New Brunswick’s insurance industry contributes $781.2 million to the provincial economy

The Conference Board of Canada estimates New Brunswick’s insurance industry contributed $781.2 million in direct and spin-off effects to the provincial economy in 2010.

So says INSURECONOMY, an economic impact and future growth study released Apr. 19 that summarizes separate reports from The Conference Board of Canada and Jupia Consultants Inc.

Medical, health and life carriers accounted for the biggest slice of the pie in 2010, generating an estimated $316.3 million worth of gross domestic product (GDP). Property and casualty carriers contributed $278.3 million, and agents and brokers accounted for $186.6 million.

For every dollar of premium paid by a New Brunswicker, 77 cents worth of GDP is created in the province either directly through the cost of operations or indirectly through the supply chain, the report notes.

Statistics Canada reports the province has most export-intensive insurance industry in the country, posting $0.143 of international export per $1 of industry output in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. The rate was considerably more robust than in Ontario ($0.119), Nova Scotia ($0.114), Quebec ($0.099) and British Columbia ($0.088).

“The export-based activity supports hundreds of jobs and generates millions of dollars worth of tax revenue for New Brunswick,” the report says. In fact, expansion of firms serving regional and national markets has driven New Brunswick’s ascent to the fastest-growing insurance sector in the country.

In 2010, New Brunswick’s insurance sector supported about 8,100 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the province. Of that, the P&C carrier segment accounted for 2,650 direct jobs.

With 260 new jobs forecast to be created in the next three years, sustained growth may be fostered by the following measures: identifying areas where more national activity could be facilitated out of New Brunswick operations, expanding the range of activities undertaken in the province and working to attract international firms.