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Specialty Insurance

Northeast Indiana is where a ripe business environment primed for opportunity in the specialty insurance industry meets top talent. As the industry continues to expand, specialty insurance employers of varying product lines flock to Northeast Indiana to find success. Nearly 4,000 people are employed in our insurance industry. Fifty-three percent of jobs in Indiana’s insurance and finance industry can be attributed to the insurance field specifically (compared to the national average of 39%).

Major specialty insurance employers call Northeast Indiana home for good reason: Indiana consistently produces and attracts a high-performing talent pipeline. In fact, Indiana Tech piloted the region’s first-ever undergraduate certificate program, InsurTech, to equip students with knowledge of technology, cyber liability and risk management. No matter the service or risk, odds are that Northeast Indiana has an insurance provider for it.

Take MedPro Group, for example, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare liability insurance, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co. offering property and casualty insurance to Christian ministries across the U.S. or Ash Brokerage Corporation, the largest privately-held insurance brokerage in the nation – all of which are headquartered in Fort Wayne. Regardless of your specialty, know that you’re in good company; members of the Insurance Alliance of Northeast Indiana are committed to further growing the specialty insurance magnet that is Northeast Indiana.

Top Facts about the Specialty Insurance Industry in Northeast Indiana

MedPro Group, (a Berkshire Hathaway company), headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the world’s leading provider of professional liability coverage & risk solutions to healthcare providers.
Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brotherhood Mutual insures more than 65,000 churches and related ministries.
Ash Brokerage, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is one of the largest privately-held insurance brokerages nationally.
Over 35 specialty insurance firms have a presence in Northeast Indiana.
The Tax Foundation ranked Indiana as a top state in the Midwest for its tax climate, outranking states like Iowa and Connecticut.

Specialty Insurance Talent

Nearly 4,000 people are employed in Northeast Indiana’s insurance industry.
The University of Saint Francis offers a bachelor’s degree in risk management and insurance.
Each year, over 1,700 regional students receive MBAs or degrees in business in Northeast Indiana.

Business Climate

Indiana is home to a very friendly regulatory environment and has the 5th-lowest corporate income tax rate in the country at 4.9%, for states with corporate income tax.
The Insurance Alliance of Northeast Indiana is a group of top leaders in the industry focused on growing the insurance sector and ensuring the talent pipeline remains robust.

Investments in Specialty Insurance

Ash Brokerage invested millions to move its corporate headquarters to downtown Fort Wayne, building 95,000 square feet of office space for over 200 employees.
In 2021, Brotherhood Mutual completed an expansion of its Fort Wayne headquarters, creating up to 100 new jobs over the next four years. The $25.5 million investment includes additional office and meeting space.

“Northeast Indiana is our showpiece to attract and retain talent. We want the best and brightest to come—and to stay. When we look at the momentum this community has, it’s easy to see why we chose to build and grow here. Insurance is our business, but people are our passion. This place lets us unlock the potential of every individual and give back to the region in a meaningful way.” – Tim Ash, Chief Executive Officer at Ash Brokerage.

To learn more about the strength of the Specialty Insurance industry in Northeast Indiana, download a PDF with top industry data.

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Interested in learning more about Northeast Indiana's Specialty Insurance industry? Contact us for access to more data and to discuss opportunities and incentives our region offers.

SPECIALTY INSURANCE – MAJOR EMPLOYERS

Company	Product
Lincoln Financial Group	Insurance Products
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.	Insurance Provider to Churches and Related Ministries
K&K Insurance Group, Inc.	Sports, Leisure and Entertainment Insurance
MedPro Group	Healthcare Liability and Student Health Insurance
Ash Brokerage Corp.	Insurance Broker
Swiss Re	Reinsurance
Aetna	Health Insurance
Physicians Health Plan	Northern Indiana Health Insurance
American Specialty Insurance & Risk	Insurance for Sports and Entertainment Business

