Connecticut Insurance (CT)

Connecticut's preeminence in the insurance field and Hartford's title as "insurance capital" of the nation date from the late 18th century, when state businessmen agreed to bear a portion of a shipowner's financial risks in return for a share of the profits. Marine insurance companies were established in Hartford and major port cities between 1797 and 1805. The state's first insurance company had been formed in Norwich in 1795 to provide fire insurance. The nation's oldest fire insurance firm is Hartford Fire Insurance, active since 1810. Subsequently, Connecticut companies have been leaders in life, accident, casualty, automobile, and multiple-line insurance. The insurance industry is regulated by the state department of insurance.

In 2001 there were 1.8 million ordinary life insurance policies in force with a total value of $194.1 billion; total value for all categories of life insurance (ordinary, group, industrial, and credit) was $337.2 billion. Death benefits paid that year totaled $914.7 million. That year, there were 29,482 flood insurance policies in force in the state, with a total value of $4.5 million. In 2003 there were 73 property and casualty and 32 life and health insurance companies domiciled in Connecticut. In 2001, property and casualty insurers wrote premiums totaling $5.5 billion.