California’s insurance industry plays a central role in the state’s economy. Over $406 billion is invested by insurance firms in California's various markets in the form of government securities, corporate stocks and bonds, mortgage loans, and real estate holdings. The annual industry payroll tops $10 billion. In 2000, the insurance industry provided jobs for nearly a half million Californians - 385,000 in direct employment and 91,000 in indirect positions. Overall, insurance is a $106 billion industry in California, representing close to 9% of the state’s GDP.

In September 2004, the Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West), a CA-ICP partner, conducted in-depth survey of over 2,500 of California’s insurance employers to measure the vast workforce needs in California’s insurance industry


The results highlight both the extreme difficulty employers currently experience hiring qualified entry-level workers and the strong demand for training to increase the supply of qualified job candidates. The CA-ICP survey of insurance industry employers found that:

• 93% currently find it difficult or very difficult to find qualified entry-level   employees;

• 97.7% said that having access to pre-qualified, entry-level candidates   with insurance industry training and work experience would be valuable   to them and the industry as a whole;

• 99.1% responded favorably to the proposed curriculum, agreeing that it   would be valuable for their companies as well as for the industry as a   whole;

• 57.2 % spend over $5,100 annually and several respondents spend   over $250,000 to find entry level workers.