Source: Development Counsellors International (DCI), 2021

SPECIALTY INSURANCE – EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES

Occupation	2020 NEI Employment	2020 NEI Median Annual Wages	2020 National Median Annual Wages	NEI/US
General and Operations Managers	5,753	$85,323	$100,371	85.0%
Office Clerks, General	9,248	$32,814	$34,046	96.4%
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical and Executive	3,624	$33,556	$37,642	89.1%
Customer Service Representatives	5,098	$31,745	$34,692	91.5%
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	3,189	$36,092	$41,223	87.6%
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	3,219	$53,255	$56,542	94.2%
Accountants and Auditors	2,614	$62,364	$71,611	87.1%
Project Management Specialists and Business Operations Specialists	1,105	$60,554	$73,496	82.4%
Management Analysts	1,028	$74,637	$85,733	87.1%
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	1,225	$50,156	$63,591	78.9%

Source: Emsi 2021

Meet our industry leaders:

Are you ready to land your business in a historically tried-and-true insurance sector? There’s a place for your business among the juggernauts.

Lincoln National Life Insurance Company provides advice and solutions that help empower Americans to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. More than 17 million customers trust Lincoln Financial’s retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses.
MedPro Group (“MedPro”) is the nation’s leading provider of healthcare liability (“HCL”) insurance. MedPro provides customized HCL insurance, claims, patient safety and risk solutions to physicians, surgeons, dentists and other healthcare professionals, as well as hospitals, senior care and other healthcare facilities. Additionally, MedPro provides HCL insurance solutions to international markets, delivers liability insurance to other professionals, and specialized accident and health insurance solutions to colleges and other businesses through its subsidiaries and other Berkshire affiliates.
Brotherhood Mutual is one of the nation’s leading insurers of churches and ministries. Brotherhood Mutual is often named one of the best places to work in Indiana. The company was also named one of Ward’s 50 Top Performers for property and casualty insurance.
American Specialty is recognized as a leader in providing risk services and insurance for amateur sports, professional teams and individual athletes, as well as the entertainment industry. It continues to grow in the region, maintaining its headquarters in Fort Wayne.
Swiss Re Group is a leading wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfers. Dealing direct and working through brokers, its global client base consists of insurance companies, mid-to-large size corporations and public-sector clients.
Physicians Health Plan (PHP) has earned a reputation for outstanding customer satisfaction among members, employers and provider networks. PHP was awarded by The International Association for Worksite Health Promotion and The Wellness Council of America for various workplace wellness programs.
INGUARD is an insurance and risk management firm, serving clients throughout the U.S. and abroad. Licensed in all 50 U.S. states, INGUARD provides consulting services, insurance products and risk management strategies to individuals, families and businesses, and specializes in niche markets and portfolios with complex needs.
Ash Brokerage Corporation is the largest privately-held insurance brokerage in the nation and is a wholesale insurance brokerage partner to insurance agents, financial advisors and career agents. Ash Brokerage expanded its headquarters, investing over $19.6 million in the 90,000 square-foot building in downtown Fort Wayne. Ash is also frequently named one of the best places to work in Indiana.

Business-Friendly Environment for Insurance and Financial Companies

We work for you to foster a business-friendly culture. We work closely with the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana to foster new and amended legislation to continuously improve our welcoming business climate and regulatory environment. With enhanced performance in efficiency, innovation and entrepreneurship, we work for you to develop creative ways to expand on past successes and to reposition for the future.

Why is the insurance industry so strong in Northeast Indiana? We’re so glad you asked.

Positive Regulatory Climate

Indiana has consistently been rated one of the top states for commercial lines by the Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America (PCIAA). Indiana was ranked 18th in the nation by the Institute for Legal Reform in terms of the overall lawsuit climate in a state.

Business-Friendly Tax Environment

As of January 2008, the Indiana premium tax rate was lowered to 1.3 percent, which minimizes a domestic’s retaliatory tax exposure when doing business in other states. Domestic insurers may opt to pay the premium tax or the corporate gross income tax.

Fair and Reasonable Civil Justice System

The tort reform act of 1995 emphasizes personal responsibility over corporate responsibility—a legal protection limiting punitive damages for Hoosier businesses. Here are key elements of the law:

Applies comparative fault, rather than strict liability, to product-liability cases dealing with defective design or failure to warn
Restricts the awarding of punitive damages
Allows any person who caused or contributed to an injury to be named as a nonparty

Stable judiciary

The Indiana Supreme Court has been more constructionist in its holdings than most states. It has supported the industry in rulings, impacting punitive damages, workers’ compensation exclusive remedy and in-house counsel.

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