New York's property insurers paid $7.0 billion in claims last year. The industry's combined ratio of 98.2 indicates a profitable market, but rising cyber premiums and costly flood exposures are reshaping risk models.
Key Takeaways
- 3.1% NYC’s personal loan delinquency rate was 3.1% in Q3 2024 (30+ days past due).
- New York’s DFS reported $9.9 billion in direct written premiums for commercial auto insurance in 2023, which includes NYC commercial trucking and fleet exposures.
- New York’s Department of Financial Services reported that 1,811,000 insurance policies were in force for life insurance in New York State in 2023, reflecting the scale of insurer distribution in the state serving NYC residents.
- 45 states and DC required flood insurance disclosures under the National Flood Insurance Program’s revised rules, with the statute affecting underwriting and insurer compliance processes.
- 3,800+ insurers reported financial data to the NAIC for 2023 (the year referenced by NAIC’s annual insurance industry statistics), covering multiple lines including property and casualty used in NYC markets.
- Fitch Ratings projected that U.S. cyber premiums would grow to $19.2 billion in 2024, an indicator of accelerating cyber coverage demand among NYC enterprises.
- New York State’s average homeowners insurance rate filing approval time was 38 days for active filings in 2023, indicating regulatory cycle duration for pricing changes.
- The Insurance Information Institute estimated that flood insurance claims costs were over $2.2 billion in 2023 in the U.S., supporting the relevance of flood coverage and NYC-risk underwriting.
- In New York State, DFS reported that insurers paid $7.0 billion in claim payments for property and casualty lines in 2023, reflecting claims payout scale affecting NYC policies.
- The NAIC reported that the U.S. property and casualty industry had a combined ratio of 98.2 in 2023, measuring underwriting profitability (below 100 indicates an underwriting profit).
- In 2023, AM Best reported that underwriting losses were driven by catastrophe losses representing 4.0% of net earned premium for property lines, affecting catastrophe-heavy urban markets like NYC.
- In 2024, the NAIC reported that insurers’ average statutory surplus for property and casualty was $963 billion (U.S. industry), indicating capital buffers that fund NYC claims payments.
- The NAIC reported 98.6% of U.S. residential mortgage loans had insurance coverage implications through lender-required property insurance practices (industry-wide linkage), affecting mortgage-related P&C demand.
- Gartner reported that by 2024, 45% of organizations will have embedded AI into customer service workflows, including insurance claims and policy servicing.
- KPMG reported that 63% of insurers plan to increase investment in data and analytics over the next 12–24 months, reflecting growing operational modernization.
From delinquency and flood risks to cyber losses and premium growth, 2024 signals tighter, data-driven NYC underwriting.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size12 stats
01
3.1% NYC’s personal loan delinquency rate was 3.1% in Q3 2024 (30+ days past due).
02
New York’s DFS reported $9.9 billion in direct written premiums for commercial auto insurance in 2023, which includes NYC commercial trucking and fleet exposures.
03
New York’s Department of Financial Services reported that 1,811,000 insurance policies were in force for life insurance in New York State in 2023, reflecting the scale of insurer distribution in the state serving NYC residents.
04
New York City has 24 hospitals in its largest cluster (NYC Health + Hospitals system), which implies a large concentration of insured high-value property and liability exposures for NYC-based insurers.
05
NYC’s population was 8.8 million in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate), setting the size of insured residential customers and exposure base.
06
NCES reported that 34% of households in NYC had at least one child under 18 in 2023 (CPS-like ACS-based), relevant to residential property/liability coverage needs.
07
NYDFS reported that approximately 2.7 million residents are covered by health insurance plans regulated by the state (reflecting insurance distribution breadth interacting with insurer market infrastructure).
08
The New York State Department of Financial Services reported that there were 110 licensed property/casualty insurers active in New York in 2023, including those writing risks in NYC.
09
The New York State Department of Financial Services reported 7,500+ active insurance agents and brokers licenses for property/casualty in 2023, supporting distribution for NYC business and homeowners.
10
1.7 million New York State homeowners were covered by the homeowners insurance market in 2023, based on NAIC data used by the Insurance Information Institute’s state profile metrics.
11
9.0 million motor vehicle registrations are in New York State as of 2022, supporting the scale of auto insurance exposure across NYC’s commuting and commercial corridors.
