In a rapidly evolving insurance landscape where talent retention and competitive compensation are more critical than ever, understanding salary trends is essential.
With the number of people employed in the US Finance and Insurance industry up 7.8 percent in 2024 from the year before, the average salaries across all occupations followed suit, climbing 3.7 percent, according to the IBA Salaries: Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (2012-2024) Dashboard.
This steady upward trajectory reflects both the resilience of the sector and intensifying competition for skilled professionals, and for carriers it’s becoming more crucial than ever to understand the compensation landscape, benchmark salaries, and attract and retain top talent.
Over the past decade, salary structures in the US insurance industry have undergone significant change. For carriers, these shifts highlight where compensation strategies must evolve to remain competitive in attracting and retaining top talent.
Chief executives remain the highest-paid professionals in the sector, with average salaries increasing 50 percent from $210,953 in 2012 to $317,110 in 2024. However, volatility is emerging: after a 38.6 percent surge between 2020 and 2023, salaries dipped 1.3 percent in 2024 – the first decline since 2019. Carriers should note that executive pay, while still dominant, may face greater scrutiny and pressure for alignment with broader workforce trends.
Actuaries remain among the most consistently well-compensated specialists, with salaries climbing 26 percent since 2012 to reach $143,963 in 2024. Their pay briefly plateaued in the early 2020s but rebounded to new highs in 2024. Actuaries represent the second-highest paid occupation, underscoring their continued strategic importance for carriers.
However, the strongest momentum lies in analytical and data-focused roles. Statisticians’ salaries increased from $70,817 in 2012 to $107,027 in 2024, at a 3.5 percent CAGR. Notably, they saw an 11 percent jump in 2024, reversing a small decline the prior year.
Data scientists, recognized as a distinct occupation in 2021, have already established themselves as premium earners. Since salary reporting began in 2021, their pay has averaged $115,250 and grown at a 2.2 percent CAGR. The rapid ascent of this role underscores the premium on advanced analytics and signals to carriers that data talent is now one of the most competitive hiring markets.
Traditional operational roles, while still critical, show more modest salary gains. Underwriters’ earnings rose 31.8 percent since 2012, while sales agents recorded a 28.3 percent increase. Adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators – tracked together due to overlapping functions – saw nearly identical growth at 2.2 percent CAGR.
These figures suggest that while compensation growth for operational staff remains steady, it is less dynamic compared with analytical and leadership roles. Carriers seeking to motivate and retain these employees may need to supplement salary with broader incentives, training, and career development opportunities.
Ultimately, the message is clear: while executive compensation continues to anchor the upper end of pay scales, the fastest-growing salaries are in technical and analytical professions. To remain competitive, carriers must ensure their remuneration strategies reflect this shift – rewarding leadership appropriately while aggressively benchmarking pay for actuaries, statisticians, and data scientists.
Location also plays a decisive role in shaping compensation strategies for carriers. Salaries across the finance and insurance sector vary dramatically by state, reflecting differences in cost of living, talent supply, and concentration of industry players.
At the top of the spectrum, the District of Columbia continues to outpace every state, with average industry salaries reaching $109,420 in 2024 – more than 21 percent above the national average of $90,250. Massachusetts ($83,050), New York ($80,630), and California ($79,900) also rank among the most expensive talent markets, underscoring the intense competition in coastal hubs where carriers and financial institutions cluster.
By contrast, compensation levels in many southern and midwestern states remain significantly lower. Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Dakota all report average salaries around or below $55,000 in 2024, nearly 40 percent less than leading markets. For carriers with distributed operations, these disparities highlight opportunities to optimize workforce costs while still offering competitive pay locally.
Growth trends also reveal important dynamics. Between 2020 and 2024, national average salaries rose more than 23 percent, but several states saw steeper gains. Washington, Maine, and Oregon surged ahead, each up more than 55 percent from 2012 to 2024, while states like Delaware, Alaska, and Wyoming posted below-average growth, widening the gap with higher-cost regions.
For carriers, the implications are twofold. First, salary benchmarking must account not just for role but also for geography: what looks competitive in Pennsylvania may lag far behind in Florida. Second, as hybrid and remote work models expand, geographic arbitrage is becoming more complex. Carriers that can flexibly balance pay equity, cost efficiency, and employee expectations will be best positioned to win the war for talent across state lines.
For P&C carriers, salary benchmarking is more than a market-watching exercise – it’s a strategic tool for workforce planning and competitive positioning.
The IBA Salaries: Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (2012-2024) Dashboard shows where pay pressure is rising fastest, where it remains relatively stable, and how geography shapes talent costs. To turn these insights into action, carriers will first need to align pay with strategic roles.
Analytics, actuarial, and executive leadership positions are commanding the sharpest increases, reflecting their outsized impact on underwriting accuracy, risk management, and operational direction. Carriers should regularly review salary bands for these roles, ensuring they are not just in line with national averages but competitive within their peer set.
Next, geographic disparities – sometimes exceeding 40 percent between states – mean that a “one-size-fits-all” compensation structure is not viable. Carriers expanding into lower-cost regions can realize efficiencies, but they must still calibrate pay to local benchmarks to remain attractive in those markets. For hybrid and remote roles, equity considerations are increasingly important; transparent frameworks for location-based pay can help avoid employee dissatisfaction.
Lastly, while salary remains the most visible measure of competitiveness, carriers should not overlook the role of professional development, flexible work models, and career progression pathways. These can be especially critical in operational roles where salary growth is steadier but talent retention is still a challenge.
Ultimately, the winners in the P&C market will be those carriers that treat compensation benchmarking as a dynamic, ongoing process – integrating it into workforce planning, adapting it to regional realities, and pairing it with broader employee value propositions. By doing so, carriers not only stay ahead of competitors but also build the resilient, skilled teams needed to navigate an increasingly complex insurance landscape.
The IBA Salaries: Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (2012-2024) Dashboard gives a clear view of salary trends for key roles in insurance agencies and brokerages across the US.
Whether you're looking to benchmark compensation, assess competitiveness, or spot long-term salary trends, the dashboard provides you with clear, actionable insights.
Armed with this intelligence, you can make more informed decisions to attract talent, strengthen partnerships, and stay ahead in a competitive market.
