Expense ratio
The expense ratio in the insurance industry calculates the profitability. It divides the expenses associated with servicing premiums by the net premiums that are earned by the company. Some examples of expenses include advertising, employee salaries, and sales commission. There are two methods that companies can use to compute their expense ratio, either statutory accounting or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The underwriting expense ratio specifically is the amount of a company’s net premiums that were devoted to the underwriting costs, such as agent and broker commissions, government taxes, salaries, and employee benefits. It demonstrates how efficient a business is to investors.
Property and casualty insurance market
The leading mutual property/casualty insurance company in the United States in 2017 by revenue was State Farm. In 2015, commercial auto insurance had the highest combined ratio of property and casualty insurance in the United States. Additionally, the net premium written by property and casualty insurance in the United States was expected to grow 2.9 percent in 2015.