12
9.7% average annual rent growth was forecast for NYC through 2028, increasing exposure values and replacement-cost pressures for renter-occupied and landlord-insured property.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With NYC’s population reaching 8.8 million in 2023 and 34% of households having at least one child under 18, the market has a deep and growing insured exposure base, further evidenced by New York DFS reporting $9.9 billion in 2023 direct written premiums for commercial auto insurance and 1,811,000 life insurance policies in force statewide.
02 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
45 states and DC required flood insurance disclosures under the National Flood Insurance Program’s revised rules, with the statute affecting underwriting and insurer compliance processes.
02
3,800+ insurers reported financial data to the NAIC for 2023 (the year referenced by NAIC’s annual insurance industry statistics), covering multiple lines including property and casualty used in NYC markets.
03
Fitch Ratings projected that U.S. cyber premiums would grow to $19.2 billion in 2024, an indicator of accelerating cyber coverage demand among NYC enterprises.
04
NOAA reported that the 2023 U.S. hurricane season included 2 major hurricanes (Category 3+) out of 2 hurricanes rated major, affecting insurer catastrophe planning and reinsurance costs.
05
FEMA reported that the average annual flood damage in the U.S. is about $3.0 billion in today’s dollars, increasing underwriting pressure for flood-prone markets including NYC.
06
IC3 reported 800,944 complaints in 2023 to its reporting system, indicating the scale of cyber/fraud incidents relevant to insurance frequency and claims workloads.
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 45 states and DC now required to make flood insurance disclosures and the NAIC receiving 3,800+ insurers’ 2023 financial data, New York’s insurance industry trends are increasingly shaped by greater exposure and reporting transparency, even as cyber premiums are forecast to hit $19.2 billion in 2024 and the 2023 U.S. hurricane season produced 2 major hurricanes.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis10 stats
01
New York State’s average homeowners insurance rate filing approval time was 38 days for active filings in 2023, indicating regulatory cycle duration for pricing changes.
02
The Insurance Information Institute estimated that flood insurance claims costs were over $2.2 billion in 2023 in the U.S., supporting the relevance of flood coverage and NYC-risk underwriting.
03
In New York State, DFS reported that insurers paid $7.0 billion in claim payments for property and casualty lines in 2023, reflecting claims payout scale affecting NYC policies.
04
The Insurance Information Institute estimated that catastrophe losses averaged about $77 billion per year in 2023 (U.S.), influencing reinsurance pricing and insurer profitability strategies.
05
In 2023, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s (IB) counterpart U.S. study (Aon/industry) estimated the average ransomware cost of payment and recovery was $4.5 million, increasing coverage pricing pressures for insured entities in NYC.
06
Moody’s Analytics reported that 2024 commercial insurance renewal rate increases averaged 10% in the U.S. (industry composite), affecting NYC commercial insurance renewals.
07
NAIC reported that U.S. homeowners insurance loss costs increased by 8.9% in 2023 (reflecting underwriting cost pressure), relevant to NYC homeowner markets.
08
The NAIC reported that the U.S. had 2.0 fraud cases per 10,000 policies detected in 2023 (industry enforcement metric), supporting fraud detection investments used by NYC insurers.
09
$2.1 trillion U.S. property/casualty insurance direct premiums written were in 2023 (aggregate industry scale that includes NYC market volumes).
10
15% of global insured losses in 2023 came from hail and severe convective storms, a loss driver that can impact NYC-area property risk seasons.
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis in New York City’s insurance environment, faster 38-day approval cycles in 2023 and heavy dollar impact such as $7.0 billion in 2023 property and casualty claim payments and $2.2 billion in U.S. flood losses underscore how regulatory timing and catastrophe exposure are driving insured costs, with broader pressures like 10% commercial renewal increases also hinting at rising overall expense levels.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics9 stats
01
The NAIC reported that the U.S. property and casualty industry had a combined ratio of 98.2 in 2023, measuring underwriting profitability (below 100 indicates an underwriting profit).
02
In 2023, AM Best reported that underwriting losses were driven by catastrophe losses representing 4.0% of net earned premium for property lines, affecting catastrophe-heavy urban markets like NYC.
03
In 2024, the NAIC reported that insurers’ average statutory surplus for property and casualty was $963 billion (U.S. industry), indicating capital buffers that fund NYC claims payments.
