The Insurance Industry

          By this point the complexity and interrelatedness of the business world must be clear to you. To protect themselves against the many risks of operating in such a world, business firms rely on insurance. Today's insurance industry has assets that total billions of dollars--an amount so significant that society has instituted government regulation of the insurance industry's investments and financial reserves.
          Total employment in the insurance industry is now approaching 2 million people. But contrary to popular belief, only about one-third of these employees are salespeople. The companies that sell insurance maybe stock companies (owned by stockholders) or mutual companies (owned by policyholders). They offer property insurance, automobile insurance, public liability insurance, life insurance, health insurance, marine insurance, fidelity bonds (to protect business against dishonesty of employees), and surety bonds (to ensure performance of contracts). A complete description of the operations of insurance companies would require several textbooks, but we shall review the highlights of this industry.