How P&C industry wages compare to other industries

Hourly wages offered to Canadian property and casualty insurance industry employees are second only to the compensation offered to workers in the country’s utilities and oil, mining and gas sectors, says a new report by Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Canada’s P&C industry employees at carriers and brokerages earned $12 billion in 2022, says InsurEconomy 2024, which measures the value of the industry to the Canadian economy.

“The insurance industry is not only a major source of employment in Canada, it also supports high-quality, high-paying jobs,” the report states.

“In 2022, workers at L&H [life and health] and P&C insurance carriers made an average of $59 per hour, and workers at L&H and P&C insurance brokerages earned an average of $52 per hour.

“These average hourly wages were significantly more per hour than Canada’s average employee at $44 per hour.”

Insurance carriers paid the third-highest wages out of 22 occupational categories examined by Stats Canada. Brokers came in seventh place on the list of employers.

Occupations in the same compensation group as insurance carrier and brokerage employees included holding companies and the information and cultural industries, per Stats Canada.

Across Canada, P&C insurers directly employed 70,000 workers in 2022. Including brokerages, the industry’s direct contribution to the employment market reached almost 145,000 workers.

The 2021 Canadian census revealed that Canada’s finance and insurance industry employed more women (56%) than men, the report states. P&C insurance brokerages employed 60% women and carriers employed 61%, both higher than the average industry in Canada (48%).

The only two industries with more gender diversity were health care and education.

In other news: Alberta auto premiums soar despite 2023 rate cap

Overall value of P&C industry

Apart from its findings on the P&C industry’s wage contributions and diversity, IBC’s report spells out the total overall value of the Canadian P&C industry to the country’s economy. Overall, the P&C industry contributed $38 billion to the country’s nominal GDP in 2022, the report says.

“In 2022, the P&C insurance industry directly added $14 billion to Canada’s GDP through a combination of its risk transferring services and the return on its investment activities,” the report states. “P&C insurance brokerages added more than $7 billion in GDP, which brought the industry’s total direct contribution to Canada’s economy to nearly $22 billion.”

In addition, the P&C industry’s operations indirectly created goods and services in its supply chain, and employees re-spent their earnings, further contributing to other areas of Canada’s economy. These indirect influences on the economy contributed a further $17 billion to Canada’s 2022 GDP.

“Overall, for 2022, the cumulative direct, indirect and induced impact of the P&C insurance industry’s contribution to Canada’s GDP was more than $38 billion,” IBC notes.

 

Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/bob_bosewell