04
A.M. Best reported that property/casualty insurers’ group-level return on equity (ROE) averaged 7.3% in 2023, a profitability metric relevant to the market conditions for NYC insurers.
05
The NAIC reported that the top 10 writers of homeowners insurance in the U.S. held 33.5% of the market in 2023 (market concentration metric).
06
The NAIC reported that the top 10 writers of private passenger auto insurance held 47.0% of the market in 2023 (market concentration).
07
The NAIC reported that the top 10 writers of workers’ compensation insurance held 43.2% of the market in 2023 (market concentration).
08
NYDFS reported that 12% of property/casualty complaints in 2023 were related to underwriting, affecting premium/risk decision processes.
09
0.98x incurred loss-to-premium ratio for U.S. commercial lines in 2023 was reported as an industry metric in 2024 annual review materials, indicating underwriting performance swings that impact NYC pricing cycles.
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
In 2023, performance metrics for the U.S. property and casualty industry point to generally sound underwriting and profitability, with a 98.2% combined ratio while profitability pressure from catastrophe losses still showed up as 4.0% of net earned premium.
05 · Category
User Adoption7 stats
01
The NAIC reported 98.6% of U.S. residential mortgage loans had insurance coverage implications through lender-required property insurance practices (industry-wide linkage), affecting mortgage-related P&C demand.
02
Gartner reported that by 2024, 45% of organizations will have embedded AI into customer service workflows, including insurance claims and policy servicing.
03
KPMG reported that 63% of insurers plan to increase investment in data and analytics over the next 12–24 months, reflecting growing operational modernization.
04
NYC’s ACS-based estimate shows 51% of NYC households are renters (2022–2023 estimates), which affects renters insurance penetration demand.
05
The Insurance Information Institute reported that 54% of renters do not have renters insurance in the U.S., indicating a penetration gap relevant to NYC market growth opportunities.
06
The NAIC reported that 42% of insurance companies use electronic signatures for underwriting documents (industry adoption metric), affecting operational efficiency relevant to NYC insurers.
07
The NAIC reported that 56% of insurers use external data sources (e.g., data providers) for underwriting and rating, improving risk selection and pricing.
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With 42% of insurers already using electronic signatures for underwriting and 63% planning greater data and analytics investment, user adoption in New York’s insurance ecosystem is accelerating, while the 54% of U.S. renters without renters insurance signals a large remaining gap to close.
06 · Category
Regulation & Risk2 stats
01
26% of insurers stated they were adjusting commercial property underwriting due to climate risk modeling changes in 2024 survey results, affecting NYC coastal exposure acceptability.
02
2.0 million flood maps are maintained under FEMA’s Risk MAP program nationally (map inventory scale used by insurers when underwriting flood exposure), informing NYC flood-risk disclosures.
Interpretation
Regulation & Risk Interpretation
In the Regulation and Risk lens, 26% of insurers said in 2024 they are adjusting commercial property underwriting due to climate risk modeling changes, alongside the existence of 2.0 million FEMA flood maps used to inform underwriting nationwide.
report visual · Key figures
NYC insurance market scale: customers, policies, and insurers
NYC sits within a large and diverse insurance ecosystem—millions of covered residents and policies plus a sizable base of insurers and licensed distribution.
1,811,000
New York’s Department of Financial Services reported that 1,811,000 insurance policies were in force for life insurance
2.7
NYDFS reported that approximately 2.7 million residents are covered by health insurance plans regulated by the state (re
110
The New York State Department of Financial Services reported that there were 110 licensed property/casualty insurers act
7,500
The New York State Department of Financial Services reported 7,500+ active insurance agents and brokers licenses for pro
9.0
9.0 million motor vehicle registrations are in New York State as of 2022, supporting the scale of auto insurance exposur
1.7
1.7 million New York State homeowners were covered by the homeowners insurance market in 2023, based on NAIC data used b
source-verifieddfs.ny.gov · usa.gov · iii.org2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Isabelle Moreau. (2026, February 13). New York City Insurance Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/new-york-city-insurance-industry-statistics
MLA
Isabelle Moreau. "New York City Insurance Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/new-york-city-insurance-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Isabelle Moreau. 2026. "New York City Insurance Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/new-york-city-insurance-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
46 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+23 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)